Wearables

The Smart Products Playbook – Using data to create compelling experiences

In the previous post of this series, we explored ways by which recurring revenues can be obtained from connected products. In this post, we extend the investigation to Smart Products. Two questions immediately come to mind. When does a product become ‘smart’ rather than simply connected? And is does being smart really equate with being useful? Do smart products, which make use of some form of machine learning or another form of artificial intelligence capability, really help users? Equally of relevance, … Read more…

Wearables in Healthcare

This is an excellent article by Julie Papanek in TechCrunch providing a very small glimpse of how wearables can aid the monitoring and treatment of a wide range of conditions. Very apt quotation – “wearables are totally failing the people who need them most” – the old, the ill and the poor. Personally, I believe that there are huge untapped opportunities to make use of the combination of passive data collection and machine learning to empower patients in their relationships with healthcare … Read more…

Digital Health Platforms – A look at Apple HealthKit’s early lead

A Reuters report last week claimed that Apple’s HealthKit is being trialled by more hospitals in the US than Google Fit. Fourteen out of twenty-three ‘top’ (no info on how they were selected) hospitals contacted had already rolled out a pilot programme with Apple, way ahead of where they are with other significant personal health platforms. This clearly indicates that the convergence between personal devices and real medical healthcare, is beginning to move beyond the somewhat narcissistic counting of steps, fitness goals etc, … Read more…

FTC warns of privacy risks of ubiquitous connectivity

The need for means for managing user privacy as more and more devices become connected is a topic that has been raised a number of times on this blog. This week, at CES, someone slightly more influential, the chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, Edith Ramirez raised these very concerns. While highlighting all the wonderful benefits the Internet of Things can bring, she highlighted the risks of ubiquitous data collection, the impact of unintended uses of data and the increased security risks will … Read more…

Wearables in the workplace. A genuinely transformative opportunity?

This blog has already explored the future of wearables and outlined directions in which they are likely to form an integral part of the way we interact with others and with our surroundings. One of the key factors touched upon was the fact that features and functionality alone don’t guarantee the success of wearables devices. Like clothing, jewellery and other fashion accessories, they have to fulfil the wearer’s emotional needs such as self-concept, acceptance by others, reassurance, and status. Arguably, this is already true … Read more…

Intel – From Edison launch to Google Glass

Last week, I was introduced in person to Intel’s latest creation aimed at the maker movement – the low-power, small-format Edison chip. In a hands-on event in Shoreditch, London organised by Intel, I got to explore capabilities of the tiny computer, not much bigger than an SD memory card. It is clearly a very capable device, providing x86 compatibility to a wide range of products, and as such provides an alternative to Arduino and Raspberry Pi products. However this is not … Read more…

Wearables – What does the future hold?

Wearable devices represent the product category currently carrying the consumer electronics industry’s burden of being the ‘next big thing’. Driven by advances in processing and communications chipsets developed in the pursuit of ever-cheaper smartphones, wearables are exhibiting the potential for diversity in shape, colour and function that has been banished from the smartphone world. But are hardware vendors right to bet on smart wearables as a means of supporting margins in the ever-competitive consumer electronics world? There is no shortage of forecast … Read more…

The Future of Digital Health – Part II

Although it’s only been a few days since I discussed some of the ways in which digital health will be transformed by the nexus of wearables and data analytics, it is already time for an update. A company called BitBite is currently seeking $60,000 dollars to kick of production of a device that tracks eating patterns, including what foods are consumed, how well a person is chewing and how frequently he or she snacks. This is done through a wearable device that clips … Read more…

Digital Health gets real

Health & fitness is often touted as being one of the most promising segments of wearable devices. Evolved from the humble pedometer, these now boast an impressive range of sensors, capable of monitoring heart rate, stress levels, sweat, quality of sleep as well as physical activity to quantify in great detail every waking (and sleeping moment), creating a true ‘datafication’ of the self . Two of the most advanced proponents of this class of solution are the Jawbone Up3 and … Read more…