Category: Wearables

Wearable technology is slow but steadily becoming a revolution in the event industry. While the wearable technology has been already offering applications for consumer, business, emergency service and military users; wearable technology companies, entrepreneurs, marketers, and developers are now looking for novel ideas and concepts to come up with smart wearable devices that can serve the needful to the mass. Wearable incorporates high-tech information with simple and convenient design.

Types

Implantables

Implantable, also referred to as “embeddable,” technology refers to a class of objects that can be inserted directly into the human body. For events purposes, this type of wearable is rarely used. However, huge advancements in this area of technology have been developed particularly to assist in the medical field.

Smartwatches

A smartwatch is a wearable computing device that closely resembles a wristwatch or other time-keeping device.

In addition to telling time, many smartwatches are Bluetooth-capable. The watch becomes, in effect, a wireless Bluetooth adaptor capable of extending the capabilities of the wearer’s smartphone to the watch. In such a case, the wearer can use the watch’s interface to initiate and answer phone calls from their mobile phone, read email and text messages, get a weather report, listen to music, dictate email or text messages or ask a digital assistant a question.

Smartwatches have become popular over the years due to the advancements in technology. Apple and Google have both created their own versions of smartwatches that is compatible with their operating sytems. Smartwatches essentially serves the function of a smartphone but with greater convenience.

Head-Mounted Displays

Similar to smartwatches, head mounted displays involve a wide range of features and functions that is similar to an Iphone.

Features Include

Notifications and texts

2. Activity Tracking

3. News update

4. Phone call

5. Email

6. Viewing of photos and videos

7. GPS/Navigation

8. Remote control for music

9. Home Automation (Connecting items such as lights and aircon to the smartwatch or head-mounted display)

Fitness/Activity Tracker

These are all about measuring how much you move in a day: steps, distance, calories burnt. They focus purely on exercise and health related data.

Smart Clothing

Working in a similar way to activity trackers, these are pieces of clothing (usually fitness-related) that have the technology built in. With sensors closer to your skin, they can pick up the more subtle cues of your movement, heart rate, and breathing patterns than activity trackers. These can include anything from motion detecting pants to heat sensing bras.

Key Technologies

NFC

Near Field Communication (NFC) refers to short range communication between compatible devices. This requires at least one transmitting device, and another to receive the signal. A range of devices can use the NFC standard and will be considered either passive or active.

Similar to Bluetooth or wifi NFC works on the principle of sending information over radio waves. Near Field Communication is another standard for wireless data transitions. This means that devices must adhere to certain specifications in order to communicate with each other properly. The technology used in NFC is based on older RFID (Radio-frequency identification) ideas, which used electromagnetic induction in order to transmit information.

This marks the one major difference between NFC and Bluetooth/WiFi. The former can be used to induce electric currents within passive components as well as just send data. This means that passive devices don’t require their own power supply. They can instead be powered by the electromagnetic field produced by an active NFC component when it comes into range. Unfortunately, NFC technology does not command enough inductance to charge our smartphones, but QI charging is based on the same principle.

The transmission frequency for data across NFC is 13.56 megahertz. You can send data at either 106, 212, or 424 kilobits per second. That’s quick enough for a range of data transfers — from contact details to swapping pictures and music.

RFID

RFID is an acronym for “radio-frequency identification” and refers to a technology whereby digital data encoded in RFID tags or smart labels (defined below) are captured by a reader via radio waves. RFID is similar to barcoding in that data from a tag or label are captured by a device that stores the data in a database. RFID, however, has several advantages over systems that use barcode asset tracking software. The most notable is that RFID tag data can be read outside the line-of-sight, whereas barcodes must be aligned with an optical scanner.

RFID belongs to a group of technologies referred to as Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC). AIDC methods automatically identify objects, collect data about them, and enter those data directly into computer systems with little or no human intervention.

RFID methods utilize radio waves to accomplish this. At a simple level, RFID systems consist of three components: an RFID tag or smart label, an RFID reader, and an antenna. RFID tags contain an integrated circuit and antennas, which are used to transmit data to the RFID reader (also called an interrogator). The reader then converts the radio waves to a more usable form of data. Information collected from the tags is then transferred through a communications interface to a host computer system, where the data can be stored in a database and analysed at a later time.

Gyroscope

Gyroscope is defined as a device that measures orientation based on the principle of rotation; taking into account weight, shape and speed. Wearables with gyroscope can help determine key data especially pertaining to exercises and health related areas.

GPS

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a technical marvel made possible by a group of satellites in Earth’s orbit. It transmits precise signals, allowing GPS receivers to calculate and display accurate location, speed, and time information to the user. GPS is owned by the U.S. By capturing the signals from satellites, GPS receivers are able to use the mathematical principle of trilateration to pinpoint your location. With the addition of computing power and data stored in memory such as road maps, points of interest, topographic information, and much more, GPS receivers are able to convert location, speed, and time information into a useful display format.

iBeacon

Beacon is a protocol developed by Apple and introduced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in 2013. Various vendors have since made iBeacon-compatible hardware transmitters – typically called beacons – a class of Bluetooth low energy (BLE) devices that broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices. The technology enables smartphones, tablets and other devices to perform actions when in close proximity to an iBeacon.

iBeacon is based on Bluetooth low energy proximity sensing by transmitting a universally unique identifier[4] picked up by a compatible app or operating system. The identifier and several bytes sent with it can be used to determine the device’s physical location, track customers, or trigger a location-based action on the device such as a check-in on social media or a push notification.

iBeacon can also be used with an application as an indoor positioning system, which helps smartphones determine their approximate location or context. With the help of an iBeacon, a smartphone’s software can approximately find its relative location to an iBeacon in a store. Brick and mortar retail stores use the beacons for mobile commerce, offering customers special deals through mobile marketing, and can enable mobile payments through point of sale systems.

Another application is distributing messages at a specific Point of Interest, for example, a store, a bus stop, a room or a more specific location like a piece of furniture or a vending machine. This is similar to previously used geopush technology based on GPS, but with a much-reduced impact on battery life and better precision.

iBeacon differs from some other location-based technologies as the broadcasting device (beacon) is only a 1-way transmitter to the receiving smartphone or receiving device, and necessitates a specific app installed on the device to interact with the beacons. This ensures that only the installed app (not the iBeacon transmitter) can track users, potentially against their will, as they passively walk around the transmitters.

iBeacon compatible transmitters come in a variety of form factors, including small coin cell devices, USB sticks, and generic Bluetooth 4.0 capable USB dongles.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth takes small-area networking to the next level by removing the need for user intervention and keeping transmission power extremely low to save battery power. each transmission signal to and from your cell phone consumes just 1 milliwatt of power, so your cell phone charge is virtually unaffected by all of this activity.

Bluetooth networking transmits data via low-power radio waves. It communicates on a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz (actually between 2.402 GHz and 2.480 GHz, to be exact). This frequency band has been set aside by international agreement for the use of industrial, scientific and medical devices (ISM).

A number of devices that you may already use take advantage of this same radio-frequency band. Baby monitors, garage-door openers and the newest generation of cordless phones all make use of frequencies in the ISM band. Making sure that Bluetooth and these other devices don’t interfere with one another has been a crucial part of the design process.

One of the ways Bluetooth devices avoid interfering with other systems is by sending out very weak signalsof about 1 milliwatt. By comparison, the most powerful cell phones can transmit a signal of 3 watts. The low power limits the range of a Bluetooth device to about 10 meters (32 feet), cutting the chances of interference between your computer system and your portable telephone or television. Even with the low power, Bluetooth doesn’t require line of sight between communicating devices. The walls in your house won’t stop a Bluetooth signal, making the standard useful for controlling several devices in different rooms.

Bluetooth can connect up to eight devices simultaneously. With all of those devices in the same 10-meter (32-foot) radius, you might think they’d interfere with one another, but it’s unlikely. Bluetooth uses a technique called spread-spectrum frequency hopping that makes it rare for more than one device to be transmitting on the same frequency at the same time. In this technique, a device will use 79 individual, randomly chosen frequencies within a designated range, changing from one to another on a regular basis. In the case of Bluetooth, the transmitters change frequencies 1,600 times every second, meaning that more devices can make full use of a limited slice of the radio spectrum. Since every Bluetooth transmitter uses spread-spectrum transmitting automatically, it’s unlikely that two transmitters will be on the same frequency at the same time. This same technique minimizes the risk that portable phones or baby monitors will disrupt Bluetooth devices, since any interference on a particular frequency will last only a tiny fraction of a second.

Manufacturers

Apple: Apple Series 3 Watch

The Series 3 watch includes cellular data, letting you make calls without solely depending on a Wi-Fi connection and phone app. This smartwatch also works with Siri, so you can ask for directions to a destination without grabbing your phone.

https://www.apple.com/sg/apple-watch-series-3/?afid=p238%7CsfokySSo3-dc_mtid_20925dr251152_pcrid_260270327009_&cid=wwa-sg-kwgo-watch-slid-

Samsung: Samsung Gear Sport

Designed for fitness enthusiasts or people who want to start living better, the Samsung Gear Sport features a calorie tracker that alerts you whether you’re over or under your intake goals. It also sends up to 60 workouts to your mobile device and gives suggestions about staying fit even if you can’t avoid being sedentary, such as when you’re on a long flight.

https://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/gear-sport/

Garmin: The Garmin Fenix 5

This rugged smartwatch features durable components, such as a rear case and bezel made of stainless steel. The Garmin Fenix 5 also measures your pulse via a wrist sensor. Use the performance widget to find out if your hard workouts are paying off, and track progress. Also, enjoy how this gadget offers up to two weeks of battery life in the smartwatch mode.

http://www.garmin.com.sg/products/wearables/fenix-5-gray/

Fossil: The Fossil Q Explorist

The built-in fitness tracker helps you stay mindful of activity levels. The watch also has an estimated 24-hour battery life, making it easy to charge the gadget while you sleep. This device works with Bluetooth technology to seamlessly send you notifications. Once one arrives, you’ll feel a light buzzing sensation. You can even use the smartwatch to control music that’s streaming from your iPhone, whether iTunes, Spotify or another service is your preferred platform.

https://www.fossil.com/us/en/products/gen-3-smartwatch-q-explorist-stainless-steel-sku-ftw4000p.html

Motorola: The Motorola Moto 360

One of the handiest features of the Motorola Moto 360 smartwatch is how it responds to voice commands, allowing you to take care of tasks like setting reminders and sending texts hands-free. There’s also a battery-saving ambient mode that shows fewer graphics on the screen, while still allowing you to access information in seconds.

https://www.motorola.com.au/products/moto-360

MyKronoz: The MyKronoz ZeRound 2

The built-in microphone and speaker let you answer or turn down incoming calls by speaking. This gadget also syncs with Siri, making it possible to modify settings on your iPhone via the ZeRound2. In addition to an activity tracker, this smartwatch has a sleep tracker. If you’ve been curious about why you wake up feeling refreshed on some days of the week and feel lethargic in other cases, the data it collects while you slumber might provide much-needed clues.

https://www.mykronoz.com/us/en/zeround2.html

LG: The LG Watch Sport

This watch also has a NumberSync that connects to Wi-Fi networks using your primary mobile number. Browse the Internet, send texts and make calls quickly using Google-powered voice recognition technology.

If you spend a significant amount of time outdoors in bright sunlight and are concerned about having to squint and shade the watch face to read the display, the designers had that common scenario in mind while making the LG Watch Sport. This device features a high-tech P-OLED display. It’s easy to read no matter if you’re indoors or outdoors.

http://www.lg.com/us/smart-watches/lg-W280A-sport

1 week ago June 16, 2018Timothy Myres

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