Ever since fitness trackers and smartwatches equipped with heart rate monitors started entering the market, experts have questioned the accuracy of optical heart rate sensors when taking readings on different skin tones. Various studies on the matter that followed didn’t find a solution and the phenomenon hasn’t received much media attention, even as the market for smartwatches and fitness trackers has grown exponentially in recent years.

Read more: Wrist-Based Heart Rate Monitors vs Chest Straps Compared

How Does the Heart Rate Sensor Work?

The most common wearable heart-rate sensors use an optical technique called photoplethysmography (PPG). In this technique, a very bright light penetrates your skin and tissue to measure blood flow. The blood running through your arteries absorbs light better than the surrounding body tissues. As the arteries contract and swell in response to pulsating blood pressure, the intensity of the reflected light rises and falls. The information is then reflected back and interpreted to provide your heart rate, reports DigitalTrends.

Consumer Complaints

Many users have complained online that their devices can’t get a reading on darker skin. But the wearable makers do not disclose the fact that their devices could be less accurate for some consumers.

How Skin Tone Affects the Sensor

Skin color is determined by the concentration of the skin pigment, called melanin. Greenlight has been shown to be passing through lighter skin tone better than darker skin. In PPG sensors, this means less light reaches the blood vessels of people with darker skin and so the signal it receives is weaker and more prone to error.

"Previous research demonstrated that inaccurate PPG heart rate measurements occur up to 15 percent more frequently in dark skin as compared to light skin," says Jessilyn Dunn, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University. "That's because darker skin has a higher melanin content, and melanin absorbs the wavelength of light that PPG uses."

Read more: Google Pixel Phones Will Soon Track Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate Using Your Phone’s Camera

Possible Solution

It’s not clear if changing the color of the light would solve this problem. For example, red light passes equally through all skin colors. But it provides poor performance compared to green light.

It is a complex problem for a heart rate sensor to provide accurate results all the time. Aside from skin tone, accurate heart rate measurement requires the sensor to come into contact with the skin properly. As companies are taking this issue seriously, the industry may adopt new methods to help us pick the best sensors for our individual skin tones.

Over the past few weeks and months, some rumors have been accumulating around Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4. When exactly the new wearable should come onto the market, however, was still up in the air. Now finally the release period seems to be within reach. The smartwatch should appear in spring 2021.

We have some idea of what to expect based on leaks and our understanding of the next Galaxy Watch.

Read more: Apple Beats Samsung and Fitbit As North American Wearables Shipments Grow 10% Amid Pandemic

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Release Date

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 was announced on August 21 of 2020. The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 was announced on August 5 of 2019, and the original Samsung Galaxy Watch was unveiled on August 9 of 2018. Based on that, it’s predicted that The Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 4 should be available around the same time this year.

This apparent confirmation comes from the industry insider, who had already published a whole range of forecasts in the past that later turned out to be correct. He doesn't share any further information but previously said Samsung will be releasing a new smartwatch with Wear OS instead of Tizen. If that's true, it could be a big boost to Google's wearable platform, which hasn't exactly thrived in the past few months.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Features

There are also other rumors about Samsung's next smartwatch, including that it might be equipped with a blood glucose meter. According to a previous report, the wearable could use an optical sensor capable of monitoring a person's blood sugar without drawing blood, which is often the way a person's blood sugar is tracked.

Read more: Apple AirPods Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds Live: Which earbuds are Better?

Price

As for the price of Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, there aren’t any rumors there yet, but it might well be similar to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, which starts at $399/£399/AU$649 for the smaller 41mm model, and $429/£419/AU$699 for the larger 45mm one, with the price rising in both cases if you want LTE connectivity.

Wearable Devices Ltd., a sensing technology start-up, based in Israel, has created an innovative wristband named Mudra, which can manage smart-watch functions by simple finger movements.

Mudra transforms interaction and control of digital devices to be as natural and intuitive as real-life experiences. Mudra lets you create amazing, delightful, and intuitive user experiences which will become the standard of wearable Human-Computer Interaction, reports Marc Hagen in Closing the Gap.

The human wrist plays a crucial part in sensing the human body. Nerve bundles and arteries pass directly beneath the skin thus it is possible to sense the electrical conductance of the nerves and other bodily functions and collect valuable data.

Read more Tactigon One Wearable Gesture & Motion Controller with Artificial Intelligence

In the Sanskrit language, the word Mudra refers to gesture. The hand/finger gestures or mudras have been used in Indian classical dances for indicating various ideas, events, and actions.

Mudra utilizes recent breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence in order to comprehend streams of incoming data from each user’s unique physiology in very high sampling rates. With the use of Deep Learning algorithms and Convolutional Neural Networks, we translate digital signals and classify them as gestures.

The Mudra device uses patented SNC (Surface Nerve Conductance) sensors which convert ionic electrical activity from the surface of the skin to electric voltage by a process of ionic exchange.

Such data is utilized to analyze the motoric actions performed by hand and finger movements. Even subtle actions, such as slight finger movement or pressure between two fingers, are registered on the SNC sensors.

There are 2 Mudra products: Mudra Inspire and Mudra Band.

The Mudra Band is basically a gesture control strap for Apple Watch. It’s compatible with Apple Watch 3 and above. It can manage Apple Watch functions by simple finger movements. Available in various band sizes, the Mudra is as tech-savvy as an Apple watch band can get.

The Mudra Band connects to the Apple Watch via Bluetooth and relates every hand gesture to a unique control function on the Apple Watch. For instance, you could skip tracks by simply curling your index finger or rotate a dial by pressing your index finger against the thumb.

Read more: MIT’s New ‘Liquid’ Neural Network Learns From Experience So Robots Can Adapt to Changes

With Mudra band, you can:

• Control your watch using only the hand that wears it, even when you have gloves on or when your hands are wet
• Accomplish your tasks without using your nose to take or dismiss important watch events
• Switch tracks, skip around, adjust volume while exercising without interruption

As wearables like smartwatches and smart glasses continue to grow, scientists all over the world are working hard to create the holy grail of wearables. Now, researchers at the Chinese Fudan University in Shanghai now seem to have made another breakthrough by developing items of clothing that can be used directly as screens. The researchers presented a piece of fabric around six meters long and twenty-five centimeters wide, which was provided with 500,000 light elements. In this way, information could be displayed directly on the textile. Even after crumpling, pulling, stretching 1,000 times and washing 100 times, the fabric was still shining.

Read more: Smart Clothes to Contribute Over $11 Bn to Fitness Wearable Revenue by 2025, Says Juniper Research

The project, led by Professor Peng Huisheng, required ten years of trial-and-error testing. In the end, the team managed to successfully develop transparent conductive weft fibers and luminescent warp fibers. When woven together, the two components form minuscule points of light similar to those on a digital display screen. Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The researchers used copper and manganese in order to be able to differentiate between colors.

“Integrating displays into textiles offers exciting opportunities for smart electronic textiles — the ultimate goal of wearable technology, poised to change the way in which we interact with electronic devices,” the team wrote in the paper.

The possibilities are mind-boggling. It means that display screens could soon be ‘worn’ by the user. For example, bikers or polar explorers who can’t easily access a cell phone can ‘wear’ a navigation map and click on their clothes to display real-time location information.

Additionally, people with language barriers can use the dynamic sleeve display to communicate with others. It can also be implemented in the health care industry by collecting index data including brain waves.

Read more: Apple’s Patent Suggests Health Tracking via Smart Clothes

In the future, it should also be possible to convert sunlight into energy with the substance, to integrate a keyboard, and to connect the whole thing to the smartphone via Bluetooth. A type of self-sustaining portable computer.

Digital biomarker and medical device company Empatica secured the CE mark for its Aura system, a wearable solution for the monitoring and early alert of respiratory infections, including COVID-19. For use with people 14 and older, Aura is commercially available in Europe and the U.K., and for pilot purposes in the U.S. – pending FDA authorization.

Read more: Empatica And BARDA Team Up To Validate Wearable Early Warning System For COVID-19

Aura's algorithm analyzes vital signs from Empatica's smartwatches, comparing data against historical baselines unique to each wearer. Requiring no manual input, when changes in a user's data suggest their body is beginning to fight an infection, Aura automatically displays a warning to Empatica's smartphone-based Care App, as well as to the cloud-based Care Portal, optionally informing their healthcare provider or caregivers. Through the Care Portal, healthcare professionals can simultaneously monitor the risk status of hundreds of individuals remotely, making Aura a powerful tool for maintaining healthy communities and preventing outbreaks.

In validation studies, Aura showed a sensitivity of 0.94 for detecting patients with a possible infection. Detection happened on average two days after viral inoculation. The results apply to general physiological responses that arose from three different viruses: H1N1, Rhinovirus, and SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 already has resulted in millions of deaths globally, while other respiratory infections caused by influenza-like pathogens kill between 250k and 500k people and cost up to $167 billion annually.

Empatica CEO, Matteo Lai stated: "Our goal with Aura was to create an effective, scalable, and affordable tool for screening infection risk and supporting testing efficiency, all while monitoring people's health remotely. This result is a win for science and technology against the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope Aura can play an important role in controlling new outbreaks and helping people safely get back to work and to a normal life."

Aura, for use in ages 14 and up, is now available across Europe and the UK for healthcare providers and other professionals seeking to contain the spread of infectious diseases within their communities. Contact care@empatica.com to learn more.

Empatica, in the process of gaining FDA-approval for Aura, has partnered with the US Department of Health and Human Services (via the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) and Stanford University to run a nationwide validation study with US-based healthcare workers.

Read more: Empatica’s Embrace Plus Smartwatch Will Monitor Health of Astronauts Aboard Mars Mission

Empatica, an MIT-spinoff based in Boston, MA, and Milan, Italy, is a pioneer in digital biomarker development and continuous patient monitoring driven by AI. Empatica's smartwatches are FDA cleared and CE-marked and have been sold to thousands of institutional partners for clinical trials and research, in studies examining depression, addiction, stress, oncology, epilepsy, migraine, and numerous other conditions.

Chinese tech company Oppo has launched its Oppo Band globally on March 8. Previously, the band could only be found in China. The Oppo Band may become a strong competitor against Xiaomi’s Mi Band series.

Read more: Xiaomi Announces Mi Band 5 With A Larger Screen, Improved Fitness Tracking, And $32 Price Tag

The wearable has also been renamed. The Oppo Band is now the ‘Oppo Band Style’ for the international market. The company is yet to confirm how many countries in which it will sell the device initially, but India will be one of the first.

There are two variants of the Oppo Band Style: One variant will use a simple silicone bracelet, the second should clamp a metal counterpart. The Oppo Band Style still offers 12 workout modes, a heart rate monitor, SpO2 monitoring, a sleep tracker, and more. In China, the bracelet also has NFC, but it is questionable whether this will be retained for the international market. The fitness tracker is also water-resistant up to 5ATM. Other features of the bracelet are alerts, weather information, remotely control music playback on a smartphone, and so on.

The average battery life of the wearable is specified as 12 days. The device should be fully recharged in an hour and a half. In China, the Oppo Band Style, only known there as the Oppo Band, costs the equivalent of around 27 euros.

In the international market, for the first buyers, the gadget is available at $ 38, and then the cost rises to $ 41.

Read more: How Zepp Is Transforming the Future of Digital Health Management

Specifications:

• 1-inch (126 x 294 pixels) AMOLED 24bit color touch screen 2.5D display with 100% P3 color gamut, 2.5D scratch-resistant glass
• Silent alarm, Weather, Music control, instant location lock from the phone
• 12 sports modes (Outdoor run, Outdoor cycling, Outdoor walking, Indoor Cycling, Indoor running, Fat loss running, Free training, Badminton, Swimming, Rowing machine, Elliptical machine, and weight training)
• Rewards for activities such as steps count, minutes, and more
• Heart rate sensor, Sp02 sensor for blood oxygen monitoring
• Tri-axis Accelerometer
• 3g (without band)
• 5ATM (50 meters) water-resistant
• Bluetooth 5.0 LE to connect to Android and iOS devices
• 100mAh battery with up to 12 days of usage

Biogen, a medtech company based in Massachusetts, is partnering with Apple in a research study to investigate the role Apple Watch and iPhone could play in monitoring cognitive performance and screening for the decline in cognitive health including mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Read more: Apple Joins Eli Lilly to Study How iPhone and Apple Watch Can Detect Signs of Dementia

The multi-year, observational research study will be launched later in 2021 and will enroll participants including young and aging adults with a range of cognitive performance. Driven by the powerful technology in Apple Watch and iPhone and Biogen’s in-depth knowledge of neuroscience, the study’s primary objectives are to develop digital biomarkers to help monitor cognitive performance over time and identify early signs of MCI.

For aging adults, cognitive health is becoming increasingly recognized as an important component of overall health. However, significant delays exist in identifying declines in cognitive health including MCI, which impacts approximately 15 – 20 percent of adults over the age of 65. The onset of symptoms is often subtle, ranging from being easily distracted to memory loss, and can take months to years before cognitive decline comes to the attention of health care providers, according to Biogen.

The virtual study allows adult users across the aging lifespan to join. The study has been designed with customer privacy, control, and transparency in mind as well as data security.

“Ensuring data privacy and security is paramount to both Biogen and Apple,” Maha Radhakrishnan, Chief Medical Officer at Biogen, told Conn Hastings in Medgadget. “The study has been designed with customer privacy, control, and transparency in mind as well as data security. Prior to completing any study assessments, participants will complete a detailed consent form listing the collected data types and how they may be used and shared. Study participants can withdraw from the study at any time, which will end any future data collection. Data will be stored in an encrypted manner and in systems with strong security controls designed to protect the data,” she said.

“Cognitive decline can be an early symptom of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia. The successful development of digital biomarkers in brain health would help address the significant need to accelerate patient diagnoses and empower physicians and individuals to take timely action,” said Michel Vounatsos, CEO at Biogen. “For healthcare systems, such advancements in cognitive biomarkers from large-scale studies could contribute significantly to prevention and better population-based health outcomes, and lower costs to health systems. Bringing together the best of neuroscience with the best of technology creates a wonderful prospect for patients and public health.”

Read more: PainChek Study Finds 50% Of People Living With Dementia Unable To Verbalize Their Pain

“Working in collaboration with Biogen, we hope this study can help the medical community better understand a person's cognitive performance by simply having them engage with their Apple Watch and iPhone,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “We’re looking forward to learning about the impact our technology can have in delivering better health outcomes through improved detection of declining cognitive health.”

Zepp, which entered the North American fitness market in 2010, became the go-to brand for athletes looking to improve their performance. Now in 2020, Zepp is changing its marketing strategy. The Silicon Valley company has already commenced an exciting new chapter, with personalized health management as its mission. Powered by its belief in the role human-centered technology can play in self-improvement, Zepp is leveraging the potential of the Internet of Things, AI technologies, devices, and apps that help people manage their health and wellbeing.

Read more: Fitbit CEO Reveals He’s Planning to Transform Fitbit To A Digital Healthcare Company

In light of the pandemic, Zepp has become more active in innovating rapidly and get closer to the communities it serves through artificial intelligence, a Zepp spokesperson explained.

Zepp is supported by smart technology, that relies on precise data analysis and strict algorithms. While sister-brand Amazfit will remain focused on wearables, Zepp is becoming a health management brand with a broader vision to care for more aspects of health and wellbeing using cutting-edge technology and new platforms.

Smart health partner

Zepp is building a high-end health management brand that is actively involved in research and also offers consumers outstanding industrial design, advanced processing and craftsmanship that will take smartwatches and personal health management to a new level. Zepp will use its advanced health and medical technology to redefine the significance of smart wearable devices. Ultimately, Zepp aims to transform wearables from being seen as "accessories" to becoming reliable health partners, helping a growing number of people to manage and take control of their personal wellbeing.

Zepp global sleep study

In October, in consultation with global sleep health authority World Sleep Society, Zepp commissioned an independent poll of 12,000 respondents across 6 countries to understand the concerns, perceptions and attitudes around sleep quality in these unprecedented times.

Zepp Lullaby Generator

Recognizing music’s role in helping people fall asleep, Zepp has worked with Swedish creative masterminds to launch a digital Lullaby Generator.

The free-to-use Lullaby Generator will help users create tailor-made music based on their very own sleep patterns for an enhanced night’s rest. Existing Zepp users can login to share their sleep metrics and automatically produce a unique and personalized lullaby. Non-Zepp users can also participate by answering a series of questions about their sleep habits.

Zepp invests in research, technology, and global collaboration

The extraordinary user experience and powerful and precise health management service that Zepp provides comes from its advanced technology, support from respected experts, dedicated professionals, and expanding partnerships with world-class organizations.

Through rigorous research and experimentation, the team has made remarkable progress in tracking and analyzing various types of biological data. In June, the team announced the official launch of the advanced self-owned PPG bio-tracking optical sensor, BioTracker 2 (which currently supports five biological data engines), ExerSense, RealBeats 2, PAI Health Assessment System, OxygenBeats, and SomnusCare. Meanwhile, the Huangshan-2 AI chip, featuring even higher computing efficiency and lower power consumption, made its debut only 450 days after the launch of the first generation. These will guarantee Zepp's relentless pursuit of all aspects of new technologies, devices, apps, and services.

Read more: Partnership Is Key To New Growth Opportunities Of Consumer Wearables In Healthcare Industry

By partnering with organizations and institutions around the world, Zepp has been involved with far-reaching research that could help people stay healthy and perform better.

MākuSafe recently released two updates that will have a significant impact for industrial organizations who need effective contact tracing and for those seeking industry 4.0 automation capabilities. MākuSafe is the leading connected worker technology; combining a safety focus with the ability to digitally connect workers to smart machines, smart buildings and other factory automation technology.

Read more: PepsiCo’s Use of Kinetic Reflex Wearable Bolstering Worker Safety

The first of these enhancements is built around MākuSafe's RāngeView technology, which allows a wearable device on the arm of a worker to detect proximity to other wearables, as well as other IIoT devices. This enables accurate contact tracing, and also opens up a range of possibilities for integrating the connected worker with a smart factory. MākuSafe wearables are now speaking to IoT-enabled equipment, providing a significant opportunity for improved productivity. The company is now beginning to help clients control access to restricted spaces or machinery based on who's the wearable device is present, according to a press release.

MākuSafe's cloud-based platform is at the heart of its newest innovation. MākuSmart not only ingests data from their innovative workforce wearable technology, but it also functions as a robust business platform that integrates with customer automation solutions. This provides a new level of integration and context between the connected worker and factory software.

"Connected workers are the future of every worksite across the planet. Just like safety glasses, hearing protection and hard hats, workforce wearables are the next evolution. Increased safety and improved productivity are the driving forces behind Industry 4.0 and connected worker technologies like MākuSafe," said Gabriel Glynn CEO, MākuSafe.

New Reporting Functionality with Contact Tracing

The MākuSmart software platform provides immediately actionable high-priority notifications in an easy-to-understand layout to aid safety leaders. Now, a full reporting module has been added so clients can extract and study meaningful data by creating their own custom reports, or by using a suite of pre-designed report templates.

One of these available templates allows for on-demand contact tracing for any specified timeframe. If a worker has been exposed or diagnosed with COVID-19, their employer can provide notifications to those whom they have been within six feet of immediately. For employers in states where legislation has been passed like California's AB 685, which requires companies to have contact tracing knowledge and provide notifications to exposed workers, this enhancement eases that burden now and can be adapted as regulations evolve.

Read more: How Contact Tracing Wearables Are Helping to Contain COVID-19

Subscription Model

MākuSafe offers its solution in an all-inclusive subscription model at $22 per wearable device per month. Firmware upgrades to its hardware, like their recent proximity upgrade, are easily pushed out to existing customers offering enhanced capabilities for no additional cost. The company provides continuous delivery of software upgrades to its MākuSmart platform as well, so new features and functionality are continually being released for maximum immediate value.

Is it the end of Tizen? Well, it looks like Samsung is working on a Wear OS watch, according to a consistently accurate Samsung leaker. Samsung’s Wear OS watch rumor was quickly followed by a report that Samsung had left a bit of code in their kernel source which acknowledges a product called “Merlot” that has something to do with Wear OS.

Read more Samsung to Include Blood Pressure Monitor on its Galaxy Watch Active2

The name alone doesn't reveal much. What is interesting, however, is that one of these links directly follows a Wear OS link. Observers, therefore, assume that "merlot" is a smartwatch that will run the Google operating system in the future. However, it is not yet possible to deduce more precise properties of the device, reports Computer Bild.

It also remains unclear whether this find actually indicates the end of Tizen. It is conceivable that Samsung only plans to offer an already available smartwatch model soon as a variant with Wear OS in order to create a greater variety of products. With a Samsung smartwatch with the Google operating system, users would have two advantages.

On one hand, there would be a larger number of third-party apps and, on the other, smartphones and smartwatches could work more seamlessly with one another. In the past, however, Google has shown little interest in the further development of Wear OS. Voice activation using the words "Okay, Google" has been causing problems for months. In addition, users miss an app for YouTube Music after removing Google Play Music. However, the group has already taken care of the corresponding application for the Apple Watch.

Read more: Google Is Working On A New Generation Of Wearables, Including Holographic Glasses And Smart Tattoos

This is noteworthy because Samsung hasn’t touched Wear OS since 2014’s Gear Live and has instead only released watches running their own Tizen operating system. As one of the bigger players in the smartwatch game, it would be a huge move for Samsung to switch platforms.

TTS or Text-to-speech is playing an important role in everyday interactions between brands and end-users. This technology isn’t new in itself and until recently, it was reserved for a very specific situation: converting written text into computer language for people with visual impairments or reading difficulties. But now TTS is being used by some brands. They are at the forefront of a new standard of experience that gives them advantages over the competition and anchors them more firmly in the minds of consumers. According to MarketsAndMarkets, the text-to-speech market was valued at USD 2.0 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach USD 5.0 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 14.6% during the forecast period.

Read more: Scientists Develop Wearable Vibration Sensor That Precisely Recognizes Your Voice

Stand out from the crowd

Digital experiences are used to court customers' attention. To be successful here, retailers are relying on the voice economy. This enables completely new experiences with which a larger group of customers can be reached.

Hearables and wearables

Hearables and wearables make it possible for people to interact with brands via AI-based headphones, wristwatches, and glasses. By using conversational AI in conjunction with the behavioral data captured by such devices, retailers create interactive voice ads that reach customers anytime, anywhere, in real-time in response to their activity. Interactive voice ads can capture spoken questions from users and respond appropriately with product information or in the form of product photos on the user's smartphone or smartwatch, before the purchase is then made, also by voice. In this way, brands interact with consumers both before, after, and during the sale, reports WUV.

Individual TTS voices

Individual TTS voices are key when it comes to expressing brand identity and driving change. The internet bookstore bol.com, a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize and one of the top 15 retail chains worldwide, recently presented its own branded voice experience for the Google Assistant. The well-known core values ​​of bol.com are conveyed directly to consumers with the help of AI, TTS, and in a personalized way when they interact with the assistant via a Google device.

Speech dialog systems and TTS with emotions round off the sales process

Voice dialog systems (Interactive Voice Response/IVR) are a well-known application example for TTS technology. In fact, TTS has shaped the call center experience for decades: Consumers call a service number and interact with companies based on prepackaged and pre-recorded responses. However, with recent advances in conversational AI and TTS technology, call centers are now giving companies the ability to manage incoming calls more efficiently and better serve customer needs.

Call center voices with emotions

A large number of calls are handled in call centers. Call trees make the work of employees a little easier, but it is not uncommon for the customer experience to suffer. The reactions to natural and personalized language contacts are better. Now the employees are trained to answer queries in an empathic tone, but if an excited or frustrated caller is on the line, it is not that easy. So that worries can be eliminated as effectively and quickly as possible and without additional stress for employees, conversational AI and TTS voices with emotions are being used more and more frequently instead of more employees and more intensive training. Speech dialog systems can analyze the characteristics in the caller's voice and thus recognize whether they are happy, angry, or stressed. AI-based voice assistants can recognize these differences and react with the TTS voice that best suits the situation.

Read more: ReSound Launches LiNX Quattro, the First AI Voice Control Smart Hearing Aid

Digital voices on a new level

Digital language technology is becoming more and more popular, getting better and better and ensuring that the sales process is modernized. At the same time, it creates innovation opportunities for customer experiences and a greater reach. The world is becoming more and more mobile, less dependent on screens, and more demand-oriented. Personalized language experiences with individual TTS bring brands into contact with potential customers in a more binding and targeted manner. If they have not already done so, brands should therefore put their best minds on the language technology, which can then work out plans for a contemporary and convincing conversion.

Shimmer Research, a global leader in wearable technology for research applications, launched Verisense Pulse+, a new sensor for the Verisense platform. Verisense Pulse+ provides photoplethysmogram (PPG), galvanic skin response (GSR), and an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The Verisense platform can now measure clinical trial participants’ heart rate, oxygen saturation, and emotional responses in addition to their activity and sleep levels.

Read more: Shimmer’s ECGmd Holter Monitor Electrocardiograph Receives CE Certification

The PPG sensor monitors heart rate by using light absorption to measure changes in participant capillary blood volume. Whereas the GSR sensor measures changes in sweat gland activity, which can be used to assess the participant’s level of psychological and emotional arousal, stress, and other emotional responses. GSR is used for psychology clinical research and biofeedback, and it is starting to be employed in more clinical applications, including epilepsy, reports Shimmer.

“We are excited to introduce Verisense Pulse+ to the clinical trial market and integrate these new sensor capabilities into our platform,” said Geoffrey Gill, President of Shimmer Americas. “Worn on the wrist, Pulse+ has all the attributes that researchers look for in the Verisense platform. It is versatile and reliable (provides 24x7 continuous raw data) with water-resistant, flexible styling. Verisense Pulse+ provides access to high-quality raw data while placing the minimum burden on sponsors, clinical trial sites, and participants. It’s also easy to use because all the sensors are employed on the same architecture.”

“After an extensive evaluation of all the on-market wearable sensor products, we determined that Verisense Pulse+ was the only one that could give us the raw data that we needed to study depression relapse thoroughly so we could create a tool to manage it effectively. We decided to become a Pulse+ beta tester and found the Shimmer team to be very collaborative and resourceful partners,” said Dr. Dilpreet Buxi, CTO and co-founder of Philia Labs.

Verisense is a highly flexible, modular patent-pending platform designed from the ground up to meet the needs of clinical trials and remote patient research.

Read more: Verisense™ Wearable Sensor Platform for Clinical Trials – Interview with Geoff Gill, president of Shimmer Americas

Shimmer Research was founded based on Intel technology in 2006. It is a well-established wearable technologies services and sensor manufacturing company based in Dublin, Ireland. In addition to standard products, Shimmer provides customized sensor development services, volume manufacturing, and complete wearable sensor solutions of any complexity. Shimmer’s technology and services have been employed by thousands of researchers at more than 900 leading companies, universities, and research institutes in more than 75 countries.

India-based wearable maker Fastrack announced three new products under Fastrack Reflex portfolio - Fastrack Reflex 3.0, Fastrack Reflex 2C Pay, and Fastrack Reflex Tunes which marks the brand’s entry into the Hearables segment. The products will be available in 165 plus Fastrack stores and on Fastrack.in.

Read more: This Wearables Brand Is Taking the Market by Storm With Its Cool, Affordable Smartwatches

Since its inception in 2017, Fastrack Reflex wearables have seen 2 million young Indians flaunting their Reflex bands. According to IDC, Fastrack was ranked No. 2 in the smart wearable category between the years 2017 to 2019.

Fastrack Reflex 3.0

The Fastrack Reflex 3.0, priced at $35 (Indian ₹2,495), is a dual-tone (pink and green) smart band that comes with more than 10 sports modes and offers 20 watch faces that can be matched with interchanging straps. The tracker boasts a full-touch color display. Reflex 3.0 is water-resistant and is equipped with a heart rate monitor along with features like phone finder, sleep tracker, idle alert and vibration alarm, etc., reports Business Standard. It has music and camera control and comes with a 10-day battery life promise. It also features over 10 sports modes including running, hiking, walking, yoga, and cycling. The accompanying app, the Fastrack Reflex World, provides the user with a fitness activity report and in the future will give access to health and diet tips, new workout suggestions, etc.

Fastrack Reflex Tunes

Fastrack has entered the hearables market with the launch of Fastrack Reflex Tunes, which offers a range of products from over the head, behind the neck, and the popular truly wireless. The hearables are designed with an understanding of the audience and are packed with great sound quality and extended battery life. Fastrack Reflex Tunes are compatible with Android and iOS, has Bluetooth v5.0 and have varying playtime range from 6 to 26 hours.

Read more: Wearables shipments in India Jump 165%; Earwear and Watches Lead to a Record Quarter for Wearables

Fastrack Reflex 2C Pay

Aiming to make a footprint in the contactless payment space, Fastrack has also introduced Fastrack Reflex 2C Pay in collaboration with YONO SBI. Users will be able to make contactless payments using their fitness bands. The Reflex 2C Pay will also have smart band features like a sleep and activity tracker, music control, seven-day power reserve and phone finder.

As the industries demand more efficient and safer workforce, the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) has become more ubiquitous. From wearable clips to smart scanners, the use of wearable device is now a common thing among workers. Field service workers working in dangerous conditions are benefitting from the use of Augmented reality (AR) headsets, which allow them to view instruction manuals, use voice commands to perform tasks hands-free, and receive expert help remotely.

Read more: Kinetic Raises $11.25M In Series A Funding to Help it Grow And Increase Sales

PepsiCo is one of the companies using wearable devices at a pretty good scale. The company is benefitting by outfitting its workers with wearable technology provider Kinetic’s REFLEX devices.

REFLEX is a smart wearable that aims to reduce workplace injuries for industrial workers. The wearable device attaches to a worker’s belt and monitors activities that put them at risk of injury, such as unsafe postures, jumping off vehicles, or slips and falls.

Besides helping the workers avert injury, the Reflex device is saving PepsiCo money by reducing worker compensation costs related to repetitive strain and other workplace-related impairments. According to Kinetic, claim costs can be reduced by up to 54% by using the Reflex device, reports David Miller in Automation World.

“Workers at companies like PepsiCo do a lot of lifting, a lot of manual handling, high-risk postures like twisting and turning. We’ve always done all of the traditional ergonomics work and trying to do as much as we possibly can. But there was always something missing; there was always that kind of behavioral element that we never really tapped right into to create a sense of ownership in the mind of the individual employee,” said Cormac Gilligan, VP of Global Environment, Health & Safety, PepsiCo.

To reduce injury during lifting, the device detects unsafe postures and alerts the worker with a real-time vibration. Workers can gamify the process by competing with their colleagues to stay under a certain goal of unsafe motions per day. Managers can then view insights and analytics on the company’s dashboard.

Read more: KINETIC-JLG Partnership To Deploy COVID-19 Safety Wearables For Industrial Workers

“Integrating wearable technology with your workforce is going to be a fundamental part of future automation. What this technology gives you is predictive indicators in a way that’s step-change beyond what the traditional model of the safety industry we’ve spoken about,” Mr. Gilligan said.

“The employees are having conversations with us that are helping us to understand why, at a particular time or in a particular place, they have to adopt a high-risk posture, which helps us to redesign the work area or process. We were telling them what to do, and now they’re telling us what to do - that’s extremely powerful.”

Golf fans who have been curious what the golfer's heart rate is during a game may be able to find out. A multi-year partnership between the human performance company WHOOP and the PGA TOUR will implement a WHOOP Live for Charity initiative to highlight player biometric data and heart rate during defining moments throughout the season with those real-time metrics integrated into video content. Featured players will receive a $10,000 contribution to the charity of their choice on behalf of WHOOP and the TOUR.

Read more: Tag Heuer Releases Colorful Golf Edition Smartwatch Along with a Golf App

“We are excited to grow our partnership with WHOOP and utilize their health technology to optimize the way our athletes train, recover and sleep,” said Brian Oliver, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. “Our athletes understand the importance of maintaining their health to ensure peak competitive performance, career longevity, and overall well-being. The WHOOP Strap will help our athletes unlock actionable insights via physiological data to help them understand and prepare their bodies for competition. We’re eager to begin a first-of-its-kind activation at the TOUR that will incorporate player biometric data with defining moments from the golf course to create fascinating content for fans.”

The PGA Tour will use Whoop fitness straps to show the heart rates and other biometric data of players “during defining moments throughout the season,” it announced. The new project could provide interesting data for golf fans by showing which players control their physiology best under pressure, reports PGA TOUR.

The latest Whoop Strap 3.0 uses your heart rate to measure your sleep quality, workout intensity, and recovery while providing advice on how to improve in those areas.

Read more: Garmin’s Approach S40 is a Stylish Smartwatch that’s Especially Designed for Golfers

The Tour had already distributed around 1,000 of the devices to players on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and PGA TOUR Champions circuits. On top of helping players monitor their fitness, data from the strap may have indirectly identified the first case of COVID-19 on tour with player Nick Watney. “They've done studies where, if your respiratory rate goes up during the night... that's sort of a telltale sign that you might have something,” said major champ Rory McIlroy back in June. “It was actually his Whoop that told [Watney] his respiratory rate went up, and that's why he thought maybe he could have it.”

The world of wearable technology is moving rapidly. The most embellishing form of the wearable device is jewelry. These smart jewelry come in the form of necklaces, bracelets, watches, and rings. They can track your heart rate, sleep, stress, and give you advice on how to stay healthy. From necklaces that track your sleep, to bracelets that make contactless payment – here are our favorites.

Read more: Motiv Ring: A Stylish Fitness Tracker with New Security Updates

Senstone

Senstone is a wearable voice recorder – a new way to create notes — five times faster and much more convenient than any smartphone app. With Senstone you no longer have to pull out your phone to take notes on the go. Just capture the things in your daily life that you don’t want to miss. It automatically converts your voice notes into text and organizes them for easy access.

Senstone is a notepad about the size of a bottle cap. Tap on the Senstone to start recording and speak. Tap again and it stops. All audio and text notes are synced into the Cloud seamlessly. This is a standalone device and doesn’t need a smartphone to work. It records for up to two and a half hours when offline. Then it automatically syncs your notes in the cloud when you are back in range.

Oura Ring

Finnish health tech company Oura Health is the maker of Oura ring, a wearable device in the form of a ring that guides its wearers towards better sleep, recovery, and readiness by analyzing the body’s sleep, daily rhythms, activity levels, and physiological responses.

With daily feedback to improve your health, Oura helps you better understand your body and reach your goals. You’ll be guided through an intelligent, data-driven plan to help you improve across the most important aspects of your well-being. The sleep tracker automatically collects the wearer’s data and synchronizes it to the Oura app to a smartphone running Android or iOS. Just wear the ring around your finger, and it’ll measure your physiological signals, with no switches or flashing lights.

The Oura ring registers your body temperature reading every minute while you sleep. Temperature data collected by Oura ring detected the onset of fevers, a leading symptom of both COVID-19 and the flu, according to a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego, UC San Francisco, and MIT Lincoln Lab.

Amazfit Equator

This exquisite and elegant fitness tracker is made by the famous Chinese brand Xiaomi. It has a simple rigorous design and a removable exchangeable strap. Due to its unique and elegant form, AmazFit can be worn as a pendant, which makes it suitable for all occasions: training, work, parties.

With the AmazFit bracelet you have the opportunity to daily measure the distance covered, to control the number of calories burned during sports activities, to set the frequency of your sleep phases, and to set alarm clocks. AmazFit will help you to get the rhythm of your life under control! The main components of the bracelet Xiaomi AmazFit are a motion sensor and a Bluetooth 4.0 chip. The bracelet is powered by a 15mAch battery and the ultra-low power consumption level ensures the continuous work of AmazFit for 10 days without recharging!

Bellabeat

Zagreb, Croatia-based Bellabeat makes a wellness wearable called Leaf Chakra, which features the added power of healing crystals. Leaf Chakra, the most unique Bellabeat wellness tracker, was created to highlight the importance of personal wellness and to help reaffirm the user’s connection with the Earth and his or her chakra energy through the healing powers of gemstones and crystals.

Leaf Chakra is available in Love and Power varieties and features patented technology that tracks your activity, sleep, and menstrual cycle, and combines this into a single metric that lets you know how stressed you are. You can then choose from about 20 different guided meditations and breathing techniques designed to help you relax.

Tovi Sorga Contactless Bracelet

Tovi Sorga’s fashionable bracelets allow contactless payments. Free to use and easy to manage via the Pingit app on both iOS and Android, for UK residents over 16 with any UK current account. The bracelet never needs charging or batteries and eliminates rummaging for your wallet. The stylish device can be used for payments for a minimum of 2 years.

The bracelets are made of genuine leather with a gold-plated surgical stainless steel magnetic clasp. The position of the payment chip indicated on the outside of the bracelet with a printed heart symbol.

If you have more than one Tovi Sorga wearable, you can easily organize your funds between different devices with Pingit jars.

Read more: These Smartglasses Aren’t Just Smart They’re Also Very Fashionable

The Pingit contactless payment chip is water-resistant and Tovi Sorga luxury leather bracelets are splash and rainproof. But you should not use solvents or solvent-based products. Tovi Sorga comes with a complimentary 1-year warranty. Tovi Sorga bracelets are designed for both men and women and they also come as key rings.

Wearable smart patches offer a wide range of possibilities in medical diagnosis and are becoming increasingly popular. These are already widely used for medical diagnosis, for example, to measure a patient’s blood sugar levels, body temperature, or heart rate. The observation of disease patterns such as skin cancer or chronic wounds is also possible.

Read more: This Wearable Uses Covestro Polycarbonate Blend to Help You Bounce Back from Stress and Get Better Sleep

Covestro, in collaboration with its partner accensors, has developed a concept for reusable wearable smart patches. The smart patches consist of a non-reusable element that is applied directly to the skin, and a durable element in which the electronics are integrated. The miniaturized solution contributes to resource conservation and sustainability. Covestro made this progress possible with Baymedix raw materials for adhesives and foams, as well as Platilon thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) films. accensors has developed the sensor system and electronic modules, Covestro said in a press release.

Smart patches should be as small, flexible, and unnoticeable as possible in order to offer patients a high level of comfort. The newly developed solution consists of two elements: a non-reusable element (the Disposable Patch) including sensors that is applied to the skin with an adhesive and used only once, and a reusable element, the ReUse Patch, which houses all the electronics, for example the measurement technology, power supply, data processing, radio transmission and if desired an optical camera.

High comfort, ease of use, efficient manufacturing

Thanks to Covestro materials and to integrated film sensors, the wearable patches are very lightweight, thin and flexible, and fit well to the surface of your body – you can hardly feel them. Polyurethane adhesives made from Baymedix raw materials are skin-friendly and offer low trauma when removed from the skin. Various sensors are integrated in the patch to determine vital signs, for example, pulse, pressure or temperature. Here, sensor integration is achieved by using special Platilon® films in combination with a thermoformable foam based on Baymedix. All these materials are breathable and can be efficiently processed with roll-to-roll technology.

Removing and inserting the ReUse Patch into the Disposable Patch is also very easy – thanks to an ideal combination of materials and function. accensors particularly developed a film sensor that forms the interface between the smart patch and the patient and can be equipped with varied sensors.

About accensors

Founded in 2015, accensors produces sensor systems in small, medium, and high-volume quantities. accensors operate internationally and count medical technology, pharmaceutics, and biotechnology as well as an industry among its customers. The company’s 25 employees enable the development of innovative products at the two locations Espelkamp and Munich.

Read more: Covestro Unveils Smart Bracelet that Regulates Body Temperature at CES 2019

About Covestro

With 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2019.

US wearables maker Fitbit has launched Ace 3, a fitness tracker specially designed for kids. The Fitbit Ace 3 comes with a touchscreen PMOLED display and offers up to eight days of battery life on a single charge. Kids can wear it while swimming, as it is water-resistant up to 50 meters. Apart from all-day activity tracking, the Ace 3 also offers reminders to move.

Read more: Fitbit Users Can Now Track Their Blood Sugar Levels with the App Update

The Ace 3 has a 20% brighter screen and includes do not disturb and sleep modes. The new animated clock faces change and grows as kids make progress toward their fitness goals. The clock faces are a bunny, a cat, a Martian, and spaceship designs. The screen size is 1.47 inches and has 240 x 240 pixels resolution.

Furthermore, the manufacturer does not have a heart rate monitor this year and offers children the well-known tracking of activities including Sports modes (e.g., running, hiking, cycling), pedometer, and sleep monitoring.

The weight of the tracker is 70 grams and the new model also enables the easy change of bracelets. Except for the note "waterproof", the datasheet does not contain any information on protection against moisture. But since its predecessor, Fitbit Ace 2, was able to survive in a water depth of up to 50 meters and was suitable for swimming, one can strongly assume that the Fitbit Ace 3 is also equipped with a similar or even better protection.

The Fitbit Ace 3 can be paired with Android smartphones and Apple iPhones (iOS) via Bluetooth. With the help of the Fitbit app, children get access to essential information about their daily routine, motivation to exercise more, and incentives, such as virtual badges and avatars. Parents, on the other hand, can use a family account to keep an eye on their child's activities, approve friend requests, and view statistics.

Read more: Fitbit to Equip NASA Employees with Wearables to Protect Them from COVID-19

Price and availability

The Fitbit Ace 3 is available in two colors – Black+Sport Red and Cosmic Blue+Astro Green. It is priced at $99.95. Later this summer it will have two Minions-themed accessory bands (in Blue and Black with yellow buckles) available separately for $29.95. Fitbit Ace 3 is available for preorders from the Fitbit online store.

Exclusive Networks has a struck an agreement to distribute RealWear’s wearable computing devices in India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

The deal now makes Exclusive Networks an official distributor for RealWear’s HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 voice-enabled headsets across South East Asia, Australia-New Zealand, and India. The state-of-the-art headsets improve communication amongst a distributed workforce, as well as safety compliance.

Read more: Italgas Deploys RealWear’s HMT-1Z1 Wearable Solution Running OverIT Field Services Management Software

“RealWear is pleased to be partnering with Exclusive Networks at a time when our customers are actively looking to empower and connect their remote and field services workforce. Exclusive Networks’ wide regional reach in the Unified Communications space and excellent pre-sales and post-sales support makes them a perfect partner for RealWear in the Southeast Asian, ANZ and India markets,” says John Higgs, Vice President, Asia Pacific at RealWear. “RealWear’s fully ruggedized Android wearable computers are specifically designed to safely support industrial and field service workers in high-risk environments. Through the RealWear HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 devices, frontline workers across a range of industries can collaborate remotely, and access data files and documentation workflow on a real-time basis, resulting in higher compliance rates, improved safety, and productivity, and better customer service.”

RealWear’s HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 wearable computers incorporate a high-resolution camera, noise-canceling digital microphones that allow the user to control the device or communicate even in high-noise environments. Users can safely take photographs, pull up additional multimedia, or open up a variety of third-party productivity apps that are optimized for voice controls, reports Exclusive Networks.

“RealWear’s headsets are the future of the connected worker, especially for industrial and remote workers who are required to perform complex tasks in a very hands-on environment,” says Mike Beesley, Vice President, Unified Communications, the Asia Pacific at Exclusive Networks. Beesley added: “Complex equipment and systems often take a team of experts to maintain and fix, which can be hard to organize and find logistically challenging. RealWear’s head-mounted wearable computers connect on-site workers with experts dotted around the world. Its integration with collaboration software such as Microsoft Teams allows for collaboration and remote communication between subject matter experts who can work together to address difficult challenges despite not being on-premises. This is a great addition to Exclusive Networks’ Unified Communications offering and we look forward to providing this solution to our customers.”

Read more: RealWear’s HMT-1 AR Headset Helping Automotive Companies Achieve Greater Productivity

RealWear’s wearable computers connect frontline workers across almost all industries, from oil and gas, mining and construction, to food and beverage. RealWear allows organizations to connect their distributed workforce to a central network, making communication easier, reducing errors, improving compliance, and ensuring workflows can be accessed and followed easier and quicker.

U.S. Army paratroopers are sporting biometric data-collecting wearables nonstop for half a year as part of an ongoing research project to measure stress levels and examine the resiliency of soldiers operating in Arctic environments. As part of the research, about 1,000 paratroopers of the so-called "Spartan Brigade" – the nickname for the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division based in Alaska – are wearing the device.

Read more: US Army Uses Modified HoloLens 2 for Real-Life Video Game

The paratroopers have teamed up with WHOOP, a Boston-based human performance company, in a six-month study with the University of Queensland.

The WHOOP Strap is capable of 24/7 monitoring in an unobtrusive form factor that is able to withstand the rigors of military use while also being waterproof and sporting a 5-day battery life with on-the-go charging.

“Previous research has typically focused on investigating stress in laboratory settings using standardized stress tasks," said Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science at WHOOP and Principal Investigator on the study. “We are carrying this study out in the field to better understand how personal, psychological, and situational factors can impact a soldier while training during extreme Arctic conditions. We are proud to support our troops in an innovative way and this data could be a critical tool for the military to improve soldier resiliency at a time when mental health issues and suicide rates are higher than ever.”

By providing the United States Army with more insight into individual physiology and the impacts of training in an extreme environment, soldiers will be better equipped to manage stress and ultimately, have higher readiness. All leaders from the squad level, NCOs, and above will have access to their paratroopers' data, so they can adjust training and operational plans to maximize the health and readiness of their teams, WHOOP said in a press release.

“Imagine as a squad leader that you have a paratrooper that has had an abnormally low recovery for several days," said the Spartan Command Sergeant Major Alex Kupratty, "Maybe your platoon has been in the field for weeks, or the paratrooper just returned from an Army school. Now, you have the data to better help them recover, or to adjust your training to match the team's needs.”

The research project will analyze personalized data like heart rate variability, resting heart rate, cardiovascular strain, and respiratory rate to also create a biometric baseline for the Spartan Brigade grounded in overall resilience, stress, and sleep quality. Unlike blind studies, the participating paratroopers will have immediate access to their own data, as well as techniques to maximize recovery, and can make decisions using this feedback to optimize their personal performance.

Read more: Pentagon Tells Soldiers to Leave Wearable Trackers at Home When Heading to Warzones

“WHOOP provides seamless and highly reliable biometric capture, thereby producing objective measures of sleep quality and recovery, which are of central importance to our research,” said Dr. William von Hippel, lead investigator on the study and professor at The University of Queensland. “Once the data are analyzed, we hope to uncover insights the military could leverage to enhance training regimens and maximize soldier preparedness.”