Celebrating its partnership with the Premier League, Swiss watchmaker Hublot has unveiled a limited-edition version of its Big Bang e smartwatch with a dedicated application, new dial and new strap, in purple, the iconic color of the Premier League.

Read more: AI-Powered Fantom Smartband to Keep Manchester City Fans Connected to the Club

“In these challenging times, football continues to be a source of much-needed joy for fans all over the world. Hublot loves football and continues to partner with the game’s greatest competitions,” said Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. “It’s our privilege to introduce the Hublot Big Bang e Premier League, a connected watch designed to bring passionate fans even closer to the world’s most-watched league. Hublot is really proud to be working with the Premier League and to be creating memorable experiences for people who love watches and love football.”

In addition to all the football stuff, users also get a pre-installed watchface and theme that reflects the branding. If you don’t like the color or the look of the watch, you can change it easily by choosing rubber strap colors and dial configurations.

The Hublot Loves Football Premier League app is pre-installed. This app provides users with animated notifications to alert them to Premier League match kick-off times (15 minutes before the game starts), goals, penalties, substitutions, yellow and red cards, and time added on. The dial can be set to display the time using digital or analog displays and, when a match starts, the watch automatically switches to “Match Mode”, reports Hublot.

The app will also show team line-ups and VAR decisions. When it signals a match is over, it will begin a countdown to the next fixture. If there are two games taking place at the same time, users will be able to switch between them with a simple screen tap.

The round display has a 390 x 390 resolution. The watch is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 3100 and has 1GB RAM and 8GB of storage. The battery lasts a day, according to Hublot.

“As a Hublot ambassador for many years, I can say that I am extremely proud to wear this magnificent watch that will bring fans of our league closer to the game,” says Jose Mourinho, Head Coach of Tottenham Hotspur. “I’m even more proud to see Hublot and the Premier League come together – the best watchmaker in the world and the best league in the world. It’s a special match.”

Read more: American Express to Launch New Contactless Payment Wristband for Members and Fans at the US Open

The limited-edition Hublot Big Bang e Premier League smartwatch obviously will not be cheap. It will cost you $5,200 (£4,300). And since there are only 200 of these that will be made, you better hurry if you’re a die-hard Premier League fan.

University of California San Diego (UCSD) engineers have developed a skin patch that can be worn on the neck to track blood pressure and heart rate while monitoring the user's glucose, lactate, alcohol or caffeine levels. It is the first wearable device that monitors cardiovascular signals and multiple biochemical levels in the human body at the same time.

Read more: Microfiber, Nanofiber-Based Wearables Can Track Your Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, and More

The researchers said the device could benefit individuals who are managing both high blood pressure and diabetes, especially because they are at high risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19, according to the study published this month in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

“This type of wearable would be very helpful for people with underlying medical conditions to monitor their own health on a regular basis,” said Lu Yin, a nanoengineering PhD student at UCSD and co-first author of the study. “It would also serve as a great tool for remote patient monitoring, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when people are minimizing in-person visits to the clinic.”

One soft skin patch that can do it all would also offer a convenient alternative for patients in intensive care units, including infants in the NICU, who need continuous monitoring of blood pressure and other vital signs. These procedures currently involve inserting catheters deep inside patients’ arteries and tethering patients to multiple hospital monitors, reports Liezel Labios in UCSD News.

The new patch is a product of two pioneering efforts in the UC San Diego Center for Wearable Sensors, for which Wang serves as director. Wang’s lab has been developing wearables capable of monitoring multiple signals simultaneously—chemical, physical and electrophysiological—in the body. And in the lab of UC San Diego nanoengineering professor Sheng Xu, researchers have been developing soft, stretchy electronic skin patches that can monitor blood pressure deep inside the body. By joining forces, the researchers created the first flexible, stretchable wearable device that combines chemical sensing (glucose, lactate, alcohol, and caffeine) with blood pressure monitoring.

“Each sensor provides a separate picture of a physical or chemical change. Integrating them all in one wearable patch allows us to stitch those different pictures together to get a more comprehensive overview of what’s going on in our bodies,” said Xu, who is also a co-corresponding author of the study.

The patch is a thin sheet of stretchy polymers that can conform to the skin. It is equipped with a blood pressure sensor and two chemical sensors—one that measures levels of lactate (a biomarker of physical exertion), caffeine, and alcohol in sweat, and another that measures glucose levels in interstitial fluid.

Read more: This Wearable Patch May Provide Painless, More Effective Chemotherapy For Melanoma

The team is already at work on a new version of the patch, one with even more sensors. “There are opportunities to monitor other biomarkers associated with various diseases. We are looking to add more clinical value to this device,” Sempionatto said. They are also working to make the patch completely wireless.

Facebook is reportedly building a smartwatch with a focus on health and messaging features, according to a new report from The Information.

Read more: Facebook Begins Rolling Out Messenger on Oculus Quest VR Headsets

Unsurprisingly, one core aspect of the watch will be social features. So, users will be able to send quick messages easily through the company’s platforms, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.

Another feature is health tracker. Users will be able to do workouts with friends or communicate with a trainer. Facebook reportedly has plans to connect with other fitness devices, like Peleton’s smart stationary bikes.

The watch will be powered by Android but it’s still unclear whether the software will be Google's WearOS or some kind of proprietary software, The Information report said.

The smartwatch will include a direct cellular connection, like pricier models of Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch models.

This watch will join Facebook's growing list of hardware devices including Oculus VR, its video-calling devices including Portal TV, Portal, Portal+, and Portal Mini.

In recent years, the social media giant has pushed further into hardware with its Oculus VR headsets and Portal video-streaming devices, hoping it can become less dependent on other dominant hardware makers.

Now with its foray into smartwatches, the company will be forced to face tech giants like Apple, which leads the pack with around 55% of global smartwatch sales, Samsung, and Google, which acquired Fitbit.

Still, the company hopes its new smartwatch will make it less dependent on Apple and Google, whose operating systems power most of the world's mobile devices.

Facebook said the price for its new smartwatch will be at near to cost. Pricing will be unveiled at the time of release and a second model will be developed to be released in 2023.

Read more: Facebook Reportedly Set Up New Group for Building Augmented Reality Glasses

Back in September, Facebook announced its partnership with Ray-Ban, and revealed that it will be developing and releasing the Ray-Ban branded smart glasses in 2021.

Wearables are slowly becoming a part of our lives. They are fashionable, trendy and they can track all sorts of health metrics like heart rate, blood pressure, sleep, and even stress. With the COVID-19 pandemic, masks have become a new entry into the wearables category. They have become an essential part of our lives outside our own four walls.

Read more: New TEAL Reusable Respirator Mask Can Sense Proper Fit and Filter Saturation

Now, AirPop, an air wearables company has launched a smart mask that tracks our breath, air quality, and the filter's effectiveness. Dubbed Active+ Halo, the smart mask with Halo sensor was created to offer wearers a better understanding of their respiratory health. The data is sent back to the companion app.

"It's an additional dimension to understanding what is healthy," said AirPop's founder Chris Hosmer. "Breathing is actually a really vital part of not only physical health but our psychological or emotional health, too."

AirPop masks are designed to protect against pathogens (like the coronavirus), as well as unhealthy air. Airpop produces far less mask waste. The filters also provide proven protection against bacteria and fine dust in the air, reports TechBook.

Features

• A washable, fairly sturdy fabric mesh as a coat
• Four filters to insert into the mask (each of which can be worn for 40 hours)
• KN95 certification and can therefore be used in Germany just like FFP2 masks

A smart sensor (halo) in the mask jacket that interacts with the smartphone app:

• for measuring the respiratory rate
• to display the filter service life
• to display the particulate matter pollution in your city
• and thus the display of the pollutant particles filtered out

Price

At around $182 (150 Euros), the AirPop Active+ Halo may sound a bit pricey, but you may become satisfied with what it offers.

Read more: Huami’s Amazfit Aeri Mask Self-Disinfects and Unlocks Your Phone With Face ID

Users get a wearing period of 160 hours (40 hours per filter). Additional filters can be purchased in a pack of 4 for 25 euros.

Compared to FFP2 masks, which should be changed after a day, at least the filter prices do not come off badly. Assuming that you get 30 FFP2 masks for 25 euros and wear them for 4 hours each, you get 120 hours of wearing time compared to the 160 hours for the Airpop filters.

Following on from the success of their Summit 2 smartwatch, the German luxury goods maker Montblanc has launched a more streamlined version called Montblanc Summit Lite. Named after its lightweight design, the Summit Lite is cheaper than its predecessors, the Summit 2 and the Summit 2+.

Read more: Emporio Armani Announces Connected 2018 With GPS, HR Tracking and Payments

As described in its website, “The Montblanc Summit Lite smartwatch is Montblanc's proposition for those who want to maximize their performance and prioritize a healthy and active lifestyle. It’s set of Montblanc proprietary activity apps paired with its lightweight materials distinguish the Summit Lite from the classical Summit smartwatch range. With this addition, the Montblanc Summit Lite watch opens up new opportunities for clients to focus on health and well-being.”

The design is the same as the other two Montblanc smartwatches with a round case and a crown and pushers to make it look like a mechanical watch. The 43mm case is crafted out of recycled aluminum, while the watch arrives in sustainable packaging made from 100% paper, reports LuxuryLaunches.

The watch is powered by Google’s Wear OS and uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 3100. It has 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage. It tracks your heart rate, sleep, and stress. It has a barometer, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and ambient light. There’s also a microphone but no speakers.

“With the renewed focus on health, fitness, mindfulness, and wellbeing we are witnessing today, our goal was to create a smartwatch that had just the right tools to support its owner throughout the day, in a way that was instinctive and effortless for today’s business lifestyle customer. Named Summit Lite after its lightweight design, it aligns with its wearer’s activities and is built for high performing individuals who are constantly on the move and blend their workout routine with their work routine,” explains Nicolas Baretzki, Montblanc CEO.

Read more: Montblanc Introduces TWIN Smart Strap and Wireless Payment Platform

The display is 1.19” AMOLED with Gorilla Cover Glass. Other features: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz), Waterproof, GPS, and NFC.

The Summit Lite is handsome in its design and its retail price of 815 Euros is surprisingly affordable.

Wearable technology is fast becoming a part of our lives. Wearables come in the form of smartwatches, hearables, smart wristbands, smart glasses, smart rings, and more. The global wearables market is estimated to reach US$97.9 billion by 2025, with an 11.2% CAGR from 2019 to 2025, according to Yole. While many companies want to grab a substantial share of this pie, designing them can be quite challenging. To precisely meet user requests and not risk to fade into oblivion one should take the following points into consideration:

Light-Weight Interactions

Light-weight interactions are very important for stimulating user experiences. In a wearable device, such as a smartwatch, the user session should not be more than 10 seconds. If user interaction requires more than that, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and redesign your interface. For example, when a user needs to reply to a text message in a smartwatch, they should be able to do it using a pre-defined template instead of typing. An option for using voice command should also be provided.

Read more: Designing Wearable Sensors That Are Suitable for Both Users and the FDA

Low power and energy-efficiency

Tiny batteries that run wearables should run for days without the need for charging them. As these devices become an integral part of a user’s life, it’s of utmost importance to increase battery life. Medical wearables like heart-rate monitors, multiparameter patches, blood glucose monitors, blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters need batteries that are reliable and can last for longer periods compared to other forms of wearables. As the size of the battery in wearable devices shrink, the fabrication process for composite electrodes and the use of liquid electrolytes is becoming a processing challenge for microfabrication using conventional approaches.

Ensuring security

Privacy and security of data are a big concern for wearable users. While wearables provide the advantage of being connected to the world 24/7, they are also at risk of disclosing personal information such as health data, conversations, emails etc. to anyone because they are at plain sight. Using better authentication techniques, software protection models, and utilizing crypto engines could be a few ways in which data security in wearables could be boosted.

Read more: Energy Harvesting Nanogenerators Offer New Option For Monitoring Health

Fewer Interruptions

A buzzing smartphone in your pocket could be annoying, but it gets even worse when a wearable attached to your skin vibrates constantly. Alerts, incoming notifications can be disruptive. Interruptions should be kept to a minimum so that the user can enjoy their time while wearing a smartwatch, reports Adobe.

Minimalistic design

From color to typography, smartwatches should have a minimalist design. A minimalist design makes it easy for a user to interact while moving. The screen should have a sharp contrast, making it easy to read. When designing a wearable, a designer should keep in mind that it should provide enough information but it will look and work great on a tiny screen.

NASA is launching a pilot program to help astronauts and other employees identify and treat illnesses like COVID-19 as quickly as possible.

As part of the pilot program, 1,000 NASA employees performing mission-critical work at six locations across the United States will receive Fitbit Charge 4 devices and access to Fitbit’s Ready for Work Daily Check-In experience. This includes 150 astronauts and NASA employees critical to future space missions who will use the Fitbit solution as part of the NASA Health Stabilization Program, which is aimed at mitigating the risk of occurrence of infectious disease among astronaut flight crews in the immediate preflight period.

Read more Fitbit’s New Ready for Work Solution Aimed At Helping Employers Ease Challenges of Returning To Work Amid COVID-19

The in-app Daily Check-In feature allows users to log their symptoms and temperature, track key health metrics, and receive summarized COVID-19 guidance based on CDC guidelines. The goal of the Fitbit pilot program is to help NASA and its employees prevent the spread of COVID-19 while also supporting the overall health and well-being of NASA employees. Employees will also have access to one year of Fitbit Premium and one-on-one Fitbit health coaching services, reports Fitbit.

There is evidence that resting heart rate data and other key health indicators from wearables have the potential to identify flu-like illnesses such as COVID-19 before symptoms emerge. This is important because people can transmit the virus before they realize they have symptoms or when they have no symptoms at all.

The Fitbit Ready for Work Daily Check-In feature allows users to view key health metrics (resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and breathing rate) tracked by their Fitbit device alongside self-reported symptoms, temperature logging, and COVID-19 exposure. Based on a user’s daily check-in, the solution will provide NASA employees with daily guidance to help them decide whether to go to work or stay home.

“The pandemic has underscored the critical role that Fitbit can play in providing much-needed support to help people sleep better, eat better, move more and take control of their health and wellness, as well as the potential to identify illness from specific health metrics, which is especially important now during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Amy McDonough, Managing Director and General Manager, Fitbit Health Solutions at Google.

“We are proud to work with NASA to support its employees and give them access to Fitbit products and services to help them better understand and manage their health and well-being during the pandemic.”

Read more: Fitbit Adds New COVID-19 Feature that Connects Users to a Virtual Doctor and Gives Advice On Indoor Workouts

NASA will evaluate the pilot program and consider expanding to a larger employee population based on the impact the program has on helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and in supporting the health and wellness of NASA employees.

Fitbit is also continuing its work to further validate a Fitbit COVID-19 early detection algorithm, including a prospective study with Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

The pandemic has increased the popularity of wearables like smartwatches and wristbands. As smartwatches allow continuous heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation and contactless payments, special wristbands help keep people maintain social distancing. All of these are vital during this pandemic.

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

From Apple to Garmin, numerous smartwatch brands are dominating the wearables market. Noise is one such brand. What sets Noise apart from other leading brands is that it offers wearables and hearables at a very cheap price.

Founded in 2018 by Amit Khatri & Gaurav Khatri, Noise is the leading Indian connected lifestyle brand that is changing the way India remains connected and building India's largest and most active buoyant lifestyle community. With its remarkable range of best-in-class smart hearables and wearables Noise has also been awarded India’s No.1 wearable watch brand in 2020 by IDC Worldwide Wearable Device Tracker.

Noise has been listed as bestselling brand on Amazon and Flipkart for four years in a row and in 2019, Noise was the biggest Indian seller of wireless earphones in the country. We were also the only Indian brand amongst the top 5 brands selling wireless earphones in India.

Noise Colorfit Pro 2 Full Touch Control Smartwatch sells for only 3,000 Rupees (US $41) at Amazon. The watch tracks your heart rate, steps, and sleep. It also sends smart notifications, and is waterproof.

The company started out selling smartphone cases but Amit & Gaurav saw the smartphone revolution and realized that with a phone at the center of most people's lives, smartphone accessories would be the next big thing in India. Noise diversified into smart wearables and wireless headphones. Noise was one of the first brands in India to offer truly wireless earbuds; the Noise SHOTS.

Read more: Walmart completes Acquisition of India’s Flipkart for $16 Billion

Noise makes the latest personal technology accessories available and affordable to young Indian consumers. It has been listed as the bestselling brand on Amazon and Flipkart for four years in a row and in 2019, Noise was the biggest Indian seller of wireless earphones in the country.

The Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing is set to outfit some in-office employees with 4G-supported social-distancing wearables to implement a stronger contact tracing program that was launched recently.

Read more: U.S. Military’s AI-Powered Wearable Can Detect COVID-19 Two Days Before You Get Sick

The wearable devices can clip onto an employee’s shirt, lanyard, or belt. When employees are less than six feet apart, the wearable tools will give real-time audible and visual alerts and can notify management about who violated protocol, and at what time. The solutions will be distributed to employees at the East and West Currency facilities via a contract the agency awarded to the commercial vendor Triax Technologies, according to a notice released by the Treasury on Tuesday.

“Mitigating the possible spread of COVID-19 in the facilities has presented BEP with a number of challenges and delays,” officials wrote in the document. “Contact tracing will help minimize risk to our workforce as we move through the next phases of the reopening plan and strategically reintroduce employees back into the facilities.”

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing isn’t the first federal entity to turn to wearables to proactively mitigate potential coronavirus outbreaks among personnel, and recent research suggests some government employees are onboard, reports Nextgov.

The contract for the devices was launched on Feb. 2 with vendor Triax Technologies. The company’s contract-tracing devices transmit employees’ proximity data to the cloud through cellular gateways, with no direct data or network access to BEP systems or networks.

Read more: Singapore To Give Its Citizens Wearable ‘Tokens’ for COVID-19 Contact Tracing

“The need for the service is of such compelling urgency that current policies could impact future efforts as announcements of COVID-19 reports rise throughout the Bureau and surrounding states of the DC area where employees live,” the document said. “The impact of continuing with a manual process could further complicate reporting timely efforts as positive cases are received and slow down production. The Bureau’s desired end state is to replace the existing manual process with a turn-key solution/ tracking social distancing device at both facility locations.”

It’s been four years since Garmin released Vivoactive 4 at the IFA in Berlin back in 2019. The smartwatch became a popular choice among users. Due to the popularity of Vivoactive 4, it is safe to say that Vivoactive 5 is on the horizon.

Read more: Garmin Lily, A Smartwatch Targeted at Women, Expected to Hit Markets Soon

When Garmin released Vivoactive 4, it came in two models: a 45mm stainless steel one and a 40mm model for small wrists – called 4S.

So we can expect that Vivoactive 5 will also have the same form-factor. According to rumors, “A round device with a few size options should once again be on the cards,” reports Marko Maslakovic in Gadgets and Wearables.

As for the display, Garmin may not opt for AMOLED as doing that would hike the price and decrease battery life.

Increasing the resolution may be a good choice. And, if Garmin shrinks the thickness of the watch, there won’t be much changes in the design.

As for the users’ expectations, we’d like to see more health tracking features. Vivoactive 4’s SpO2 sensor was very popular. Users would like to see it in the latest model as well. SpO2 measures blood oxygen levels and respiration rate. These are useful, especially for sleep tracking.

Vivoactive 4 offered pretty much everything in sports and fitness tracking. However, metrics like Training load, Recovery Time, Training Effect would be nice additions.

As Garmin watches are known to be popular among athletes, they don’t offer ECG readings. But since Vivoactive is an all-purpose fitness and health watch, having ECG on the Vivoactive 5 would be a good choice.

Read more: Cardiogram Joins Garmin to Integrate its Heart Health App into Garmin Wearables

So, when could we see the Vivoactive 5 in the market? There was a two-year period between Vivoactive 3 and Vivoactive 4, which landed in 2019. Therefore, expecting Vivoactive 5 in 2021 is quite reasonable.

As for the price, we’d expect it to be around the same range as Vivoactive 4 and Vivoactive 4S, which were launched at US$338 and US$315 respectively.

For an avid athlete, it’s important to have reliable data in order to improve performance. There are numerous wearable devices in the market that offer heart rate, speed, distance, stride length, cadence, calories burned, etc. Here are 5 wearables that provide accurate heart rate.

Read more: Heart Rate Variability Fluctuates by Age, Gender, Activity and Time of Day, Fitbit Study Reveals

Garmin HRM-Run

Garmin’s HRM-Run heart rate monitor provides the most advanced running metrics to high-end Garmin Forerunner running watches. The strap is seamlessly comfortable and easily adjustable while the module is small, lightweight and fits entirely within the width strap. The Garmin HRM-Run comes with impressively long battery life: It lasts for an entire year, assuming you run for an hour per day, once a day.

HRM-Run provides 6 running dynamics metrics:

• Cadence — number of steps per minute
• Vertical oscillation — degree of ‘bounce’ in your running motion; displays the vertical motion of your torso, measured in centimeters for each step
• Ground contact time — the amount of time in each step that you spend on the ground while running; measured in milliseconds
• Ground contact time balance — displays the left/right balance of your ground contact time while running (displays a percentage); for example, 53.2 with an arrow pointing left or right
• Stride length — length of your stride from 1 footfall to the next; measured in meters
• Vertical ratio — ratio of vertical oscillation to stride length (displays a percentage); a lower number typically indicates better running form
• This real-time data can help athletes take their performance to the next level by showing them where they can improve their running form.

Apple Watch Series 6

While precise data delivered by chest and arm straps are usually preferred by avid athletes, the Apple Watch offers countless additional features that anyone can appreciate. With the Apple Watch 6, you can measure your blood oxygen level and take an ECG anytime, anywhere. Apple Watch Series 6 is capable of generating an ECG similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram. It’s a momentous achievement for a wearable device that can provide critical data for doctors and peace of mind for you.

Whoop Strap 3.0

WHOOP is a wrist-worn wearable device that is designed to improve training, sleep, and lifestyle choices with real-time feedback on the body. The WHOOP Strap 3.0 collects physiological data 24/7 to provide the most accurate and granular understanding of your body. It's lightweight, waterproof, and features the new and improved 5-day battery life and BLE connect. A monthly subscription is required to use this wearable. The WHOOP membership includes free hardware (WHOOP Strap 3.0) and a coaching platform designed to optimize behavior. Studies show that after a year on WHOOP, members experience longer and more consistent sleep, improved physiology, enhanced physical performance, and meaningful lifestyle changes.

Read more: Easiest Way to Track Your Heart Rate With Wearable Fitness Trackers

Fitbit Charge 4

Fitbit Charge 4 is the company’s most advanced health and fitness tracker. Fitbit’s latest innovation Active Zone Minutes is a new personalized standard based on your resting heart rate and age that tracks any workout that gets your heart pumping, from indoor biking to yoga, measuring the time you spend in each heart rate zone toward a weekly goal of 150 minutes. SpO2 sensor allows you to see an estimate of the oxygen level variability in your bloodstream, which may indicate variations in your breathing during sleep. Charge 4 comes standard with the health and fitness essentials like SmartTrack® automatic exercise tracking, Cardio Fitness Level and Score, floors climbed, Reminders to Move every hour, female health-tracking, food, water, and weight logging, and more.

Polar Verity Sense Strap

This optical heart rate sensor follows on from the existing Polar OH1, and adds new features and capabilities. The ultralight (17g) and compact sensor is the perfect alternative to any chest strap and wrist devices. However, the real advantage of this strap is its ability to be worn in numerous places. You can wear it on your arm and even wrap the device around your leg. According to Polar, the sensor can be clipped to swim goggles as well. You can wear it on your clothing as well.

Commercial Bank, a leading digital bank in Qatar, has announced a new innovative payment method provided through smartwatches and trackers.

Through this new offering, Commercial Bank is adding one more contactless payment solution that allows users to make secure payments from the smartwatch or fitness trackers, without the need of a phone or cards, reports Gulf Times.

To start using this novel payment method, Commercial Bank cardholders need to simply register their CB credit or debit card details into their wearable smartwatch or tracker using the devices’ applications and then make contactless payments by simply tapping their smartwatch at any contactless supported payment terminals.

Read more: Contactless Payment System Will Drive Payment-Enabled Wearables Market to US$7.2 Billion in 2024

This new service fulfills Commercial Bank’s promise of bringing payment solutions to match the evolving lifestyle of its customers; thus, becoming one of the first local banks to offer athletes and sports enthusiasts in Qatar a new way to pay for their purchases with their watches and keep moving.

“Commercial Bank has always been a market leader in introducing new payment technologies and a key influencer in setting new market trends in Qatar. In recent years, we have seen a considerable growth of smartwatches and wearables in the country" said Roya Khajeh, AGM and head (Cards and Payments) at Commercial Bank.

“The adoption of these wearables made it essential for us to bring contactless payments to more payment devices. We are proud to partner with Garmin and MasterCard to bring a secure and convenient payment option for our customers."

Commercial Bank customers can stay tuned and expect to know more about this exciting product launch following the ongoing closed group pilot testing phase, through a bigger marketing announcement.

Nadia Ghissassi, country manager (Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman) at MasterCard said, “We are excited to extend our partnership with Commercial Bank for the launch of this new payment solution."

Read more: Visa and Planeta Informatica Launch New Technology to Bring Speed and Security of Contactless Payment to Transit Operators Worldwide

“Contactless payment technologies were already gaining traction, we have witnessed how the pandemic acted as a catalyst and dramatically increased consumer adoption in this market. Shoppers have realized that touchless provides a much faster, safer, convenient and hygienic way to pay. Hence we will continue to work closely with our partners in Qatar to introduce new solutions that are aligned with their changing needs.”

Wearable technology is here to stay. With so many different types of wearables in the market, consumers demand a good battery life for their devices. Researchers are searching for various methods to harvest energy. Now, scientists at the University of Colorado – Boulder have developed a low-cost wearable device that transforms the human body into a biological battery.

Read more: Flexible Thermoelectric Device Harvests Energy from Skin Temperature to Power Wearables

The device, described in the journal Science Advances, is stretchy enough that you can wear it like a ring, a bracelet or any other accessory that touches your skin. It also taps into a person’s natural heat—employing thermoelectric generators to convert the body’s internal temperature into electricity, reports CU Boulder.

“In the future, we want to be able to power your wearable electronics without having to include a battery,” said Jianliang Xiao, senior author of the new paper and an associate professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder.

The new device created by Xiao and his colleagues can generate about 1 volt of energy for every square centimeter of skin space—less voltage per area than what most existing batteries provide but still enough to power electronics like watches or fitness trackers.

Scientists have previously experimented with similar thermoelectric wearable devices, but Xiao’s is stretchy, can heal itself when damaged and is fully recyclable—making it a cleaner alternative to traditional electronics.

“Whenever you use a battery, you’re depleting that battery and will, eventually, need to replace it,” Xiao said. “The nice thing about our thermoelectric device is that you can wear it, and it provides you with constant power.”

High-tech bling

The group’s latest innovation begins with a base made out of a stretchy material called polyimine. The scientists then stick a series of thin thermoelectric chips into that base, connecting them all with liquid metal wires. The final product looks like a cross between a plastic bracelet and a miniature computer motherboard or maybe a techy diamond ring.

“Our design makes the whole system stretchable without introducing much strain to the thermoelectric material, which can be really brittle,” Xiao said.

Just pretend that you’re out for a jog. As you exercise, your body heats up, and that heat will radiate out to the cool air around you. Xiao’s device captures that flow of energy rather than letting it go to waste.

“The thermoelectric generators are in close contact with the human body, and they can use the heat that would normally be dissipated into the environment,” he said.

Lego blocks

He added that you can easily boost that power by adding in more blocks of generators. In that sense, he compares his design to a popular children’s toy.

“What I can do is combine these smaller units to get a bigger unit,” he said. “It’s like putting together a bunch of small Lego pieces to make a large structure. It gives you a lot of options for customization.”

Xiao and his colleagues calculated, for example, that a person taking a brisk walk could use a device the size of a typical sports wristband to generate about 5 volts of electricity—which is more than what many watch batteries can muster.

Like Xiao’s electronic skin, the new devices are as resilient as biological tissue. If your device tears, for example, you can pinch together the broken ends, and they’ll seal back up in just a few minutes. And when you’re done with the device, you can dunk it into a special solution that will separate out the electronic components and dissolve the polyimine base—each and every one of those ingredients can then be reused.

Read more: Stretchable System Can Power Wearables By Harvesting Energy From Wearer’s Breathing and Motion

“We’re trying to make our devices as cheap and reliable as possible, while also having as close to zero impact on the environment as possible,” Xiao said.

While there are still kinks to work out in the design, he thinks that his group’s devices could appear on the market in five to 10 years.

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American sports equipment company Under Armour has launched three new pairs of its connected shoes – the HOVR Machina, HOVR Infinite 3 and HOVR Sonic 4. All three shoes will connect with UA MapMyRun.

Read more: Nike Unveils Smart Basketball Shoes that Can Be Self-Laced with a Smartphone App

HOVR Machina 2

UA HOVR Machina 2 is more than a running shoe. Yes, it gives you energy return and the speed of a Pebax propulsion plate, but it also coaches you in real-time to help you run better when you connect them to UA MapMyRun, reports Under Armour.

Features:

• CONNECTS TO UA MAPMYRUN: tracks & analyzes your running metrics to help make you a better runner
• UA HOVR technology provides 'zero gravity feel' to maintain energy return that helps eliminate impact
• Compression mesh Energy Web contains & molds UA HOVR foam to give back the energy you put in
• Ultralight 3D spacer mesh upper for increased breathability & ultimate speed
• As your body emits energy, the mineral-infused UA RUSH™ lining absorbs & reflects it back, improving endurance
• External heel counter for added stability & a locked-in feel
• Sprint spike-inspired Pebax® speed plate for increased return & more powerful push-offs
• Carbon rubber pods under the heel deliver greater traction & durability at high-impact strike zones

HOVR Infinite 3

Pro distance runners want energy return and efficiency. And that's exactly what UA HOVR Infinite 3 delivers. That and real-time Form Coaching. When connected to MapMyRun, it gives users personalized tips to help them run better.

Features:

• CONNECTS TO UA MAPMYRUN: tracks & analyzes your running metrics to help make you a better runner
• UA HOVR technology provides 'zero gravity feel' to maintain energy return that helps eliminate impact
• Compression mesh Energy Web contains & molds UA HOVR™ foam to give back the energy you put in
• Engineered mesh upper is extremely lightweight & breathable, with strategic support where you need it
• Internal heel counter for additional support that helps keep the back of the foot locked-in place
• Die-cut, full-length EVA sockliner molds to the foot, eliminating slippage & providing ideal underfoot comfort
• Anatomically placed, deep flex grooves offer proper flexibility in key areas
• Carbon rubber pods under the heel deliver greater traction & durability at high-impact strike zones

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HOVR Sonic 4

The UA HOVR Sonic has been a no-brainer for runners who like distance but want more flexibility. And now, with real-time Form Coaching from UA MapMyRun™, the UA HOVR™ Sonic 4 also helps you become a better runner.

Features

• CONNECTS TO UA MAPMYRUN: tracks & analyzes your running metrics to help make you a better runner
• UA HOVR™ technology provides 'zero gravity feel' to maintain energy return that helps eliminate impact
• Compression mesh Energy Web contains & molds UA HOVR™ foam to give back the energy you put in
• Lightweight engineered mesh upper for ultimate breathability
• Tongue is attached to the footbed by stretchable support wings to maintain a snug fit throughout the foot
• One-piece heel construction with external TPU heel counter for additional support & structure
• Removable sockliner molds to the foot for customized comfort & cushion
• Blown rubber under the forefoot & high-abrasion rubber under the heel to help absorb ground contact

Polar has announced a new optical heart rate sensor, called the Verity Sense. It follows on from the existing Polar OH1, and adding new features and capabilities. The ultralight (17g) and compact sensor is the perfect alternative to any chest strap and wrist devices. However, the real advantage of this strap is its ability to be worn in numerous places. You can wear it on your arm and even wrap the device around your leg. According to Polar, the sensor can be clipped to swim goggles as well.

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

Verity Sense uses the same 6 LED optical heart tracking as the previous OH1. You can also wear it on your clothing. To do that, simply detach the sensor from its armband and holder and wear it anywhere under tight-fitting clothing. Just make sure the optical heart-rate sensor sits nice and tight against your skin. So, whatever your sport, Polar Verity Sense adapts 100%.

When you connect your Polar Verity Sense to your phone or watch for your workout, you'll know moment by moment where you are with your session and you can adjust intensity should that be necessary.

The internal memory on Polar Verity Sense saves your workout when you want to be free as a bird and just listen to what your body is telling you.

Here are some of the upgrades from its previous version:

• Increased signal ranges from 75 meters to 150 meters
• Increased battery life from 8 hours to 20 hours
• Increased storage from 4MB to 16MB
• Increased water resistance from 30m to 50m
• Added dedicated swim mode, which captures swim metrics
• Changed band design to make it difficult to flip over

Read more: MIT Develops Smart Shirt That Can Monitor Heart Rate, Temperature and Other Vital Signs

All those updates come at a price hike of $10. The new Polar Verity Sense heart rate monitor sells for $90, including the sensor, gray armband strap, swim goggle clip, proprietary USB charger, and a mesh storage bag.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized marketing of eXciteOSA – a neuromuscular tongue stimulating device that could help prevent sleep apnea and snoring – and it doesn’t need to be worn while sleeping. Signifier Medical Technologies, a company with offices in London and Massachusetts, will market the device.

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“Obstructive sleep apnea not only impacts sleep quality but can have other serious health impacts if untreated. Today’s authorization offers a new option for the thousands of individuals who experience snoring or mild sleep apnea,” said Malvina Eydelman, MD., director of the Office of Ophthalmic, Anesthesia, Respiratory, ENT and Dental Devices in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the upper airway becomes blocked repeatedly during sleep, reducing or completely stopping airflow. Untreated OSA can lead to serious complications such as heart attack, glaucoma, diabetes, cancer and cognitive and behavioral disorders.

The eXciteOSA device is the first of its kind cleared by the FDA to treat sleep apnea and snoring by improving tongue muscle function by delivering electrical stimulation to the tongue through a mouthpiece worn for 20 minutes a day. It helps retrain the tongue to prevent it from collapsing backward and blocking airflow during sleep.

Read more: Withings Launches New ‘ScanWatch’ with ECG and Sleep Apnea Detection

The FDA assessed the safety and effectiveness of the eXciteOSA device in 115 patients with snoring, including 48 patients with snoring and mild sleep apnea.

Results showed a greater than 20% mean reduction in snoring time (at levels louder than 40dB) in 87 patients, reports FDA. Among patients with mild OSA (n=65), 79% responded to therapy with a mean reduction of 52% in AHI, a 58% reduction in oxygen desaturation index, and a 3.9-point reduction in Epworth Sleepiness Scale score. The most common adverse events observed were excessive salivation, tongue or tooth discomfort, tongue tingling, dental filling sensitivity, metallic taste, gagging, and tight jaw.

The eXciteOSA device is not intended for patients who have or are suspected of having more serious cases of OSA.

Fitbit users can now track their blood glucose levels using the device’s smartphone app. Fitbit will roll out the feature within the app throughout February, the company said.

Read more: Heart Rate Variability Fluctuates by Age, Gender, Activity and Time of Day, Fitbit Study Reveals

Approximately 34.2 million Americans live with diabetes, while another 88 million adults have prediabetes, according to CDC. Now more than ever, there’s a need for tools that can help people tackle the disease.

Users can set personalized ranges so they can see when they’re outside their target range to better identify important changes and get friendly reminders.

Why do you need to track your glucose levels?

When you eat food, your body breaks down carbohydrates into a simple sugar called glucose, which is absorbed into the blood. Blood glucose (or blood sugar) is the main sugar found in your blood. It’s an energy source that fuels your body—keeping your muscles moving, brain thinking, and heart pumping. But when blood glucose levels are too high, most commonly with diabetes, it can cause damage to blood vessels and increase the risk of hypertension, stroke, and heart attacks.

Tracking your blood glucose is important to help you keep your levels in your target range. It can allow you to learn your body’s unique patterns and how behaviors like diet, activity, and sleep and other factors like stress and medication adherence are affecting your levels, reports Fitbit.

In addition to the ability to track blood glucose, Fitbit Premium members gradually will have access to seeing how often their glucose levels fall within their target range over a 30-day period, along with correlations between when they take a reading and their levels as well trends in this data. Members can also share their blood glucose levels as part of their Wellness Report with their healthcare provider to help your care team offer more personalized guidance for your care.

Read more: Combining Fitbit Wearables With Health2Sync Glucose Control App Improves Diabetes Management

How to get started

To get started, open the Fitbit app and select 'Discover', followed by 'Health and Fitness Stats'. Add the 'Blood Glucose' tile to your 'Today' screen, then tap it to connect your OneTouch app and meter.

The feature is currently rolling out to all users throughout the US, in English only, and should be available nationwide by the end of February.

India’s largest watchmaker Titan has expanded its portfolio within the wearable category by launching its new smart fitness gear brand TraQ. The first-ever smart gear developed entirely by Titan, TraQ was conceptualized in-house at the design studio in Bangalore and is made exclusively for India's outperformers.

Read more: Garmin Lily, A Smartwatch Targeted at Women, Expected to Hit Markets Soon

Titan is eyeing the growing market in the fitness gear segment as the number of people taking up sports like running, cycling, swimming and aiming for a healthy and active lifestyle is on the rise.

“The pandemic has accentuated this trend creating demand for a dedicated gear for tracking performance in these sports. While there are many sports accessories brand, there are very limited players who offer products to track the performance in various sports. So, we are very excited to launch a new brand of performance gear catering to this growing need,” said Suparna Mitra, CEO, Watches Division, Titan Company Limited.

The watches are available under three variants - TraQ Lite, TraQ Triathlon, and TraQ Cardio. TraQ Pro watches boast amazing features that enable the journey to outperform, including an in-built GPS, transflective display, ANT+ compatibility, heart rate monitoring, and much more. The Pro watches from the brand are multi-sport enabled with running, cycling, and swimming modes. The TraQ App further helps to go beyond the limit with advanced performance data, pace measurement, setting goals, connecting with friends, and much more. The app can be downloaded from Google Play Store or Apple App Store, reports BusinessWorldIn.

TraQ Lite is the introductory activity watch from the brand. This digital watch comes with a chest strap that allows the user to accurately measure heart rates as well as use heart rate zones for workout-based training. The watch records up to 25 fitness records for one to refer to.

Read more: Wahoo Enters Wearables Market with the Launch of Elemnt Rival Multi-Sport GPS Smartwatch

TraQ Triathlon and TraQ Cardio gears are equipped with smartwatch functions that help to stay on track, with call and message alerts on the go, to the latest weather updates before heading out for training. Users can time every move with clock features like alarm, stopwatch, and timer and experience the thrill of training with music that has the right BPM, through the music control feature. The TraQ Pros also have best in class battery backup with the delivery of up to 13 hrs with GPS on and almost a week on standby mode with Active HRM disabled. The watches have 5 buttons for input making them extremely easy to use when wearing protective gloves or with sweaty fingers where a touch-screen becomes extremely cumbersome to operate.

The newest trend to hit the wearables market is metabolic monitoring, which comes in the form of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices. CGM tracks how the food consumed by the user affects their blood glucose and helps them pick the right food for their metabolism.

Read more: Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 CGM Wins CE Mark for People with Diabetes In Europe

These devices can also alert users if they might be at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases, reports Katie Adams in BeckersHospitalReview.

Diabetes is evolving at an increasingly rapid pace. The evolution and progress of home glucose monitoring continued and was revolutionized even more, with the introduction of CGM. Now, companies like Abbott, Medtronic, and Dexcom are leading the race in CGM development.

Most metabolic monitoring involves measuring blood glucose, which is a marker for the risk of decreased brain glucose (due to hypoglycemia) and for increased end-organ glycosylation (due to hyperglycemia) that occurs in diabetes.

In 1999, the FDA approved the first CGM in the market, and the first real-time CGM was Glucowatch Biographer, which was worn as a wristwatch. This device used reverse iontophoresis measuring glucose levels.

New continuous blood glucose monitors are currently being developed that will eventually not only measure blood glucose levels but will be connected to insulin delivery systems to create an artificial pancreas.

Medtronic has launched InPen, an FDA-cleared smart insulin pen for people on multiple daily injections (MDI). The smart insulin pen will link with the Medtech giant’s Guardian Connect continuous glucose monitoring system, to help track insulin doses alongside real-time blood sugar readings through a single smartphone app provided by Medtronic.

Read more: Dexcom G6 Pro CGM Offers Both Blinded And Unblinded Mode For Glucose Monitoring

Although currently available CGMs are mostly invasive, various CGM makers are developing non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring. Nemaura, a UK-based medical technology company received CE approval for its non-invasive, affordable, and flexible Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) SugarBEAT for use by diabetics and pre-diabetics. This approval allows Nemaura to sell SugarBeat throughout the European Union. The key features of this CGM are:

• Non-invasive, needle-free, disposable adhesive skin-patch connected to a rechargeable transmitter
• Lowest priced CGM in the industry
• Enables users to spend more time in range (TIR) by providing an ambulatory glucose profile (AGP) chart

Undoubtedly, it’s an exciting time in the diabetes technology world. By watching developments in the CGM sector, we can safely say that continuous glucose monitoring will shape the future for diabetics.

Facedrive Health, the developer of TraceSCAN, is contributing to Herald – an open-source project developed by VMware – to Combat COVID-19. Herald is an open-source Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) based protocol developed for the reliable exchange of information between a range of mobile phones. Herald is being developed with the goal of providing more reliable Bluetooth Proximity Detection to improve digital exposure notification applications worldwide in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Read more: Facedrive Launching Pilot Project For Its COVID-19 Contact Tracing Wearable in Partnership with LiUNA

To further expedite the reach and interoperability of digital exposure notification through wearables, Herald is sharing its codebase—including Facedrive’s contributions—with Linux Foundation Public Health (LFPH.io). LFPH is a non-profit global community that builds, secures, and sustains open-source software to help public health authorities (PHAs) around the world combat COVID-19 and future epidemics. As more projects are contributed, LFPH will expand its scope into software support for all phases of PHA’s testing, tracing, and isolation activities, reports BusinessWire.

Herald delivers a set of features that enhance exposure notification at the inter-device communications level. Important features include 100% detection of phones in the foreground and background across iOS and Android devices, more frequent distance estimations enabling more accurate data capture and risk measurement over time. Perhaps most importantly, by providing a common packet header Herald allows for international interoperability amongst all contact tracing applications, whether designed for centralized or decentralized contact matching and risk scoring.

TraceSCAN, Facedrive Health’s innovative exposure notification, and smart wearables solution, is powered by cutting-edge Bluetooth technology which enables the device to work as an independent wearable product or in conjunction with mobile-only solutions. Given Facedrive Health’s expertise in the development of wearable exposure notification devices, joining the Herald community and contributing to its development was a natural fit.

Read more: This App Combines AI and Biosensors to Detect COVID-19 in Two Minutes, Even in Asymptomatic Patients

“The Herald Protocol is an innovative and necessary foundational technology that can significantly improve the communications layer of the exposure notification application stack. Based on our experience in building TraceSCAN, we are pleased to be involved in the community development of Herald, alongside VMware and other partners,” said Sayan Navaratnam, Chairman and CEO of Facedrive. “Herald has the potential to significantly improve the range and accuracy of COVID-19 related applications and to enable universal interoperability across technology silos in Canada and internationally. This type of global connectivity is critical because the larger an exposure notification network becomes, the more effective it is at detecting and halting the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases,” added Navaratnam.