Lumen, the maker of metabolism measurement device through the breath, and Garmin International, have launched the second phase of integrating health and activity data.

Read more Lumen Introduces at Home Metabolism Tracking Device, Available Worldwide Now

The second phase will integrate that metabolism data with biometric data collected with the Garmin wearable itself. In that regard, people will now be able to view their body battery and heart rate data (both resting and active) directly in the Lumen app to gain a better sense of how their workout affects their metabolism. The information can be used to optimize their training and their diet based on the results.

According to the research team at Lumen, the trend is clear: Garmin users are now optimizing their fitness routine by training their metabolism, reports BusinessWire.

“Proper nutrition is just as essential as your workout routine, whether you’re just getting started on your fitness journey or training for a triathlon,” said Travis Johnson, global product lead for Garmin Health. “The combination of real-time metabolic data from Lumen and biometric data from Garmin is a powerful tool that lets you make informed decisions about how to fuel your body and achieve your fitness goals faster.”

Throughout the last 3 months of this integration, Garmin users took over 11,000 post-workout metabolism measurements. The results of these measurements were highly successful, as 70% of users shifted to burning fat as a fuel source following their workout. This efficient shift from carbs to fat burn is a key factor to training a flexible metabolism.

Compared to the average user, they also worked out 15% longer, fasted and woke up in fat burn 10% more, and took 18% more daily steps.

"We see that Garmin users who measure their metabolism with Lumen become smarter athletes because they get metabolic feedback in real time on their wrist after workouts. In phase 2, users can connect their metabolism to Garmin’s Body Battery™ energy monitoring feature to optimize their workout readiness with the right nutrition," says Barak Alon, head of data at Lumen.

The feature integration was first launched in November 2020, as the Lumen metabolism measurement app was made available for Garmin users on the Connect IQ™ Store along with a Health API integration.

In this second integration phase, Garmin users can now directly correlate their Body Battery, heart rate, and workout to see how well their body shifts from carbs to fats as a fuel source.

Read more Garmin Partners Up with Fitabase to Offer New Data Management for Wearable-Based Research

The new data metrics now available to Garmin users in their Lumen app include:

• Body Battery
• Resting heart rate
• High heart rate

With 1 in 5 American adults owning a wearable device, the future of health tracking is shifting to the combined value of nutrition and fitness data. Innovative integrations such as Garmin and Lumen are at the forefront of utilizing data and technology to determine what workouts truly work for our body through real-time metabolic insights and personalization.

Peer-reviewed

In collaboration with San Francisco State University, Lumen has validated an ongoing study launched in 2020, which shows the validity of Lumen to detect changes in metabolic fuel utilization in a comparable manner with a laboratory standard metabolic cart, providing the ability for real-time metabolic information for users under any circumstances.

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Performance sports wearables maker Coros announced its largest ever software and app update. These new features and advancement of existing features comes as the brand continues to respond to the ever-evolving needs of performance athletes. The latest update focuses on sports science and improving user’s training efficiency by way of both COROS watches and the COROS App, available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Read more Coros Pace 2 Is the World’s Lightest GPS Watch Especially Designed for Competitive Runners

EvoLab brings the following enhancements to the COROS platform:

• Real time training load – based on intensity and duration of activity
• Improved Aerobic/Anaerobic Training Effect calculation
• Short-term and long-term fitness analysis
• Fatigue level and recovery recommendations

Furthermore, EvoLab offers a number of newly designed Road/Track Running Specific features are being introduced with plans for expansion to Trail Running and other activities in the future:

• Marathon Focused Running Level – indicating Marathon distance readiness and provides an easy comparison between runners.
• Running Performance Analysis – comparing today’s run versus expectations.
• Race Prediction Tool and Pace Guide – offered for 5k, 10k, Half-Marathon and Marathon distances.

“Our team of developers have spent the last 12 months on the EvoLab project, responding to the performance needs of our users, said Lewis Wu, CEO COROS Wearables. “In the process, they have completely revolutionized the way athletes receive personalized fitness evaluations from a GPS Watch. The final result allows for better and more efficient training which ultimately is our mission at COROS.

EvoLab will be available for early release to the first 1,000 users who sign up here and will be more broadly released within the next month, according to a press release.

In addition, COROS announced that it will be bringing 4 new products to market with the PACE 2 Speed Series and the all-new Keychain Charger. The PACE 2 Speed Series includes 3 all new limited run colors of the Award-Winning PACE 2 GPS Sports Watch:

• Red – inspired by the synthetic track surfaces
• Green – representing the pines of the Pacific Northwest, home to this summer’s Track and Field Championships
• Gold – epitomizing the pinnacle achievement of the sport, and the medal that COROS Pro Athletes Emma Coburn and Eliud Kipchoge look to take home this summer

Read more Coros VERTIX GPS is the ‘Most Powerful GPS Watch Ever’

Lastly, the Keychain charger is a fun introduction to the COROS range, as it solves one of the biggest issues caused by the brand’s renowned battery life – lost chargers. Users can purchase the new Keychain Charger for $24.99 and clip it onto their keys, water bottle or belt loop so it’s always at the ready, on the rare chance a charger is needed.

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Google and Samsung announced that they are essentially combining Wear OS — Google’s operating system — and the Tizen-based software platform that has been central to Samsung’s wearables for many years.

The new platform will be called ‘Wear’ for now and Tizen will be discontinued, reports MobiFlip.

“This isn’t just for Google and Samsung. All device makers will be able to add a customized user experience on top of the platform, and developers will be able to use the Android tools they already know and love to build for one platform and ecosystem. And because of these benefits, you will have more options than ever before, whether it’s choosing which device to buy or picking which apps and watch faces to display,” Bjorn Kilburn Director of Product Management, Wear, wrote in a blog post.

Read more Samsung Leaker Cracks Samsung’s Secret Language Code About Upcoming Galaxy Watch

This is what we know so far:

• From now on, all new Galaxy Watches will be equipped with Wear and it seems like a new chip (maybe from Google and Samsung?) Is being planned.
• Older models are not supplied with Wear, but Samsung would like to guarantee three more years of updates.
• There will be some Tizen Samsung apps for Wear, but not all. S Health, for example, is being discontinued and Samsung is getting the new Fitbit apps from Google. The data can be transferred.
• Google itself is revising most of the apps, for example there is navigation for Google Maps without a smartphone. All these apps will of course also be available for Samsung models. Also, it sounds a bit like we won't get Samsung Pay and Google Pay is the standard.
• Samsung has helped Google to optimize the performance of Wear and it is also referred to as longer battery life. The performance is probably around 30 percent increase, there is no information about the battery life.
• Fitbit is also making a Wear OS app. As Fitbit is already a part of Google, Samsung's watches may end up getting all those Fitbit features too.
• The focus is also on more independent smartwatches, so we'll see many new models with 4G.

Read more Will Samsung’s Upcoming Smartwatch Run on Google’s Wear OS

“We are also making it easier for our developer community to build great apps (including new Tiles!) for the platform, and reach millions of consumers all over the world through the Google Play Store,” Kilburn wrote.

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As the schools are slowly opening after a long pandemic lockdown, kids are getting ready to meet their friends and explore independence this summer. However, adjusting to the freedoms of the season could be a challenge for many families. For parents looking for digital solutions to keep track of their kids, child-tracking watch like Gizmowatch 2 can help.

Read more Garmin Joins Forces with Children’s Mercy Kansas City to Keep Kids Active During COVID-19 Pandemic

Geared toward kids 3 to 11, the Gizmowatch 2 features GPS and LTE connectivity on Verizon’s network so kids can call and text approved contacts, and parents can keep an eye on them in real time.

This new model boasts a larger screen than its predecessor, better battery life, and a lower price: $99 plus the cost of LTE connectivity (which starts at $10 per month).

The GizmoWatch 2 can help you stay connected to your kids without excessive unwanted contact. Parents can set up to 10 trusted contacts of their choice, reports Neil Mitchell in Verizon.

The watch is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2500 1.2GHz quad-core processor. It has 4 GB of RAM and a 500mAh battery that Verizon says can last up to four days with typical usage. The typical usage can include calling and texting up to 10 parentally-approved contacts, as well as setting alarms and task reminders, and even playing a fun pre-loaded energy burning game.

In terms of water resistance, the GizmoWatch 2 is rated IP67, meaning it can withstand up to 3.2 feet of water for 30 minutes.

The Fun Activities section has a step counter, which parents have to enable in the app. You can also add a step goal, set a time to receive a daily notification with your child’s step count, and write a congratulatory message they will see when they reach their goal.

Read more The 5 Best Fitness Trackers for Children

The voice changer lets kids record a message then hear it back as a robot, someone who inhaled helium, a squirrel, or a monster. They can share this funny recording with their friends.

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DIGISEQ announced a breakthrough in payment wearable technology giving consumers the functionality to turn any object of choice into a payment device with a user friendly application on their mobile. The new solution, Rapid Contactless Personalization Rcos, is available for any Android and iOS device, delivering MasterCard payment data, via secure tokenization, quickly and by just downloading the Manage Mii™ mobile App.

Read more The Future Is Now: Wearable Contactless Payments

The pandemic has accelerated the pace of adoption of the IoT technology market and contactless applications, which is now forecasted to extend to over 41 billion devices by 2027. The Rapid Contactless Personalization technology means DIGISEQ continues to be the most disruptive player globally. The solution can be used for both prepaid and tokenized accounts.

Rapid Contactless Personalization enables consumers to pay with any object at millions of acceptance points globally. This is a game changer in the passive wearables market, breaking down the technical barrier to making payments simple and secure on any object, and will be the catalyst for scaling passive wearables for mass market adoption, reports Digiseq.

Brands, including Rosan Pay and STISS, will be brought to life with digital services as wearables are now payment ready without the need for the manufacturer retailer or card issuer to do anything beyond embedding the NFC chip into the device. Previously, the chip embedded within the wearable would need to go through the cumbersome process of being personalized by the manufacturer or at a retail kiosk before being ready to use.

Rapid Contactless Personalization puts control in the hands of the consumer as they can provision any wearable with a suitable NFC chip through the Manage Mii application, transforming it into a contactless payment device in place of a card and speeding up the process of purchasing with payments functionality. Manufacturers can now offer payment enabled items for sale from rings to watches and virtually anything at retail outlets and via online stores without any need to be involved in the payment card delivery. The development also offers untold benefits for issuers and banks; previously confined to existing payment methods (Apple Pay and Android Pay), they’re now able to maintain better relationships with their customers and their finances, and begin to distinguish themselves by delivering new and innovative experiences for the user.

Commenting on this industry first, Non-Executive Chairman of DIGISEQ, David Birch, said:

“The team behind Rapid Contactless Personalization, Terrie Smith CEO and Colin Tanner CTO, know this space intimately, having led the product development of tokenization at MasterCard in 2014 that supports solutions such as Apple Pay. They co-founded DIGISEQ to revolutionize services in the contactless wearables and smart objects space and they are delivering on that promise by building a fantastic company which they are now scaling up to deliver mass market payments for the internet of things, in the new contact-free economy.”

David continued: ‘This week Colin Tanner and I filmed a live transaction where I provisioned my own Alioth Pay ring with MasterCard using my own iPhone 12. I’m delighted that together we are making wearables a reality for the mass market.’

Terrie Smith, DIGISEQ CEO, said:

“The pandemic has disrupted many traditional payment methods, and as a result customers are looking for easier, more seamless ways to purchase goods or services. Rapid Contactless Personalization is the next step in this process, and will help brands and manufacturers place passive wearables at the heart of the payment ecosystem as the trend develops. We’re confident that the removal of obsolete, cumbersome processes will ultimately lead to greater adoption from brands, and empower customers to pay in safer, more flexible ways.”

Read more Keyble – The World’s First Wearable With Fingerprint Authentication for Contactless Payments

Björn Scharfen, Head of Product Line Payment and Ticketing solutions at Infineon commented:

“While consumers are looking into new ways for payment, DIGISEQ’S Rapid Contactless Personalization™ enables just that. The secure provisioning of payment credentials into a ring, a wristband, a fitness tracker or pretty much any accessory you can imagine, becomes as easy as a tap on a smartphone. Together with Infineon’s expertise in security controller, contactless performance and scalable turn-key payment solutions, the vision of “anything can be a payment thing” is becoming reality.”

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Mobvoi, a Chinese tech firm, has started selling its TicWatch GTH. The $79.99 fitness wearable features sensors for skin temperature and blood oxygen that are typically reserved for more expensive watches.

The watch has powerful sensors to help you reach optimal health. These sensors continuously monitor your skin temperature, blood oxygen (SpO2) levels, heart rate, respiration rate, and even your sleep quality. Advanced fitness tracking also helps you keep track of your progress and show all that you’ve accomplished on a brilliant 1.55’’ high-resolution color display. Swim, bike, and run all week long with up to 10 days of battery.

Read more Rollme Hero: Cheap Smartwatch Packed With Features

Temperature measurement

Your temperature is a core indicator of your overall health. TicWatch GTH's sensor measures directly from your wrist and notifies you of any potential concerns. With TicWatch GTH monitoring your temperature all day and night, it can alert you when health issues arise, allowing you to act quickly. With up to ± 0.1°C measurement accuracy**, the temperature sensor allows you to take on-demand readings within just a few seconds, reports Mobvoi.

Blood Oxygen saturation

Keeping track of your blood saturation (SpO2) levels helps you understand how well oxygen is being sent throughout your body. The blood oxygen sensor in the TicWatch GTH uses photoplethysmography (PPG) technology to accurately measure the oxygen saturation in your bloodstream. The SpO2 sensor detects your oxygen saturation level, by shining an array of LED lights into the blood vessels in your wrist.

Heart rate monitor

Continuously monitoring your heart rate when you are working, exercising, and even while you sleep. Get detailed visualizations of your heart health in real-time.

Respiratory rate

Your respiration rate is the number of breaths that you take per minute. By monitoring this it can help detect early changes in your health.

Are you stressed?

TicZen turns your heart rate variability data into insights about your stress level throughout the day.

Sleep tracker

A good night’s sleep is key to maintaining good health and reducing stress. TicSleep tracks your light and deep sleep cycles, the duration, and the quality of your sleep. Wake up each day with a sleep quality rating based on last night's sleep routine.

Waterproof

With a 5ATM water-resistance rating, TicWatch GTH can go with you wherever you travel. Wash your hands, play in the snow or go for a swim without fear of water damage.

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

Predicting COVID-19

Mobvoi is collaborating with Turing scholar and professor Raj Reddy and a team of scientists at Carnegie Melon University to use the Tic Watch GTH’s sensor data to develop a system for predicting early warning signs of possible COVID-19 infection. Mobvoi’s R&D team and the CMU team will work together to build personalized models powered by long-term data tracking and analysis to provide insights on the overall health and wellbeing.

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Many people with COVID-19 have low levels of oxygen in their blood, even when they feel well. Low oxygen levels (SpO2) can be an early warning sign that medical care is needed.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, along with masks and hand sanitizers, sales of pulse oximeter are on the rise.

Can you measure blood oxygen saturation without a pulse oximeter? Yes, you can. If your smartwatch or fitness tracker comes with the SpO2 feature, you can measure your blood oxygen level.

Read more Maxim Unveils the First Complete Wrist-Based Solution For Monitoring SpO2

When measuring blood oxygen level using fitness trackers and smartwatches, make sure:

1. The smartwatch or the fitness tracker is mounted properly on your hand
2. Always keep your hand steady while measuring blood oxygen
3. For better results, rest your hand on a flat surface
4. Factors that may affect results are shaking, hair, tattoos, improper wearing, and low temperature

How to use an Apple Watch to measure SpO2

Using an Apple Watch, you can take a blood oxygen measurement at any time with the Blood Oxygen app.

1. Make sure that your Apple Watch is snug but comfortable on your wrist.
2. Open the Blood Oxygen app on your Apple Watch.
3. Stay still, and make sure your wrist is flat with the Apple Watch facing up.
4. Tap Start, then keep your arm steady for 15 seconds.
5. The measurement takes 15 seconds. At the end of the measurement, you will receive the results.
6. Tap Done.

For best results

Rest your arms on a table or in your lap while you take a measurement. Keep your wrist and palm down and flat, and hold as still as you can.

Make sure that your Apple Watch isn’t loose on your wrist. The band should be snug but comfortable, and the back of your Apple Watch needs to be touching your wrist.

Make sure that the back of your Apple Watch is flush with the top of your wrist. If your wrist bones interfere with this, move your watch 1 to 2 inches up your arm away from your wrist bone.

Measuring SpO2 with Samsung Watch

1. Head into your Galaxy Watch3 Apps Tray and launch the full-screen icon Samsung Health
2. Scroll down the list of options and tap on the full-screen icon Blood Oxygen
3. Select
4. It is recommended to place your hand on a table and near your heart. Sit still while your watch measures your Blood Oxygen level.
5. Once measured you will be able to view your Blood Oxygen level and Beats per minute (bpm)

Read more Fitbit Adds Blood Oxygen Monitoring (SPO2) in its Versa, Charge, and Ionic Device

Measuring SpO2 with Fitbit Wearables

To measure SpO2 with a Fitbit wearable, you’ll need the latest version of Fitbit OS and a SpO2 clock face.

All you need to do is set the SpO2 clock face as default. This will show you details like SpO2, heart rate, step count, floor count, etc. Also, the clock face shows the average value from your most recent sleep session and the highest and lowest values recorded during the session, reports GadgetsNow.

This works on Iconic, Sense, Versa, Versa 2, and Versa Lite.

Measuring SpO2 with Amazfit Watch

1. Swipe left on the dial interface to open the application list, and select blood oxygen application to start measuring blood oxygen saturation
2. During mountaineering, the sports application can be run in the background, and then the oxygen saturation application can be started for blood oxygen measurement;
3. After the measurement, the watch will display the measurement result, or check the latest measurement result.

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Oura CEO Harpreet Singh Rai said wearables in the future will help people prevent, not react to, illness. In conversation with Insider's Senior Tech Correspondent Lisa Eadicicco, Rai said wearables will increasingly be able to detect warning signs and alert the wearer by sounding an alarm.

"You go to the doctor after you have a heart attack," Mr. Rai said. "No one's really going to get all the regular checkups ... that we should, and wearables can fill that gap."

Read more Oura, WHOOP, BioStrap and BioIntelliSense Invading Health Monitoring Space With Biometric Wearables

Oura is a $300 smart ring that monitors the wearer’s sleep, heart rate, and skin temperature. Last month, Bloomberg reported that the Finnish company is in talks with investors to raise funds at a valuation of about $800 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The discussions mark the second fundraising in as many years for Oura, which last year raised $28 million from Google’s Gradient Ventures, Square Inc., and Forerunner Ventures. Earlier investors include Michael Dell’s MSD Capital, actor Will Smith and former professional basketball center Shaquille O’Neal. Investors in the current round and the amount being raised couldn’t immediately be learned.

Last year, around 25% of the NBA players were given Oura rings to track their biometric data and ensure that they and their coaches remained COVID-free. According to Oura, changes to users’ illness probability scores can indicate they may be at higher risk or showing signs of COVID-19. The accompanying app provides features such as meditation to reduce stress and anxiety. Another benefit of the ring is its sleep tracking feature.

"Data from us and other wearables have shown that you can feel significant changes a day or two before you feel sick," Rai said during the panel Tuesday, reports Business Insider.

Read more US Army Outfits Paratroopers With WHOOP Strap To Assess Level of Stress

He said other companies are toying with similar ideas. Samsung, he said, has discussed monitoring blood pressure. And there's also potential in tracking reproductive health, such as the time of one's menstrual cycle.

"I think things like sleep apnea, blood pressure, and other health use cases are really what is going to shift us from wearables 1.0 to 2.0," he said.

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In the modern world, life is hectic. Every day we wake up and get busy doing everything that needs to get done except for one of the most important activities – sleep. Up to 30% of people in developed countries now suffer from chronic insomnia. Sleep occupies approximately one-third of our lives and is fundamental to our physical well-being, good mental and emotional health.

Read more Huawei Launching Two New Wearables In Austria, Will Open Experience Store In Vienna

Deep and uninterrupted sleep can be achieved with the help of a little science. In fact, understanding your sleep cycle can help you to achieve a good quality sleep.

When it comes to sleep quality, it is important to start with the processes involved in sleep. The normal sleep process consists of two distinct periods: “Rapid Eye Movement” (REM) and “Non-Rapid Eye Movement” (NREM). The non-REM sleep period is itself divided up into three stages, known as N1, N2, and N3. The first and second stages of non-REM sleep are considered “light sleep”, while stage three is known as “deep sleep”. REM sleep is often referred to as “dreaming sleep”, as it is during this phase that we tend to experience dreams, reports Huawei.

Each of these phases (light sleep, deep sleep, and dreaming sleep) has a different role to play, all of which are indispensable. We may all want to better understand our own sleep process, but the best way to get reliable information about it is with the power of technology.

Using a sleep monitoring device can help you to obtain information about your sleep process. For instance, Huawei’s smart wearables can monitor your sleep using the company’s self-developed and industry-leading infrared technology.

HUAWEI TruSleep ™2.0 monitoring can accurately detect all types of sleep stages and help you distinguish between them. It also tracks your heart rate and breathing in real-time during the night, without disturbing your sleep. The HUAWEI TruSleep™2.0 automatically monitors the whole sleeping duration including when the user falls asleep and wakes up, light sleep proportion, deep sleep proportion, and rapid eye movement (REM). This can help the user accurately identify six typical sleep issues such as insomnia, shallow sleep, night-time awakenings, early morning awakenings, excessive dreams, and irregular sleep patterns. When awake, the user can review their sleeping patterns on Huawei smart wearables. The built-in tips for sleep quality improvement and personalized advice also guarantee users with practical solutions to achieve better sleep quality.

To get better sleep, many of us adhere to several “pre-bedtime routines” to ease our mind and body. However, these routines may drive negative impacts instead of promoting better sleep. Take working out before bedtime as an example. A strenuous workout for a good sweat may sound great – but without proper stretching, we may find it more difficult to fall asleep due to the prolonged sympathetic-nerve activity. In the long run, this may lead to a vicious cycle of insomnia - as you'll get more anxious when you can't pass out once your head hits the pillow.

A more preferable approach is to take a warm bath before going to bed. Research suggested that the smaller the difference between the skin temperature and core temperature at night, the easier an individual can fall asleep fast. Therefore, either a hot shower or warm foot bath can be regarded as a favorable pre-bedtime routine. You can also get the extra sleep you crave by creating an ideal sleep environment - dim ambient lighting at night to further relax your mind.

Read more Wearable Maker Zepp Reveals Sleep Study Results, Launches Personalized Digital Lullaby Generator

Well, of course, the effectiveness of the aforementioned pre-bedtime routines varies from one individual to another – after all, those methods are rather subjective considering the variables involved. But with Huawei wearables, not only can you track the entire sleeping duration, but also get tips for sleep quality improvement – probably the best way to achieve better sleep quality!

Developing regular sleep-wake rhythm via a healthy lifestyle is critical for users who often deal with difficulty sleeping – give Huawei wearables a try to say farewell to insomnia!

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Different people handled the global pandemic and the resulting shutdown in different ways. Some started playing crosswords while others went for outdoor activities.

It has been called the “Great Outdoor Revival” — the mass exodus of people back into wild places. For some, it was easy to fall back into old habits. But for others, the opportunity to explore new and different places leaves us with a question: How do we get started? This is where Garmin technology comes in.

Garmin’s collection of wearables can make it easier for you to explore the outdoors.

Read more Garmin Enduro to the Test: This is Garmin’s Most Advanced Smartwatch

GPS Smartwatches

Garmin launched the first fēnix® watch in 2012. It was initially developed for Alpinists, so its ethos has and always will be built from the side of a mountain. Since the first fēnix, Garmin has continually developed wrist-based technology for outdoor enthusiasts, according to Garmin.

As the fēnix family expanded, Garmin continued to integrate features for daily life, making it one of the most popular “everyday” GPS smartwatches available.

However, as many people discovered last year, Garmin never stopped improving the outdoor heritage of the fēnix. With the launch of fēnix 6 Pro Solar watch in 2020, its outdoor features are as robust as ever.

Here are some features that can help you get started, stay safer and enjoy your outdoor experience more:

Solar Charging

• In 2019, Garmin introduced solar charging to increase battery life. This allows you to focus on what you love doing outdoors and worry less about your charge.

Multi-GNSS Support

• Knowing where you are and where you’re going is critical to staying safe in the outdoors. fēnix has access to multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo) to track you in more challenging environments than GPS alone.

ABC Sensors

• ABC stands for Altimeter, Barometer, and Compass, which are three critical data points when exploring new places. This helps you navigate your next trail with an altimeter for elevation data, a barometer to monitor the weather and a three-axis electronic compass so you always know where you’re going.

Built-in Sports Apps

• Use preloaded activities profiles for trail running, biking, hiking, climbing and much more. These activities will track various metrics and then upload to Garmin Connect® so you can review information from your activity like calories, times, distance, the map of your course, and much more.

MTB Dynamics

• This provides details of every ride you take with mountain biking metrics, plus specialist Grit and Flow measurements that rate trail difficulty and how smoothly you descend, giving you a “score” to beat next time.

Surf-ready Features

• If you’re lucky enough to live by the ocean, you better be taking advantage of it. Recently introduced surf features integrate with Surfline Sessions™ (requires app downloaded to a compatible smartphone), which creates a video of every wave you ride in front of a Surfline® camera so you can watch them later and see how you did.

Hydration Tracking

• Staying hydrated in the outdoors is critical. With this feature, you can log daily fluid intake as a reminder to drink up. When the auto goal is enabled, you’ll even see estimated sweat loss after an activity, and your goal will be adjusted accordingly.

Acclimation

• If you are hiking, climbing or camping in various altitudes, everyone’s body acclimates differently. Altitude sickness is a real and dangerous thing. The acclimation widget shows your current elevation, acclimated elevation, and correlated Pulse Ox, heart rate, and respiration rate so you can see how you’re holding up to the current elevation.

Other watches

• The fēnix started it all, but since then the technology has been incorporated into various new watches. In fact, Garmin has a watch for almost everyone.
• Instinct: You want rugged. You want bold. You want a GPS smartwatch that doesn’t look like other GPS smartwatches. This is a great choice for those new to the outdoors.
• Enduro: You’re an extreme endurance athlete and you need a lightweight ultra-performance GPS watch with epic battery life. This one will help you go the distance.
• quatix: You’re a mariner. And you want a GPS multisport smartwatch that’s active on land and at home on the water. So here you go. Connect with your boat, in more ways than one.
• tactix: You’re on a mission to find a rugged GPS smartwatch with special-ops functions that help you travel in the shadows. This one will serve you well.

inReach

Outdoor Communication. With inReach satellite technology from Garmin and an active satellite subscription, you can stay in touch globally. You can send and receive messages, navigate your route, track and share your journey and, if necessary, trigger an SOS to help get assistance to you from the Garmin IERCC, a 24/7 global emergency response coordination center via the 100% global Iridium® satellite network. inReach allows two-way messaging so you can reach out to a loved one immediately.

Read more Garmin Launches quatix 6 Maritime GPS Smartwatch With Comprehensive Connectivity and Much More

Additionally, using Garmin Explore, users can set up live tracking so family or friends back home can join in your adventure from the comfort of home. From a safety standpoint, this is very beneficial. For example, using live tracking, family or friends can check to see if you’re moving along your planned route. If you are, great — all is well. If you aren’t moving and you should be, they can check in to see if everything is alright. If not, they can arrange help.

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Fueled by the pandemic, the contactless payment systems boomed in 2020. Now, experts are saying that 2021 will be a pivotal year for contactless payments, pushing more consumers to swap their cash and cards for safer contactless payment options.

Read more Contactless Payment Systems On The Rise Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

As per the report published by Fior Markets, the global wearable payment device market is expected to grow from USD 10.35 Billion in 2020 and to reach USD 80.39 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 29.8% during the forecast period 2021-2028.

Wearable contactless payment devices like smartwatches, smart rings, key fobs, etc. are directly associated with the customer’s bank accounts and work like a regular debit card, making purchases at any merchant store that sustains contactless transactions. This tap-and-go payment method provides retailers and vendors with additional secure and error-free payment methods.

KBC became the first bank insurer in Belgium to offer their customers payments via wearables like smartwatches, bracelets, key fobs, or smart rings.

Towards the end of 2018, KBC called for customers to take part in a year-long pilot project to test this innovative way of paying, reports pyments. Over 10,000 KBC customers expressed an interest, of whom 1000 eventually spent a year using a wearable – a fashionable accessory such as a ring, bracelet, watch, or keyring – fitted with the same technology as a contactless payment card. That wearable was linked to their KBC Debit Card.

“Wearable payments address one need above all else: convenience,” according to the Smart payments association (SPA). “Paying for goods and services with a simple flick of the wrist is infinitely faster and easier than by handing over cash, or even tapping in a pin number. And while the difference may be relatively slight, wearables offer greater convenience than even contactless cards and mobile payment apps — removing the need to fumble with a wallet, purse, or phone.”

Read more Keyble – The World’s First Wearable With Fingerprint Authentication for Contactless Payments

Verónica Martin of wearables firm and SPA member Giesecke + Devrient, commented: “Smartwatches are attractive devices, but they also come with a high price tag that can put them out of reach for many consumers.” Martin noted, “Rings, payment bands, and other wearable payment solutions tend to be much more affordable and will help to drive mass market appeal as well as meeting multiple different use cases.”

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TDK Corporation’s InvenSense ICP-10125 is part of the InvenSense SmartPressure family of the MEMS barometric pressure sensor platform. Combining barometric pressure and temperature sensing, the InvenSense ICP-10125 provides IPX8 waterproofing to more than 100 meters (10 ATM). The MEMS barometric pressure sensor offers four different measurement modes for optimizing power, noise, accuracy, and measurement frequency.

Read more TDK Launches Portfolio of VR Sensors for Accurate and Affordable VR Solutions

The ICP-10125 pressure sensor is based on MEMS capacitive technology which provides ultra-low noise at the lowest power, enabling industry-leading relative accuracy, sensor throughput, and temperature stability. The pressure sensor can measure pressure differences with an accuracy of ±1 Pa, an accuracy enabling altitude measurement differentials as small as 8.5 cm, less than the height of a single stair step.

The ICP-10125 achieves the industry’s lowest pressure noise of 0.4 Pa RMS, attains the industry’s lowest power consumption of 1.3 µA, and ensures excellent temperature stability with a temperature coefficient of ±0.5 Pa/°C.

The ICP-10125 is well-suited for smartwatches, fitness trackers, and outdoor IoT applications that assist in fitness activity monitoring, location tracking for E911 calls, and indoor/outdoor navigation (dead-reckoning, floor/elevator/step detection), reports TDK.

The ICP-10125 pressure sensor is based on MEMS capacitive technology which provides ultra-low noise at the lowest power. Support for IPX8 waterproofing protects the device up to 10 ATM. (Photo: Ivensense TDK)[/caption]

The InvenSense SmartPressure family uses an innovative capacitive MEMS architecture to deliver lower power consumption and lower noise than competing pressure sensors technologies. With its ultra-low noise and low power consumption, ICP-10125 is ideally suited for wearable fitness monitoring and battery-powered IoT. It can measure height change as small as 8.5 cm, less than the height of a single stair step.

“ICP-10125 delivers high accuracy, low power, temperature stability, and waterproofing in a small package footprint targeting the wearable market,” said Uday Mudoi, Director of Product Marketing at InvenSense, a TDK group company. “It enables determination of accurate location of E911 calls, tracks changes in elevation for activity monitoring, and extends battery life of always-on motion-sensing applications.”

Read more Worldwide Non-Optical Pressure Sensor Market Is Estimated To Grow At A Healthy CAGR During 2020-2025

InvenSense ICP-10125 is currently available for worldwide distribution. A comprehensive development kit (DK-10125) and evaluation platform are also available along with necessary software to enable quick-to-market development of customer systems. In addition to the ICP-10125, the ICP-10101 and ICP-10111 pressure sensor products are already available in worldwide distribution.

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Aloe Care Health, the worlds' most advanced voice-activated medical alert system and caregiver support platform, has partnered with BioIntelliSense to provide elderly adults with better remote patient monitoring services. Aloe Care is the developer of an in-home voice-activated Smart Hub medical alert system, while BioIntelliSense is best known for its FDA-cleared single-use BioSticker and medical-grade BioButton wearable devices.

Read more BioButton Provides Affordable COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring For Patients At Home, Enabling Safe Return to Work

The new partnership will integrate those devices with the Aloe Care Smart Hub platform to help track the health of patients in real-time. The BioIntelliSense wearables will monitor vital signs like heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature in addition to lifestyle indicators like activity level, body position, and sleep status. The data will then be sent to the Smart Hub through a Bluetooth connection to let medical professionals (and emergency responders) know about any adverse changes in a patient’s condition, says a press release.

"This combination is truly the next generation of remote patient monitoring," said Ray Spoljaric, CEO and co-Founder of Aloe Care Health. "Telemedicine and remote care are here to stay, and the advances made by the team at BioIntelliSense are playing a critical role in the speed and efficacy with which care is delivered. They were an obvious choice to become the first RPM devices certified on the Aloe Care Health platform."

James Mault, MD, Founder and CEO of BioIntelliSense added, "Our companies share a common vision of advancing and scaling remote care that provides an added layer of safety and reliability for older adults to age with grace and dignity. The combination of our devices and data insights enables medical-grade monitoring and alerting at home. The collaboration with Aloe Care extends our reach and simplifies deployments where connectivity exists in the home via the Aloe Care hub."

Read more Oura, WHOOP, BioStrap and BioIntelliSense Invading Health Monitoring Space With Biometric Wearables

The BioSticker and BioButton wearable devices are designed to be discreetly worn on the upper left chest for effortless remote data capture and a simple "stick it on and forget it" patient experience. The flagship BioSticker is the first single-use medical device for up to 30 days of continuous vital sign monitoring and the BioButton is configurable for up to 60 days on a single-use disposable capturing:

• Respiratory rate, heart rate at rest, and skin temperature
• Body position, activity levels, steps, sleep status
• High-resolution gait analysis

Aloe Care's additional smart sensors provide fall detection, motion, air quality, and temperature. It also features a private, secure family app for real-time status-checks, voice calls directly into the Smart Hub, and care collaboration with family and professional caregivers.

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Along with many other businesses, gyms and fitness clubs across the globe were forced to close amid the Covid-19 pandemic. As the lockdown continued and people were urged to maintain social distancing, people started moving outdoors for their workouts.

The increasing number of outdoor workouts like cycling and running spiked the demand for wearables. By tracking heart rates and sleep schedules, wearables allow users to create evolving fitness regimens without the need to go inside a gym, reports ProspectSConsultation.

In October 2020, Boston-based digital fitness startup Whoop has announced a $100 million Series E investment that spiked the valuation of the company at $1.2 billion, making it a business unicorn. Other wearable device manufacturers also saw their sales double during the pandemic.

Now, with the increase in vaccinations, gyms are slowly reopening. But it raises new questions like ‘Will the fitness lovers who built up outdoor workout habits return to gyms? Or ‘Will companies start offering wearables’ subscriptions as perks, the same way they offered gym memberships in the past?

Read more With The Next Gen Of Wearables, Athletes Will Alter The Way They Fuel For Sport

While studying a group of Navy SEALs, the Whoop team discovered the users were just as competitive about who could get a better night’s sleep as they were about who could train the hardest.

“Meditation is one way to really dial in your sleep.” Whoop founder Will Ahmed points out that meditation is “virtually good for everything,” especially sleep and heart rate variability.

The popularity of wearables isn’t only due to the fact that they can measure your heart rate and other health metrics; wearables have shown to be effective in detecting Covid-19 early.

Pro golfer Nick Watney was the first player on the PGA Tour to be diagnosed with COVID-19. Nick said that on the morning of the second round of the RBC Heritage tournament in Hilton Head, South Carolina, he checked his Whoop data to find that his respiratory rate had suddenly spiked to over 18.

However, Watney was tested negative for COVID-19 three days earlier and was cleared to play. Based on WHOOP data, he requested to be tested again. The new test result showed him to be positive of carrying the coronavirus. Later that day, he withdrew from the tournament.

“You can’t really fool [WHOOP]. If my kids had a rough night and I slept 4.5 hours, I don’t get a lot of green recoveries when that happens. There haven’t been many days when it gives me 90 [percent recovery] and I feel rundown. It’s like an all-telling thing in certain ways. It’s tough to fool this little thing,” Nick said on the Whoop podcast.

WHOOP has been named “Official Fitness Wearable of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions” and a “Sponsor of PGA TOUR Active.”

Over 1,000 WHOOP Straps were distributed for players, caddies, and other essential personnel at PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, and PGA TOUR Champions events, with accompanying membership for health monitoring.

Read more US Army Outfits Paratroopers With WHOOP Strap To Assess Level of Stress

“I've been a WHOOP member for a number of years and having the ability to monitor my recovery on a daily basis is helpful for my overall performance. WHOOP has been everywhere on TOUR in 2020 and this new partnership will unlock the future of athletic performance and professional golf,” said Rory McIlroy, WHOOP Investor, and PGA TOUR member. “And now fans will have access to player data that will change the way they experience and engage with the game.”

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 6700 newborns die every day across the world. Developing regions like India and Africa account for more than 99% of mother and newborn deaths. Statistics show that around 80% of deliveries happen in low-resource healthcare settings. Fetal heart rate and uterine contraction are the important parameters to monitor the status of both mother and fetus during the intrapartum period. But, because of lack of manpower and easy-to-use monitoring devices these are monitored inaccurately or ignored more than 85% of the time, hence leads to mortality/morbidity in case of complications.

Read more First Ever Wearable For Real-Time Monitoring of Neonatal Jaundice and Vital Signs

Janitri, a Bengaluru, India-based startup with a vision to stop newborn and mother deaths during pregnancy and delivery, has developed KEYAR, a portable & wireless intrapartum continuous and intermittent Fetal heart rate, Maternal heart rate, and Uterine contraction monitor. The device also communicates with DAKSH intrapartum monitoring mobile application for intelligent alerts and remote monitoring. The product is for the staff nurses/midwives/doctors which help them in monitoring the mother and fetus during labor phase. The intelligent alerts also help them in taking an early decision which eventually save lives during labor phase.

Janitri is a winner of the 12th IoT/WT Innovation World Cup® - the world’s leading open innovation platform that supports breakthrough innovations to become reality and connects techpreneurs with international tech corporations. Janitri was awarded in the wearable healthcare category at the 39^th WT|Wearable Technologies Conference EUROPE.

Before starting Janitri (Sanskrit word for ‘mother’), Arun Agarwal, the founder of Janitri, visited 100+ hospitals, met 200+ healthcare professionals for the problem identification and validation in maternal and child healthcare. Mr. Agarwal has spent a lot of time with the different stakeholders like doctors, OBGYN, mothers, families, staff nurses, midwives, government, NGO to understand the grass root level problems and to understand why there are mothers and babies are still dying. He witnessed live deliveries and c-section and spent a lot of time in the labor ward to explore and understand the existing process, methodology, technology, protocol, etc. He found that Fetal heart rate and Uterine contraction are important parameters to get to know the status of fetus and labor progress but unfortunately monitored inaccurately and ignored more than 85% of the time and hence leads to mortality/morbidity in case of complications.

Key milestones reached by Janitri:

• Janitri raised grants/funding from prestigious organizations like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, BIRAC (Govt. of Canada), Startup Karnataka, Villgro, IKP & Pureland Global Venture.
• Partnered with esteemed organizations in India like St. Johns Medical College & Hospital, Naraya Health, Rangadore Memorial Hospital, WISH Foundation, AIIMS Delhi for clinical validation/usability study.
• Janitri’s products have been deployed in 150+ hospitals and more than 30,000+ pregnancies have been monitored during labor period.
• It has achieved ISO 13485 certification.
• Pilot starting soon in Brazil, Kenya, South Africa & Ethiopia.

Biggest Challenges

Finding the technical expertise relevant to their technology was the biggest challenge. “If I would start the journey again, then I will first find the relevant technology expert as a co-founder. Another challenge is performing the clinical validation as per the global standard because of the unavailability of experts.”

Read more Wearable Motion Sensors Monitor Fetal Heartbeat, Could Save Unborn Babies

Future developments

Commercial pilot deployment of AI-based intelligent alerts. Country-wide product scale-up (India).

Advice for upcoming startups

1. Be clear on the problem statement and market size
2. Good understanding of the market segment
3. Unique solution

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Tired of not being able to find your misplaced activity tracker? You can now use Tile’s finding technology to keep track of it via an easy-to-use app on your phone or tablet.

Tile and Fitbit are teaming up to make sure you never lose your Fitbit Inspire 2. Rolling out over the next week, Tile’s Bluetooth-finding technology is coming to Inspire 2.

Read more Fitbit Launches ‘Sense’, Its Most Advanced Health Smartwatch with ECG And Stress Management For $329

“We’ve partnered with Fitbit to integrate our powerful finding technology directly into the Inspire 2 you know and love. Starting March 22nd, both new and existing Fitbit Inspire 2 users will be able to track their device with Tile, in the free Tile app,” Tile said on its website.

How to Find Your Fitbit Inspire 2 with Tile

If you lose your Inspire 2 somewhere nearby, like at your house, just open the Tile mobile app and tap the “Find” button to make your device vibrate so you can easily find it. Or, try using the Proximity Meter in the Tile app to guide you to it visually. And if your Inspire 2 is lost and far away, like maybe you left it at the gym, then you can use the map in your Tile mobile app to see the location of the last place you had it with you.

If you return to the last place you had it and it’s still not there, you can take advantage of Tile’s global network of users to help you track it down. The Tile Network spans 195 countries and locates up to six million misplaced items every single day, reports Tile.

Lost Your Phone? Find it with Your Fitbit Inspire 2

If it’s your phone--not your Inspire 2 that you’ve misplaced, it’s easy to use the Tile feature on your Fitbit device to make your phone ring loudly from wherever it’s hiding. Simply open the Tile app from your Fitbit Inspire 2 and tap “Find my phone.” If your phone is connected and within Bluetooth range, it will start to vibrate and ring, even if it’s been set to silent!

Read more Fitbit OS Update Improves Heart Rate Tracking, Sleep Tools, On-Device Watch Face Adjustments

Fitbit Inspire 2 users can also sign up for Tile Premium to get smart alerts and other premium content at a price of $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

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Industrial wearables manufacturer ProGlove has expanded its analysis platform “ProGlove Insight” to include new functions in the area of ​​“Process Analytics” for optimizing work processes and protecting employees.

ProGlove Insight is an API-first platform offering services to improve Device Lifecycle Management, process understanding and let you easily act on dynamic events. By leveraging state-of-the-art sensors deeply embedded in ProGlove devices, you’re able to understand your processes like never before through completely new data points.

Related ProGlove, StayLinked Team Up to Help Improve Mobility and Process Automation For Logistics and Supply Chain Firms

Capitalizing on Data Improving the Warehouse Process

ProGlove Insight draws on the unique capability of ProGlove's MARK barcode scanners to not only capture barcode data but also seize metadata and information collected via the numerous sensors the devices feature. This data contextualizes barcode symbologies, device configurations, time stamps, temperature readings, battery health and other raw data to pave the way for actionable insights. ProGlove Insight eliminates the restrictions of workstation silos because it picks up data from the shop floor and drives it bottom up to the management level. This allows for an overview of a business's entire warehouse process and thus supports data-driven decision-making, according to a press release.

"Parcel logistics is a low-margin game that comes with a lot of manual work," said Ville Heimgartner, Smart Urban Logistics Consultant at DPD. "Therefore, efficiency and worker well-being is key, especially since the workload in our business is volatile. We need to make sure we have the right amount of people available at the right time and at the right spots in our depots. The number of scans, where we make them, and how fast they can be processed are key indicators that determine our business efficiency and productivity. ProGlove Insight gives us the means to best support our workers, make arrangements accordingly, and allow for sustainable growth."

Some of ProGlove Insight's key functionalities include:

• Safeguarding frontline workers: Allow for time-motion studies and measure the effort to complete assigned jobs. The number of scans can be correlated with a worker's step count to determine the workload on each worker. This way, organizations can assess whether the number of assigned workers per workstation needs adjustments to respond to peaks. Determine the time needed to process scans and identify recurring errors because of poor barcode quality to reduce the stress level for workers on site. Additionally, push audio, visual and haptic alerts on the deployed devices to provide guidance with all senses and help shop floor staff avoid accidents and injuries. At the same time, it enacts non-intrusive social distancing.
• Comprehensive Layout & Levels capabilities: Visualize shop floor activities and drill down to individual workstations and devices to compare processes. This lets businesses redesign workstations or other infrastructure components when necessary.
• Superior Insight Analytics: Monitor all scans and refine the collected information with relevant metadata to understand jobs, processes, and workloads to compare them to previous jobs and tailor your setup accordingly. This puts a magnifying glass on running jobs, allowing you to precisely measure ROI on new initiatives.
• Effortless device management with the ability to deploy zero-touch updates: Push firmware and configuration updates from one central point to your entire device fleet and know when to swap devices before they run out of charge to allow for undisrupted operations.

Related Gartner Names ProGlove Cool Vendor In May 2020 Manufacturing Industry Solutions Report

The value of the shop floor

"It is safe to assume that 70 percent of the added value on the shop floor is created by the hands of human frontline workers," said Andreas Koenig, CEO at ProGlove. "That's why we need means to optimize processes while strengthening the role of the human worker. ProGlove Insight is an amalgam of device management, advanced analytics, and the Human Digital Twin that strikes the right balance between business needs and worker wellbeing. We look upon this as a responsibility we have to pioneer a pathway to a future that comes with opportunities for everyone. ProGlove Insight is our contribution in that regard."

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More and more companies are focusing on improving the health and wellness of their employees and they’re turning to wearables to do just that.

Read more How Companies Are Using Wearable Tech To Bring Employees Back To Work

Wearables for employees come in different forms. Just as smartwatches and fitness trackers track their heart rate and stress, other wearables such as smart patches can track their blood pressure and blood oxygen levels while smart goggles augment workers’ vision with information overlays that aid decision-making, reports JLL.

“We invest so much in the healthy, productive workplace – such as sensors measuring occupancy, air quality and movement – yet the most important metric is its impact on individuals,” says Andrew O’Donnell, UK Real Estate and Workplace Director at JLL. “Employers are recognizing this and seeing wearables as a way to understand whether and how they can improve employee wellness.”

A growing market

A new report from Gartner finds worldwide end-user spending on wearable devices to total $81.5 billion in 2021, an 18.1% increase from $69 billion in 2020.

The rise in remote work and increased interest in health monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant factor driving market growth.

“The introduction of health measures to self-track COVID-19 symptoms, along with increasing interest from consumers in their personal health and wellness during global lockdowns, presented a significant opportunity for the wearables market,” said Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at Gartner. “Ear-worn devices and smartwatches are seeing particularly robust growth as consumers rely on these devices for remote work, fitness activities, health tracking, and more.”

Strategy shift

Moodbeam is a smart wristband that tells your boss if you’re unhappy at work. (Photo: )[/caption]

Mental health in the workplace has long been a concern for employers. Covid-19 lockdowns and remote working have worsened the issue.

Moodbeam is a wristband that allows employers to track their workers’ emotional health. Developed by a UK startup, the device allows its wearer to log how they feel at the click of a button.

While passive wearables like smartwatches monitor environmental factors, active wearables enhance a worker’s ability to complete a particular task. For example, exoskeletons allow workers to lift heavy objects without straining their backs.

Challenges

Wearables for employees are still in its infancy. One challenge is adoption, which is still far from widespread, says O’Donnell.

Smart workplaces

In the future, workplaces will benefit greatly from using wearables, predicts Anna Szlagor, from the Research and Consulting team at JLL.

Big companies might incorporate medical-grade devices like blood glucose-detecting rings or ECG patches into occupational health programs.

Read more LUBA Workers’ Comp Using Oura Ring To Explore The Use of Wearables in Workplace

Instead of using smartphones, employees could use smartwatches to access smart buildings and log into hot desks or customize temperature and lighting preferences, the JLL report said.

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Atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, is a common skin condition affecting about 10 million children in the U.S. It can cause sufferers to itch so badly that they can lose a full night’s sleep each week. Eczema sufferers are often asked by their doctor ‘How much does it itch?’ The answer to this question is, however, subjective and hard to quantify. It’s like asking somebody to rate their levels of pain. The researchers at Northwestern University decided to do something about this problem, so they developed a soft skin patch that can measure how often its wearer scratches themselves.

Read more L’Oreal My Skin Track pH Breaks Cover

“Itch torments so many patients across so many conditions. It can be as debilitating as chronic pain,” said lead author Shuai “Steve” Xu, MD, MSc, assistant professor of Dermatology, and of Pediatrics in the Division of Dermatology. “If we’re able to quantify scratching accurately, then we have the ability to objectively quantify itching. This is really important in patients — like children — who can’t always verbalize or quantify their suffering.”

The researchers reported their invention in Science Advances. Worn on the back of the hand, the wearable device uses both motion and vibration sensing to sense the hand’s activity. A machine-learning algorithm then identifies the motion as either scratching or some other non-scratching hand motion reports Northwestern University.

“Patients with atopic dermatitis are 44% more likely to report suicidal thoughts as a result of the itch compared to controls. Thus, the ability to quantify their symptoms is really important to help new drugs get approved, but also support their day-to-day lives,” Xu said. “In some ways, it’s like measuring glucose for diabetes…measuring itching in an atopic dermatitis patient may be just as important.”

“Nothing is more important to measure a medication’s effectiveness for eczema than an itch, the symptom that both defines eczema and has the greatest impact on quality of life. This sensor could play a critical role in this regard, especially for children,” said Amy Paller, MD, chair and Walter J. Hamlin Professor of Dermatology.

Read more OMRON launches WheezeScan, the World’s First Wheeze Detection Device for Children with Asthma

In addition, clinicians and parents have the ability to track how well itch is being controlled in patients at home to monitor for treatment response, as well as early signs of worsening disease, Xu said.

The sensor was accepted into the Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Discovery Tool program. This program allows novel devices like this sensor to be qualified to aid in the approval of new drugs.

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Haptics technology specialist Boreas has introduced the Boréas Piezo Haptic Engine (Boréas PHE) reference design for wearable designers. The fitness tracker module design helps designers leverage the performance benefits of piezo actuators to deliver high-definition (HD) haptic feedback in low-power, space-constrained wearables.

The demand and market for higher-quality haptics capabilities in numerous applications are growing exponentially, a recent report from IDTechEx suggested.

Read more Microsoft Studies Haptic Controller that Simulates Momentum and Gravity

HD haptic technology is all about delivering a better user experience, ranging from communicating information without requiring the user’s sight or hearing and easy differentiation of haptic effects to creating immersive experiences when used with audio and video.

Boreas claims its HPE is a major advancement over both legacy technologies that have dominated haptics in wearables and other small devices: linear resonant actuators (LRA) and eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors. The quality of the haptic performance of both LRAs and ERMs is linked directly to their own mass and volume. This architectural approach makes these platforms too large to achieve a satisfying user experience in wearables. In contrast, the Boréas PHE uses a small off-the-shelf piezo actuator and the mass of other internal components to generate exceptional haptic performance, eliminating the size-power-performance trade-off typical of LRAs and ERMs.

“The quality of haptic effects in smartwatches and fitness bands is vital to the user experience. This makes choosing a high-quality haptic engine essential to customer satisfaction,” said Simon Chaput, founder and CEO, Boréas Technologies. “But the dominant actuators generally used in wearables, LRAs and ERMs, generate inferior haptic effects at the small size needed for wearables.

“Piezo actuators, on the other hand, don’t have this problem. Used with our Boréas PHE, they produce stronger, more realistic, and more responsive haptic experiences that are sure to delight users with the premium feel that they’ve come to expect. Plus, their small size and ultra-low power consumption tick all the boxes for devices in which every millimeter and microamp are critical.”

Outperforming LRAs in Wearables

The advantages of the BPHE over the LRA—the haptic technology most commonly used in wearables—is measurable.

• Larger Bandwidth—the BPHE creates stronger haptic effects within a larger bandwidth, from frequencies between 30-300 Hz, while small LRAs offer a narrow bandwidth at high frequencies (>200 Hz)
• Faster Rise and Fall Times—with rise times of 2.25 cycles vs. LRA’s 11 cycles, and fall times <10 ms vs. LRA’s 80 ms, the Boréas PHE’s faster response times enable sharper, more realistic haptic effects in wearables
• Low Power Consumption—the Boréas PHE is up to 10x more power-efficient than LRAs, extending battery lifetime
• Small Footprint—with a 12x4x1.8mm piezo actuator, the BPHE is small enough for volume-constrained devices

Read more Valkyrie Developing Haptic VR Suit for Commercial Use

About Boréas Technologies

Boréas Technologies Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company commercializing product-differentiating piezo IC platforms in consumer and industrial markets. With origins in research conducted at Harvard University, Boréas was founded in 2016 in Bromont, Québec. Its proprietary CapDrive™ technology platform—on which the company’s ICs are based—is ideal for resource-constrained devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, smartphones, game controllers, and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

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