Any new technology application will meet justified skepticism, and virtual/augmented reality is certainly no exception. Aerospace giant Boeing has concluded a study that strongly indicates significant cost savings of augmented reality in complex factory floor environments. Paul Davies, of Boeing's Research & Technology Group, told the Augmented World Expo that his … [Read more...]
Osterhout Shows New Self-Contained AR Glasses
The Osterhout Design Group used to be a very quiet pioneering company in the world of augmented reality, until it cut a still-mysterious licensing and patent deal with Microsoft. The money seems to have gotten over its reticence; at Augmented World Expo today, the company announced a new and self-contained augmented reality goggle, the R7. Calling it a "goggle" really … [Read more...]
Apple Publishes Watch SDK (Updated)
As it hinted about a week ago, Apple today announced a software development kit that will give programmers vastly expanded access to components and sensors on the Apple Watch. Developers will be able to build widgets for existing watch faces (although not, apparently, entirely new watch faces). They'll also be able to access the digital crown to peer back through the history … [Read more...]
Consumer Grade Fetal Monitoring from Israel
In-home fetal monitoring is nothing new in high-risk pregnancies, although it's expensive, uncomfortable and inconvenient. We're hearing about an Israeli company is promising a consumer-level elastic band that can track the heartbeats and movement of mother and incipient baby. The PregSense band, from the Nuvo Group, will have 13 sensors that will be able to monitor the … [Read more...]
Will Huawei Be The Savior of Jawbone? Not So Much.
The Verge reported over the weekend that Huawei's quirky Talkband B2 fitness tracker will be the first non-Jawbone device to enter the Jawbone software ecosystem, thereby throwing the troubled device maker a lifeline. The underlying fact may be correct, but the analysis is a little muddied. There is clearly a wearables ecosystem fight going on. Apple and Google are doing … [Read more...]
NYTimes Long Read About Smartwatches
There probably isn't much that in it that faithful readers of this site don't already know, but the New York Times published a pretty good long read this weekend about the smartwatch business seen from the perspective of Swiss watchmakers. TL;dr: Yes, they're nervous. Yes, they're defensive. The companies in the $1,000 price range are adapting; the ones who sell stuff more … [Read more...]
IDC Puts Fitbit Number 1 in Trackers, with Xiaomi in Second
IDC says Fitbit is the world's top vendor of fitness trackers for the first quarter of 2015, with Chinese Xiaomi in a strong second thanks to its $15 Mi Band. Overall, the world market for trackers was 11.4 million, up 200 percent from the year previous. IDC analysts say that 40 percent of trackers sold in the first quarter sold for under $100 -- not surprising given the … [Read more...]
TE Connectivity Helps Make Google’s Jacquard Work
Building electronics requires a clean and controlled environment. Building clothes is a messy business. Creating a workflow that accommodates both is one of the trickier parts of Google's Project Jacquard, and the connectivity and sensor maker TE Connectivity says it played a part in that. They're not sharing a ton of details, but TE says they collaborated with Google to … [Read more...]
Podcast Posted for June 5 2015
New podcast is up: Live report from Google I/O. Project Jacquard smart clothing, Project Soli gesture control. Open-source prosthetics. Ingestible needles. Fitbit prices its IPO. Driving while Watched. Produced by Dan Rosenbaum, with reports from Alfred Poor and Melissa Perenson, and music by Michael Roth. … [Read more...]
Intel and Industry Execs on How Wearables Will Transform Healthcare and More
The Churchill Club is a well-respected business and tech forum in the Bay Area, and the conversations that happen there are usually interesting. The club ran a panel on "The Next Frontier" of wearables the other night, featuring execs from Jawbone, Intel, Misfit and Lumo Body Tech. Healthcare was repeatedly mentioned as a prime market, both for personal use and as an aid to … [Read more...]