SUBSCRIBE

Category

Wearable Technology

Department Of Defense FlexTech Alliance Logos
Wearable Technology

Defense Dept Recruits Apple And Others To Develop Wearables

August 31, 2015

Defense Department Recruits Apple MIT GE Stanford Wearables FlexTech Alliance Logos

The US Defense Department made it clear that it wants to be more involved with wearable technology. The department has announced a partnership with a consortium called the FlexTech Alliance. The consortium consists of over 160 private sector organizations including companies, universities, nonprofits, and independent research organizations. Among its members are Apple, MIT, Stanford, Boeing, GE, and Qualcomm. True to the name FlexTech, the members will work to further refine flexible electronic circuit technology, addressing durability, size, weight, and cost. The idea is create a technology that can be as easily applied to a soldier’s uniform as it can to the side of a jet. While specific goals aren’t known, each company will bid out solving particular problems of the technology and its application. There will be a centralized headquarters in San Jose called the “Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Flexible Hybrid Electronics” and regional hubs, all of which will serve as venues for the various organizations involved to meet and collaborate. It is interesting that the Defense Department is beginning to rely more and more on the innovation occurring in the private sector. Hopefully they don’t become so reliant that the department follows a similar path to what happened with NASA.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Wearable Technology

Microsoft Finds Way To Over Triple A Wearable’s Battery Life

August 27, 2015

WearDrive Battery Boost Research Microsoft Band

Battery life is a major issue for wearable technology. Period. Companies such as Pebble and Misfit have found a market niche due to their extremely long battery life versus the competition. But if all things were equal in term of power, it is likely that more people would opt for a full featured smartwatch. A finding by Microsoft Research might be moving us closer to that reality. A team working on the company’s WearDrive project has found a novel way to increase battery life by over 3x while speeding up application load time by almost 9x. The basic idea is to reduce the amount of reading and writing being done to internal flash memory, instead utilizing Bluetooth LE to access and store the information on the connected phone. Specifically, the power savings comes from avoiding the device’s flash memory completely and directly streaming the data to / from the phone. Bluetooth LE is ideal because it uses just 1 to 2 milliwatts of power and the technique was found to have only a negligible effect on the phone’s battery life. Unfortunately, this research is going to stay in Microsoft’s labs for the time being. The company currently has no plans to integrate the WearDrive findings into the Microsoft Band or any other wearable.

In the publication of the findings, Ranveer Chandra, a lead on the project, stated that one of the biggest issues with wearables up until this point is that “everyone has been thinking of reusing what exists for mobile devices.” Just because one way of handling information flow and storage work well for one device doesn’t mean it applies to other. With wearables Chandra thinks it is imperative to remember, “It’s a different paradigm. It’s a different usage scenario.”

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Wearable Technology

Linkitz Encourages Young Girls In STEM With Wearable Toy

August 26, 2015

Linkitz Girls Wearable Programmable STEM

It is no secret that all of us at Circuits and Cable Knit love devices that encourage girls in STEM. Programmable technology that is designed for kids and girls specifically is the key to getting them engaged at an early age. Jewelbots is one of our favorite pieces of girl-oriented tech, elegant and full featured it allows girls of all ages to program the jewelry to whatever they can image. Recently we came across Linkitz, another wearable designed to help girls learn to program. To understand how the products are different, Linkitz is to Jewelbots as Duplo is to Legos.

Designed for young girls, Linkitz is a modular wearable device that is much more toy than jewelry. Three large, brightly colored plastic modules can be connected to a central hub. Each module brings different functionality, such as LEDs, a speaker, or a motion detector, which enable the device to behave differently. For example, the bracelet can customized to be a walkie talkie, a friendship bracelet, or a Simon Says game. To program the device, Linkitz wants to keep it simple and relies entirely on a pictographic programming language. The wearable toy is expected this ship this December following a successful Kickstarter campaign where it raised over $100,000. If you want to preorder a band, they start at $60, but if you want every module, you will need to order the set of two bands for $250.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Watches

Best Buy Accelerates Apple Watch Roll Out On Strong Sales

August 25, 2015

Apple Watch Best Buy Accelerated Launch

While Apple isn’t planning to release Apple Watch sales numbers anytime soon, we are getting our first idea of demand for the device. Barely 3 weeks ago the Apple Watch launched at 100 Best Buy locations. At that time, the electronics retailer announced that over the next several months they would roll the device out to a total of 300 locations. Apparently things went well. This morning Hubert Joly, CEO of Best Buy, announced that sales for the smartwatch have been “so strong” that the company is accelerating its roll out. Around 900 Best Buy locations will begin to stock the Watch by September 4 and by the end of the month all 1050 Best Buy locations and 30 Best Buy Mobile stores will offer the Apple Watch. The news also coincides with an announcement that Best Buy is expanding and updating their 740 Apple store-within-a-stores.

The smartwatch market is beginning to mature as it starts to find its feet. With devices such as Olio, Gear S2, the second Moto 360, and Apple Watch running watchOS 2 hitting that market, it is clear the device makers are beginning to understand the shortcomings of previous devices as well as the limitations of smartwatches. As the devices become more refined, it is easier for them to find an audience. It will be interesting one day to see actual sales numbers because I believe that 2015 has been a massive year for wearable device growth.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Wearable Technology

Ralph Lauren Announces Availability & Pricing Of Polo Tech Shirt

August 21, 2015

Ralph Lauren Polo Tech Shirt

At a media event in NYC today, Ralph Lauren finally released more information about their connected Polo Tech shirt. You would be forgiven if you had forgotten about the shirt though; little has been said about it since an initial announcement by the company almost a year ago. But it seems the device is finally ready for the public. Created through a partnership with OMsignal, the activity tracking shirt will launch on August 27th for $295. The lengthly delay between announcement and launch was surprising given that the shirt appears to be nearly identical to OMsignal’s shirt. It seems as though the hold up might have been with software. Ralph Lauren’s shirt utilizes its own mobile app, which is completely unique from the OMsignal software. The company sought to offer a mobile experience that not only tracks your biometrics but also provides guided workouts that adjust in real time to those readings.

According to Ralph Lauren, this is just the first product in a line of connected clothing. Next up, a version of the Polo Tech shirt for women (not surprising given that OMsignal is also expected to release a women’s version soon). David Lauren, the company’s EVP of global advertising, marketing, and corporate communication, also mentioned that a connected polo shirt and even a suit were possibilities in the future.

In case you need a refresher, the Polo Tech shirt is a compression T-shirt embedded with sensors. Those sensors are able to detect everything ranging from basic activity tracking information, such as steps taken, to detailed biometrics, such as breathing depth and how hard you are pushing yourself. The information is gathered via a small black box attached to the shirt and fed to your phone via Bluetooth.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Watches

Android Wear Updated With Interactive Complications

August 20, 2015

Android Wear Interactive Watchfaces Bits 1.3

Hey Android Wear users, been loving your Moto 360 but long for Apple Watch’s interactive complications. Get excited because Google has heard you pinning away and has released Android Wear version 1.3. The new version of Android Wear allows developers to include complications, such as weather and a calendar, that can be tapped on to display more information. For launch there are 3 new watch faces. ‘Bits’ is designed by the development team of one of our all time favorite mobile games: ‘Monument Valley.’ The highly customizable watch face allows you to have six circular complications of your choosing surrounding a clock. ‘Under Amour’ is more focused on physical activity, displaying step count, calories burnt, and distance. The third watch face is called ‘Together’ and enables you to easily send scribbles (like the Apple Watch’s digital touch), emojis, or photos to friends. The update should be rolling out to compatible watches over the next few weeks.

Updates like these continue to make Android Wear a compelling option. Custom watch faces that behave differently for different activities makes a lot of sense; it will be interesting to see if Samsung’s Tizen OS and Apple’s watchOS follow suit. While the Apple Watch allows for a high level of customization, their watch faces are largely derivative of each other.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Wearable Technology

Intel’s New ‘Curie’ Chip Is Designed For Wearables

August 20, 2015

Intel Curie Chip Module

This is about as techie as things get here at Circuits And Cable Knit. We wanted to cover Intel’s new Curie chip because the implications of the module, designed exclusively for wearable devices, could be huge. At this week’s Intel Developer Forum, Intel provided a better look at the new Curie chip, which has become a bit more square since we last saw it. Originally shown at CES in January, it is designed to be compact (the size of a button) and has low-power requirements. Despite its diminutive size, Curie incorporates an Intel Quark SoC, a gyroscope, a six-axis sensor with accelerometer, a Bluetooth radio, and even 384KB of flash memory, all of which are powered by a button-cell disposable alkaline battery. The disposable battery can also be traded out for something of a rechargeable nature. With both power and space at a premium in wearables, Intel is aiming to provide integrated solutions that will allow hardware makers to continue to push the limits of what is possible. Curie has already started shipping to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to be included in upcoming devices. In fact, it is likely that the upcoming Fossil wearables will run on Curie.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment