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Intel

Wearable Technology

Nixie, The Wearable Drone For Selfies

Nixie Wearable Selfie DroneThe finalists for this year’s Make It Wearable Challenge by Intel include devices such as an activity tracking sports necklace, a baby health monitor, and a kinetic sensor for skiing. While all of these are interesting, none of them are breaking new ground in the way one of the other finalists is: Nixie. Nixie is a tiny wearable drone that is worn on your wrist like a bracelet. The device, powered by Intel’s Edison chip, recognizes when it is unleashed from your wrist and then flies into the air. It then senses where you are, flies up, and takes a selfie using the integrated camera. The device then returns to you so that you can replace it on your wrist. With how many people I have seen placing their smartphone on a pole to get a slightly better selfie, I hazard to imagine a world were something like Nixie becomes commonplace. The winner of the Make It Wearable Challenge will be announced November 3rd and will receive $500,000.  Head past the break for a video about Nixie. 

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Jewelry

Intel’s MICA (or My Intelligent Communication Accessory) (UPDATED)

Intel's MICA By Opening Ceremony

UPDATE: Intel / Opening Ceremonies have posted a marketing video (starring Rashida Jones!) of MICA in action. Head past the break.

Intel hasn’t made it a secret that it wants to be part of the wearable technology movement. This month at NYFW, Intel along with design partner Opening Ceremonies debuted MICA (which stands for My Intelligent Communication Accessory). According to Intel “if you take a tech company and make a wearable, it looks like a tech-company wearable.” The company believes that by forming strategic partnerships with companies already in the fashion space, they will be able to create more compelling wearable devices. The high-end MICA bangles were designed by Opening Ceremonies to be true fashion pieces without sacrificing usability. MICA features a curved touchscreen, 3G connectivity, and wireless charging. The bangles are covered in snake skin and feature stones such as obsidian and tiger’s eye. Intel expects the bangle to go on sale in time for the holidays at a price around $1000. It will be available at Barney’s and from Opening Ceremony.  

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Wearable Technology

WIRED Explores The Secret To Making A Wearable That People Will Actually Want

Tory Burch Fitbit

It is no secret that while the designers at Nike, Fitbit, Pebble, Samsung, and Google are able to cram an impressive amount of technology into devices that are wearable, those devices are hardly aesthetically pleasing.  Up to this point, any mass market wearable technology more complex than a digital watch has been more utilitarian than fashionable.  In a WIRED article by Liz Stinson, she explores several possible downfalls.  One issue arises from the lack of fashion conscious, ground up design.

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