Many students, especially younger ones, struggle to stay focused in the classroom. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects children and teens and can continue into adulthood. Lack of focus in the classroom means the student will have a hard time learning new things and at the same time it puts pressure on the teacher as well as the parents. Revibe Technologies, a NY-based startup wants to solve this issue with its wearable called Revibe Connect.

Related Cognoa Licenses Google Glass-based AI Technology for Children with Autism

Revibe Connect is a Fitbit-like wristband that vibrates to help the wearer stay focused. The founder of Revibe Tech is Rich Brancaccio, a former school psychologist. Brancaccio says that he saw students struggle to stay focused in the classroom; and worked with helpless parents that wanted to find a new way to approach the issue, reports Hypepotamus.

Brancaccio created an algorithm that would send vibration signals through the device to spark metacognitive awareness and snap the student out of a distracted state.

When the student needs to stay focused, the device makes whisper-quiet vibrations without attracting the attention of nearby peers. The battery lasts for 7 days.

“The more they wear it, the wearable starts figuring out when they’re in a certain class and how it should prompt them,” says Brancaccio.

Revibe collects six core metrics including overall focus, on-task score, activity, and fidgeting (tapping a pencil, moving the feet, etc.).

The dashboard displays the daily metrics, which can be seen by teachers, parents and students throughout the day. Based on that data, parents and teachers can provide recommendations on how to change the child’s activity to make them focus.

For example, research shows that a five-minute walk can help some students improve their focus, according to Brancaccio.

“Teachers and administrators would use our data to say, it looks like during language arts, for instance, this child really struggles. They can then send them on a short walk to refocus them,” Brancaccio says.

Related Wearable Device Can Identify Anxiety and Depression in Children

The main unit is made from food grade plastic and contains no BPA/BPS, lead, or orphthalates. The wristband is made from ultra-strong nylon, and lined with soft, organic cotton.

The wearable has been used in over 2,000 schools, according to Revibe Tech.

Revibe is priced at $104.95, and can be bought through the company’s website.

WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco on July 9-10

The most innovative wearables event will be back on July 9-10 in beautiful San Francisco at SEMICON West to celebrate the 34th edition of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference Series. Topics include data analytics in professional sports, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation with wearables, the future of digital health, medication and adherence, smart patches, workflow optimization and workforce safety and much more – featuring international leaders and experts of the wearables industry´s biggest names including Abbott, Datwyler, Kopin, Maxim Integrated, Multek, NFLPA, Omron, SharkDreams, Qualcomm, Viewpointsystem and many more. Register now to be part of #WTUS19

The continuing trend of wireless earbuds has brought us yet another set of earbuds that are not only wireless but waterproof, robust and dustproof. Above all they sound great!

xFyro xS2 earbuds are in-ear headphones, ergonomically designed for comfortable and secure fit without any wires, even with hours of usage, making it ideal for workout.

Related Sennheiser Introduces Momentum, Its First Truly Wireless Earbuds With a High Price Tag

The earbuds and the case are dustproof and can withstand up to half an hour submerged in up to 1 m (3.3 ft) of water.

Bluetooth v4.1 technology provides solid connection at up to 30 feet. Minor problems such as skipping and dropouts may occur if you put your phone in your pocket or cover them with your hand, reports New Atlas.

Built-in microphone allows you to make hands-free calls. They also feature auto-redial, auto pairing, play/pause, high speed charging case, and magnetic technology to seamlessly connect earbuds to case.

The battery gives you 3-4 hours of talk time and music playback on one charge – sleek charging case enables 2 additional charges (12 hours of music playback per earbud) with Quick Charge technology that replenishes 2 hours of battery life in 30 minutes, and 100% of battery life in one hour.

Pairing is simple. Just hold the power button one earbud for 4 seconds. At this time, you’ll notice the LED blinking intermittently between red and blue. This means that the earbud is now in “pair” mode.

To pair the second earbud, simply hold down the power button (home key) on the other earbud for 2 seconds and it’ll automatically pair with the first earbud you connected with your device. Remember though, if you long-press the second earbud for 4 seconds, it won’t pair with the first earbud, and instead it’ll try to establish a whole-new connection.

Once the second earbud is paired, it may blink between red/blue for a couple seconds. But, after that both earbuds should flash blue simultaneously (once every 4 seconds). This indicates that both earbuds are properly paired and you’re ready for listening.

Related LG’s New Wireless Tone Series Earbuds Have Dedicated Google Assistant Button

As for sound, the xFyro xS2 delivers clear and consistent tone with rich, high quality sound. Tech Guru at Nerd Techy tried on the earbuds and he writes: “The equalization between bass and sound clarity seemed to be right in a sweet spot. The bass was rich and vibrant but never seemed to overshadow the lyrics or minuscule effects of each individual song.”

The xFyro xS2 are priced at US $250, but they are now available for 50% discount at $125. Get an additional 10% OFF by using the code WT10 here.

WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco on July 9-10

The most innovative wearables event will be back on July 9-10 in beautiful San Francisco at SEMICON West to celebrate the 34th edition of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference Series. Topics include data analytics in professional sports, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation with wearables, the future of digital health, medication and adherence, smart patches, workflow optimization and workforce safety and much more – featuring international leaders and experts of the wearables industry´s biggest names including Omron Healthcare, NFLPA, Abbott, Discovery, Maxim Integrated, Qualcomm and many more. Register now to be part of #WTUS19

Approximately 65 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy. This complex disease has one commonality: seizures. Medical decision to change any prescribed drug is based on the number of seizures. Inaccurate seizure reporting causes challenges in diagnosing and treating people with epilepsy.

Related Nightwatch – Wearable Night Time Seizure Detection Device Developed by Dutch Scientists

European organization EIT Health partnered with several other European companies and Universities to deliver a clinically accurate seizure detection system called SeizeIT2.

This discrete wearable device monitors several biosignals to allow a more precise quantitative analysis of seizure activity, so that people with epilepsy can receive treatment optimized for their specific condition, reports EIT Health.

The first prototype of this wearable allows comfortable and unobtrusive seizure monitoring outside of a hospital setting.

Accuracy level of SeizeIT2 is 70-90%, compared to the typical accuracy level of less than 50% in a seizure diary, and the device offers an improved patient experience.

The big advantages of SeizeIT2 is that it is discrete, unobtrusive and multimodal, which can measure several clinical biosignals, such as brain activity, circulation, respiration and other parameters. Another advantage of the device is its ability to monitor seizures around the clock.

Researchers tested the device on more than 70 people with temporal lobe epilepsy, a condition that affects around 20 million people globally, and eight patients with absence epilepsy.

In the next steps, the device will undergo multi-center clinical validation of at least 500 patients, medical certification and initiation of scalable production.

Related FDA Approves Seizure-Detecting Smartband Embrace 2 for Use by Children

The objectives of the EIT Health Focus Area of “Bringing Care Home” was met by SeizeIT2 by using a wearable device for 24-hour monitoring. By improving the accuracy of seizure monitoring, SeizeIT2 also promises improved, personalized care, in keeping with the Focus Area of “Care Pathways”.

External partners in this project are: BYTEFLIES NV, Epione bvba, Pilipili, University Hospital Freiburg, German and King’s College London.

WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco on July 9-10

The most innovative wearables event will be back on July 9-10 in beautiful San Francisco at SEMICON West to celebrate the 34th edition of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference Series. Topics include data analytics in professional sports, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation with wearables, the future of digital health, medication and adherence, smart patches, workflow optimization and workforce safety and much more – featuring international leaders and experts of the wearables industry´s biggest names including Omron Healthcare, NFLPA, Abbott, Discovery, Maxim Integrated, Qualcomm and many more. Register now to be part of #WTUS19

A slower walking pace or more variable stride may indicate cognitive decline, according to several studies presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Now researchers from all over Europe have partnered up with the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) to develop sensor technology that assesses the loss in mobility.

Related This Smart Cane Can Double as an Activity Tracker for the Elderly

Funded with €50 million from the European Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking, the project, dubbed MOBILISE-D, will be led by Newcastle University with support from Novartis, reports MobiHealthNews.

The researchers explained that gait is an indicator of several health risks including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, hip fracture recovery and proximal femoral fracture.

Focused on the elderly population in Europe, the goal of the wearable technology is to help with clinical trials and clinical management.

“Digital technology, including sensors worn on the body, have the potential to transform how we assess mobility and identify life-changing conditions,” said coordinator of the research Lynn Rochester, professor of Human Movement Science at Newcastle University. “This will enable medical teams to intervene earlier and offer treatment to extend healthy life.”

The researchers said that part of their goal is to get help from the technology to research ways to predict, detect and measure mobility loss.

“A key immediate impact will be on the design of clinical trials for novel treatment development, supporting better patient inclusion & stratification, more sensitive clinical outcomes, a potential correlation of real-world patient reported outcome for evidence-based healthcare,” said Ronenn Roubenoff, Global Translational Medicine Head, Musculoskeletal Disease at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research.

Related Wearables to Help the Elderly Stay Healthy and Safe at Home or Outside

Recently Alphabet’s life science subsidiary Verily developed a wearable called the Verily Study Watch that recently received FDA clearance and Johnson and Johnson signed a deal with Apple to leverage the Apple Watch for a major study.

Founded in 2008, the European Innovative Medicines Initiative is a public-private partnership between the European Union and the pharmaceutical industry, with an overall budget of €5.3 billion from 2008 until 2024.

FC Barcelona and global insurance company Allianz SE will jointly develop innovative projects which will impact on the health and wellbeing of athletes and in turn the wider society. The study is the first project in a series of efforts between the club and longtime partner Allianz SE. It will analyze the association between sleep quality and athletic performance.

Read more Smart Fabric Helps Athletes and Physical Therapy Patients Reduce Injury and Accelerate Recovery

The project is a partnership between FC Barcelona, Allianz SE, Hexoskin, a Canadian startup that develops smart clothes and Adsalutem Institute, a Catalan entity specialized in sleep medicine. The research will document sleep habits and experience of FC Barcelona athletes through personalized studies and records – with the objective to measure the possible impact sleep has on their performance and health. The six-month long study will collect qualitative sleep data of 600 young athletes from different sections of the Club. Also, an individualized intense study will be conducted on 50 of these athletes, reports FC Barcelona.

The Importance of Sleep

The basis of the project is the fact that sleep is essential for health and wellbeing, and has an important impact on healthy physical development, emotional regulation, cognitive performance and quality of life. Additionally, studies have shown that sleep is key to athletic performance. Existing scientific evidence indicates that sleep is an important factor that must be considered in the sports industry. Adsalutem Institute’s work thesis, is based on the conviction that improving sleep will improve the overall wellbeing of athletes and their performance on the pitch.

Hexoskin

Hexoskin manufactures smart clothes that collect data while the wearer is asleep. The garment can continuously monitor breathing, heart rate and movement through built-in sensors, with a small device incorporated into the shirt. Hexoskin is the only smart shirt in the market that is clinically validated for collecting this type of data. The participating athletes will wear the smart shirt for two to three nights. The study will also help Hexoskin to enhance its smart clothes.

Read more Huami Fitness Tracker Provides Clinical-Grade Accuracy, Says Stanford Sleep Study

“For Barça Innovation Hub it is a great step forward to launch this project with Allianz Group, a world-renowned strategic partner which is a perfect fit for us. Sleep and good rest are essential to guarantee the well-being and good performance of our athletes,” said FC Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu.

WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco on July 9-10

The most innovative wearables event will be back on July 9-10 in beautiful San Francisco at SEMICON West to celebrate the 34th edition of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference Series. Topics include data analytics in professional sports, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation with wearables, the future of digital health, medication and adherence, smart patches, workflow optimization and workforce safety and much more – featuring international leaders and experts of the wearables industry´s biggest names including Omron Healthcare, NFLPA, Abbott, Discovery, Maxim Integrated, Qualcomm and many more. Register now to be part of #WTUS19

ProGlove, a Munich-based industrial wearable company and former speaker and exhibitor of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference and past winner of the IOT/WT Innovation World Cup, unveiled its MARK 2 wearable glove to a U.S. audience at this year’s 2019 ProMat in Chicago this April.

Mark 2 is a state-of-the-art handsfree barcode scanner. Unlike its predecessor, MARK 2 can be connected to other devices such as tablets, smartwatches or wearable terminals via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Additionally, the module offers an extended scan range of up to 5 feet and includes a battery that holds up to a 15-hour charge. This makes it an ideal choice for picking, palletizing or working at packing stations. Because of the adjustable feedback options including acoustic signals, vibration and LEDs on the back of the hand – users no longer have to constantly check process steps on a control monitor.

Related How Wearable Technology Could Revolutionize Manufacturing Industry

Barcode scanning plays an important role in many industries. Workers use scanning technology to confirm work orders or process documents. However, traditional mobile scanners are heavy, clunky and are often lost or quickly damaged. The smart wearables from ProGlove address these problems and ensure greater efficiency, ergonomics, quality and process reliability, says a press release.

“Our product connects the worker to the IIoT and is enabling industrial workers and management teams around the world to close the digital chain,” said ProGlove CEO Andreas König. “We have just started to scratch the surface on the capabilities of this technology and the companies it can positively impact. Above all, we’re putting humans at the center of our technology and strengthening their role in an era of increased automation.”

Related Wearable SOS Button to Reduce Lone Worker Hazards

Charlie Grieco, Vice President of Sales at ProGlove and the person in charge of overseeing the company’s North American sales activities, said:

“ProGlove is an American story made in Germany. It began with the Intel Make It Wearable Challenge, and I think we can add many American chapters to that plot because ProGlove’s technology is all about hyper-efficiency, unparalleled quality, and the connected human worker. These will be the precise ingredients North American businesses need to gain and maintain a competitive edge in the Industry 4.0 era.”

Silicon Valley-based Gore Innovation Center signed a joint development agreement with New York City-based graphene sensor startup Bonbouton in 2018 to explore material solutions in advanced sensor technology and enable practical smart fabrics for assistive apparel and digital health applications. Gore and Bonbouton are both good partners of WT and contributors of the international WT | Wearable Technologies Conference Series. Congrats to this valuable partnership!

Bonbouton designs inkjet-printed, low-cost graphene wearable sensors for constant and wireless health monitoring. With technology licensed from the Stevens Institute of Technology, Bonbouton has emerged as an industry leader in microsensor technology, developing mechanically flexible and molecularly thin sensors for monitoring skin temperature with graphene oxide (GO), reports Gore.

The initial phase of the Gore-Bonbouton agreement will focus on collaborative research in the area of temperature sensing materials. This explorative process will lay a foundation for future applications of sensor technology and conductive inks in digital health, chronic care management and smart fabrics.

“Bonbouton is an ideal partner. Its technology shows enormous potential for expanding Gore materials into digital health applications and other markets,” said Paul Campbell, co-leader, Gore Innovation Center. “Bonbouton is widely and well regarded for its potential in graphene as a sensing modality. We look forward to collaborating with them both from a research and business standpoint.”

Gore is in a continued mission to help digital health startups by providing them withdeep expertise, co-working space and access to versatile materials. The Gore Innovation Center offers a prototyping facility where startups, researchers, customers and corporations can collaborate and innovate.

Read more W. L. Gore & Associates: A Company that Can Contribute Greatly to the Wearable Industry

“Our work with Gore, and specifically the Innovation Center, is an exciting development. Its materials and expertise are what will allow us to improve on existing technology and take development to the next level,” added Linh Le, CEO and founder, Bonbouton. “Gore is known for a science-backed approach to comfort and wearability. Coupled with its collaborative resources and exploratory mindset, this makes Gore a model partner.”

A team of researchers at Dartmouth College have developed a low-cost motion-sensing fabric that athletes and physical therapy patients can wear on their arm to optimize performance, reduce injury and accelerate recovery.

Related New Technology Used by NFL Athletes Gives Teams and Trainers Edge in Injury Assessment

The flexible fabric, which monitors joint rotation, is lightweight, washable and comfortable, making it ideal for participants of all levels of sport or patients recuperating from injuries, reports Dartmouth.

Accurate monitoring of joint movement is critical for performance coaching and physical therapy. For athletes where arm angle is important–anyone from baseball pitchers to tennis players – long-term sensing can help instructors analyze motion and provide coaching corrections. For injured athletes, or other physical therapy patients, such monitoring can help doctors assess the effectiveness of medical and physical treatments. At the same time, the monitors need to be portable, comfortable, and capable of sensing subtle motion to achieve a high-level of precision.

Currently available joint monitoring technologies require heavy instrumentation of the environment, rigid sensors, or embedded electronics.

The Dartmouth researchers focused on raising sensing capability and reliability, while using low-cost, off-the-shelf fabrics without extra electrical sensors. The minimalist approach focused on fabrics in the $50 range.

“For less than the price of some sweatshirts, doctors and coaches can have access to a smart-fabric sensing system that could help them improve athletic performance or quality of life,” Qijia Shao, a PhD student at Dartmouth who worked on the study.

The fabric has a thin silver layer for electrical conductivity, and there’s a micro-controller in the monitor that receives and processes the data generated. As the fabric stretches during joint movement, it generates data on skin deformation and pressure. Based on this information, it determines the joint rotational angle through changes in resistance. When a joint is wrapped with the conductive fabric it can sense joint motion.

The device has been tested on the elbow joint in ten participants. They said it was comfortable, easy to use, and flexible.

Related Nexus Uses Revolutionary Tracking Technology for CrossFit Athletes to Quantify Their Workout

“Testers even saw this for use in activities with high ranges of movement, like yoga or gymnastics,” said Zhou. “All participants said they’d be willing to purchase such a system for the relatively inexpensive price tag.”

The study was published in Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies.

Omron Healthcare has received FDA clearance for its Complete™, blood pressure monitor with EKG capability, and the company said it will start taking pre-orders on April 15th in the U.S. via its website. Complete is the first blood pressure monitor with EKG capability in a single device.

Related Omron and physIQ Collaborate to Improve Cardiovascular Patient Care

The device is an upper arm blood pressure monitor that allows users to simultaneously monitor EKG and blood pressure readings at home. EKG readings can be measured by touching electrodes conveniently located on the top face and both sides of the monitor for easy access and comfort. EKG is an essential measurement for those with atrial fibrillation, also known as arrythmia or Afib, a condition causing irregular heartbeat that can lead to heart health-related complications, including increased risk of stroke and heart failure.

“Millions of Americans are living with Afib and a stroke risk that is five times higher than average, and many others may not know they have this condition since it is difficult to diagnose. Recent studies predict that the number of individuals with Afib could reach epidemic levels as a result of the growing aging Baby Boomer population. Monitoring this condition and the risk it carries is part of our Going for Zero mission. That’s why Omron developed Complete as an accessible, easy-to-use, at-home solution to provide a more complete heart health picture and greater peace of mind,” said Ranndy Kellogg, president & CEO of Omron Healthcare, Inc.

Omron developed Complete in partnership with AliveCor, the market leader in FDA-cleared personal EKG technology. The device utilizes AliveCor’s new algorithm designed for improved detection of the possibility of Afib along with trusted medical-grade blood pressure measurement from Omron, said a press release.

“Irregular heartbeat is unpredictable and can be difficult to detect without regular monitoring. The Omron Complete empowers anyone who suspects they might have arrythmia or has family history of the condition to monitor their status easily at home,” said Kellogg.

Related Large U.S. Study Suggests Apple Watch Can Detect Irregular Heartbeat

Complete recently won the iF Design Award 2019, presented by iF International Forum Design GmbH, one of the world’s most prestigious design awards.

Complete will be available for USD$199.99 pre-order only in the U.S., with retail availability expanding to Amazon beginning May 1, 2019.

Although it is possible to 3D print your own prosthetic from models found in open-source database, those models lack the advanced electronic capabilities of more expensive, state-of-the-art prosthetics. Now, researchers at Virginia Tech solved that problem with their newly created prosthetic device with integrated electronic sensors to assess pressure distribution between a limb and the device itself. This new development could one day lead to more affordable electric-powered prosthetics.

Related Swedish Woman Receives First Dexterous and Sentient Prosthetic Hand

To develop their new prosthetic device, the researchers used 3D scanning data of a limb to integrate the sensors at the interface between the tissue and the device. They printed the device using conformal 3D printing, which allows material to be deposited onto curved surfaces.

By integrating electronic sensors at the intersection between a prosthetic and the wearer’s tissue, the researchers can gather information related to prosthetic function and comfort, such as the pressure across wearer’s tissue, that can help improve further iterations of the these types of prosthetics, reports Virginia Tech.

This method of integrating materials within form-fitting regions of 3D-printed prosthetics through a conformal 3D printing technique, instead of manual integration after printing, could also open doors for unique opportunities in matching the hardness of the wearer’s tissue and integrating sensors at different locations across the form-fitting interface. Unlike traditional 3D printing that involves depositing material in a layer-by-layer fashion on a flat surface, conformal 3D printing allows for deposition of materials on curved surfaces and objects.

The process developed by the researchers will lend itself to further applications in personalized medicine and design of wearable systems.

Blake Johnson, a Virginia Tech assistant professor in industrial and systems engineering, took a step forward in improving the functionalities of 3D-printed personalized wearable systems. This new research came out of his lab.

Related Scientists Use Virtual Reality and Neural Stimulation to Help Amputees Use Their Prostheses

“Personalizing and modifying the properties and functionalities of wearable system interfaces using 3D scanning and 3D printing opens the door to the design and manufacture of new technologies for human assistance and health care as well as examining fundamental questions associated with the function and comfort of wearable systems,” Johnson said.

Cognoa, a consumer healthcare company that makes machine learning-based app for tracking children’s health and development, has exclusively licensed an AI system designed to improve socialization skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Dubbed the Superpower Glass, the technology was developed at Stanford University School of Medicine. It uses Google Glass and is designed to encourage children’s facial engagement while providing feedback on social situations, reports MobiHealthNews.

Children with ASD can struggle to recognize and respond to emotions, but the app reinforced these skills by providing them feedback in real time.

A small study found when children used the Superpower Glass at home, it helped them decipher what’s happening with people around them, bringing significant improvements in their socialization skills, compared to their counterparts that received only the standard care.

The children used the glasses in 20-minute sessions four times a week. After six weeks of using the glasses, the children scored better on tests of socialization, communication and behavior than the kids in the control group who received only standard care for autism.

“The intervention teaches children emotion recognition, facial engagement, and the salience of emotion, suggesting the potential for multiple mechanism(s) of action driving the observed improvement in social behavior,” the researchers wrote in the study.

Cognoa said it will be leveraging the Stanford technology “to accelerate development and worldwide commercialization of a novel digital therapeutic for children with [ASD].”

Cognoa is productizing the Super Glass technology on more commonly used, broadly available digital platforms to increase its accessibility. It is designed to be used in the home by families as a supplement to behavioral care from a specialist for improved outcomes.

Related Brain Power Ships Empowered Brain, World’s First Smartglasses to Help People with Autism

“Digital therapeutics can extend a therapist’s reach into the home, complementing in-person therapies for improved life-long outcomes,” Brent Vaughan, CEO and cofounder of Cognoa, said in a statement. “We know that many families are facing obstacles to get their children the help they need. This technology accelerates our goal to empower parents with access to evidence-based solutions so they can more directly impact the progress of their children.”

Nowi – With a break-through solution to extend battery lifetime and empower connective devices, Nowi has officially become the Top IoT Industrial Innovator of the 10th IoT/WT Innovation World Cup®. The continuous search for alternative, effective ways to harvest energy has been truly rewarding for this innovative start-up from the Netherlands. Check out their story of success and find out what does it take to become an IoT superstar!

1. HOW DID IT ALL START?

Omar Link and Simon van der Jagt founded the company in 2015. Our reason to do so was based on a very simple observation: everyone was talking about the Internet of Things and all of the billions of connected devices, but no one was explaining how we were supposed to power all of this. Clearly, changing batteries or wiring power cables would be impossible at this scale. But what was the alternative?

We both explored this topic during our master thesis at Delft University of Technology. Afterward, we started the company. We decided that Nowi would take a different approach. Instead of bringing energy to devices (in the form of batteries or cables), we would use the energy already available to the device at its location. It is possible to get energy from light, heat, radio waves and movement. There is energy all around us that we can use to power these small connected devices. What was missing was a small, efficient chip that would make it easy for other companies to start implementing.

2. WHAT ARE THE KEY MILESTONES YOU HAVE REACHED SO FAR?

After a year and a half of prototyping, we have reached a “proof of principle” demo that was good enough to land us €350.000 of government funding. We used this to get to a proof-of-concept, which was a fully functional energy harvesting demo. We then secured a €1.5 Mio VC round to develop this into a first product version. A small chip that makes it extremely easy for any company to power their devices with energy harvesting. Last year, that vision has come to life more and more as it has been used in a pilot project for road monitoring. A Swiss watch manufacturer is also currently implementing it in their next-gen smartwatch.

3. WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU HAVE FACED IN YOUR JOURNEY?

Any start-up faces at least some of the same challenges. Product-fit, team, and funding. Product-fit can only be achieved by leaving the office and interacting with as many companies as possible. Each conversation provides a bit of feedback which slowly shapes the product solution. We went from a technology-push of energy harvesting technology to a clear market-pull of use-cases where companies absolutely need what we have made. At the same time, we need the brightest minds to help bring this all to live. We have been non-stop recruiting the best talent and we now have a 15-people team with 3 Ph.D.’s and 7 MSc’s, and a combined 30 years of energy harvesting research experience. Finally, all of this needs to be paid for. Fundraising is a continuous effort as a result.

4. WHAT’S COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

For Nowi, 2019 is a very exciting year as our energy harvesting technology is being embraced by the first global companies. The industry is starting to see that energy harvesting is one of the key building blocks in many IoT solutions as it improves the user-experience or reduces the need for maintenance and thereby the cost of ownership. As first, companies deploy this technology, others cannot stay behind. This year, several collaborations between Nowi and other large companies will be announced, and we believe this will act as a catalyst for the rest of the industry.

5. WHAT IS COOL ABOUT IOT?

Most of the societal promises that the Internet seemed to present in the early 2000s have come up short. Peer to peer connectivity has undoubtedly changed the world and proven to provide very lucrative business models, but our physical world has remained relatively untouched. Compare walking around a city in 1999 and 2019, you will see more people with mobile phones today; but besides this, the city functions almost exactly the same. IoT can indeed change this. By connecting the physical world to the digital, we have the real opportunity to drastically improve sustainability, productivity and personal health in the world.

6. WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE WT/IOT INNOVATION WORLD CUP® JOURNEY?

The Innovation World Cup® has given us a global platform on which to showcase our vision and our product. The feedback as a result of this has been extremely valuable!

Explore further:

Visit Nowi for more information about their products, activities and team members. Watch and learn, follow their lead, one day you will also make it on the IoT/WT Innovation World Cup®’s prestigious Hall of Fame.

#TheRaceIsBack. The 11^th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup® is calling all IoT/WT start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs around the world. Submit your solution now, start developing your IoT solution with Free Development Kits powered by our partners STMicroelectronics, EBV Elektronik, Würth Elektronik, Microtronics and Gemalto, and join our world’s leading innovation ecosystem. Participation is free of charge.

Check out the Innovation World Cup® blog and success stories for more insights into our innovative activities. Together we accelerate innovation!

The U.S. Army recently showed off a new augmentation system, called the Integrated Visual System (IVAS), which is actually a modified version of the Microsoft HoloLens 2 augmented reality (AR) headset.

Read more British Army Exploring Utilization of Wearable Technology for Injury Prevention

When Microsoft received a $480 million contract last November to equip soldiers with its HoloLens 2, its employees balked at the company, asking what would the system look like. Now, the Army provided CNBC an early demo of its Integrated Visual Augmentation System, which uses a modified HoloLens 2 to provide both combat assistance and training. It reportedly feels like a “real-life game of Call of Duty” — you can see your squad’s positions on a map, a compass, and even your weapon’s reticle. Thermal imaging would help you see in the dark without as much of a telltale glow as existing night vision headsets, reports CNBC. The Army said the system would “increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide, and engage before the enemy.”

AR headsets augment digital elements on top of what’s around you in the real world, compared to virtual reality (VR) headsets that immerse wearers into an alternate universe. CNBC’s Todd Haselton tried on the IVAS, and he saw a map on the floor that displayed his location, as well as those of other squad members who were also wearing the headsets, and a compass when looking up. He also various saw various waypoints that marked the location of squadmates or known enemy positions, when he moved.

Read more Doctors Use HoloLens to Investigate Heart Scars in High Resolution Before Surgery

“The headset is impressive — better than any augmented reality experience I’ve ever seen, including Magic Leap, which also tried to win the Army contract,” writes Haselton.

The military, however, wouldn’t say how much the headset costs, but the consumer version of the headset costs $3,500.

According to patents filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple might be working on smell sensors for a variety of uses within healthcare. One such patent points to a sensor that could monitor blood sugar levels by analyzing sweat particles in the air.

The two sensors could also be used to detect pollution or carbon monoxide, or help prevent exacerbation of respiratory conditions, reports MobiHealthNews.

Apple submitted the patent applications in late 2018, and it was first spotted by Apple Insider last week.

Read more Artificial Intelligence and Radar Technologies to Measure Blood Glucose

Two different sensors are described in the two patents. These sensors would work together: One would use lights and photodetectors to see particles in the air and the other would be an array of ionic liquid sensors that could actually detect smells. The device could get help from machine learning algorithm to distinguish between different smells.

The patents also talk about incorporating the sensors into devices that are portable, meaning they could be smartwatches, tablets or phones. The sensors could have a number of possible applications, some of which are related to health, according to the patents.

“Gas sensors can help the mobile electronic device to detect various environmental gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the like,” the patent says. “Particulate air pollution is shown to have consistent association with illness exacerbations in people with respiratory disease as well as the rise in the number of death cases resulting from respiratory and cardiovascular disease among older people.”

Read more Large U.S. Study Suggests Apple Watch Can Detect Irregular Heartbeat

The second patent filed by Apple hints at applications for monitoring blood sugar.

“The ability to smell various flavors when combined, for example, with photo recognition can open a new horizon to smart device applications. The new applications may be in a number of areas including health, safety, security, networking and other areas. For example, in the health and safety areas, a smell-enabled (e.g., e-nose) smart communication device may be able to alert users about dangerous levels of gases such as carbon monoxide, natural gas and other toxic and/or hazardous gases, or measure compounds in human sweat and alert the user about his sugar levels, for example,” the patent said.

China is gearing up to become the world leader in the startup environment. Numerous Chinese startups are tapping investors for funds. In 2017, there were 46 startups worth at least $1 billion, making China the land of Unicorns. Together, these startups agree to help tug the country’s economy through the trade war with the United States. Here are 5 Chinese startups to watch for in the wearable space.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi is the world’s 4th most valuable technology start-up. The US$1.1 billion funding it received from investors, made Xiaomi’s valuation more than US$46 billion. The company was founded in 2010 by CEO Jun Lei and seven colleagues who included veterans of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp. and Motorola Inc. Known for its Mi series of smartphones, Xiaomi is now one of the world’s top wearable makers. With its Mi Band series, Xiaomi has taken the wearable market by storm and in the Q3 2018, Xiaomi  took the top position with 21.5% market share in the global wearable segment as Apple came second with 13.1% share, according to the latest IDC (International Data Corporation) report.

Pico

Pico develops innovative VR solutions. Their Pico Neo is the first all-in-one VR headset which offers total freedom in a high-end package. The Neo has 6 Degrees of Freedom (movement in all directions) built right into the headset. This enables full VR immersion in a totally un-tethered, fully mobile package. Perfect for any user who wants to experience truly immersive VR without wires, attached computers or phones. Founded in 2015, the company operates in United States, Europe, China and Japan and has 300 employees across the globe. In August 2018, Pico raised US$24.7 million in Series A, reports Reuters.

iCarbonX

Founded in 2015, this Chinese data company aims to improve health care using artificial intelligence and biotech. iCarbonX has become a comprehensive platform for health data, pulling in information from millions of people. The platform created a Digital Life Alliance that brings together companies into a learning ecosystem around healthy living, disease, and AI (Fast Company).

Veer VR

Beijing-based VeeR VR is a leading sharing platform of 360/VR videos. Veer was founded in 2016, and now it’s an industry leader serving millions of users from over 150 countries by developing cross-platform accessible VR-streaming application. Currently VeeR has launched on multiple platforms including Apple App Store, Google Play, and Oculus Rift, etc; content uploaded to VeeR VR will be accessible across all platforms through automatic transcoding.

Read more Children are Becoming Major Driving Force Behind the Wearable Market Growth in China

Rokid

Rokid develops AR glasses. The company announced prototype of Project Aurora augmented reality smart glasses at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. The new glasses have two displays for 3D content. The glasses connect to external devices via USB-C. The company is aiming for a low-cost set of glasses that can connect to anything – even a Nintendo Switch.

Polar has announced the OH1+, its latest heart rate sensor strap. It’s a compact optical sensor, which can be worn on upper or lower arm, instead of around the chest, and is able to capture around 200 hours of heart rate activity.

While its predecessor, the OH1, was an excellent one, the new sensor makes heart rate tracking much simpler, reports Gadgets and Wearables.

Read more Matrix PowerWatch 2 Uses Solar and Body Heat to Power Heart Rate Monitor, GPS Now at CES 2019

You can wear the Polar OH1 during any sport. With the OH1+ optical Heart Rate Sensor, you can keep tabs on your heart rate while you exercise on land or swim in the water, with a phone or watch, or without. When you’re on land, just clip the OH1 to the armband and wear it around your upper or lower arm. The data collected helps you enhance your workout by maintaining a steady, rhythmic pace while working out. That data can be wirelessly transmitted to be displayed and stored in an app, such as Polar Beat, or on the display of a fitness device.

Polar included the swim goggle clip to allow you to have an easier transition from a land-based activity, like running, to the pool for some laps. It’s very simple to use, just pop the OH1 heart rate sensor in the clip and attach it to your goggles next to your temple. The sensor is water-resistant up to 98.4′. The OH1+ features plenty of memory to store 200 hours of data, allowing you to go device-free and synch and analyze these data later.

Read more Polar Launches Vantage V and Vantage M Premium Multisport GPS Watches

“Chest straps and wrist-based monitoring have their places in training, but OH1 + was designed as a comfortable option when scenarios call for more evolved heart rate options,” said Riikka Rae, Product Segment Manager at Polar.

Utilizing Bluetooth and ANT+ technology, the OH1+ streams your live heart rate to compatible smartphones, gym equipment, fitness trackers, smart watches, and cycling computers.

It houses a 45mAh rechargeable battery with enough power to give you up to 12 hours of monitoring on a single charge. Simply plug in the USB adapter to a USB power adapter (not include) to recharge.

Evonik, the largest specialty chemicals company in the world, unveiled TAeTTOOz®, a new material technology for printable batteries, at the LOPEC trade show held in Munich, Germany. TAeTTOOz has been developed on the basis of what are known as redox polymers by Creavis, the strategic innovation unit of Evonik.

Read more VARTA Microbattery Launches Three New Lithium-Ion Cells for Wearables at the ISPO Munich 2019

The strategic innovation unit of the Germany-based company used redox polymers to create the materials. With the help of conventional printing methods, the new materials can be transformed into ultra-thin, flexible battery cells. They allow storage of electrical energy without the need for metals or metal compounds. Battery cells produced with the TAeTTOOz® technology do not require liquid electrolytes and therefore cannot leak. Creavis is now seeking development partners to integrate the TAeTTOOz® technology into new and existing applications. The batteries give freedom to the developer with regards to the design and allow the storage of electrical energy without employing metals or metal compounds, reports Evonik.

“We have developed a technology with enormous potential. It enables us to offer a solution to power small electronic circuits with printed batteries efficiently, reliably, and in an ecofriendly way,” said Dr. Michael Korell, who is responsible at Evonik for the development of TAeTTOOz.

The TAeTTOOz technology opens up new possibilities particularly in the spreading networking of everyday objects, the Internet of Things. When ready for series production it can be used in many areas. Medical sensors for monitoring vital functions could be worn far more conveniently when printed batteries are used. In the area of logistics, intelligent sensors operated by printed batteries in packaging could monitor sensitive goods such as food or vaccines.

Read more Jenax Will Exhibit World’s First Truly Flexible Battery at Wearable Technologies 2018 San Francisco

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The core of Evonik’s corporate strategy combines focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world with more than 36,000 employees. In fiscal 2018, the enterprise generated sales of €15 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.6 billion.

The United States is grappling with one of its worst-ever drug crises. Some 50 million people in the U.S. experience chronic pain daily or almost daily, and many people turn to opioid to relieve pain. That in turn leads to addiction, which is killing more than nine hundred people a week from opioid-related overdoses. Several companies have taken initiatives to create alternative methods of pain relief and prevent opioid addiction.

Read more Team Who Invented Opioid Overdose Detection Device Wins National Honors

Sana

Sana, a Colorado-based makes wearable mask that users wear over their eyes for 15 minutes before bed, or in 15-minute intervals throughout the day, to put them into a state where they feel relaxed and less pain. The Sana mask measures minute changes between each heartbeat, and administers precisely timed pulses of light and sound to stimulate the audio and visual cortex of the user’s brain, reports CNBC.

Quell 2.0

NeuroMetrix, a medical device company focused on the diagnosis and treatment of the neurological complications of diabetes, launched its breakthrough for the treatment of chronic pain, a wearable pain relief technology called Quell® 2.0 at PAINWeek 2018. The new Quell 2.0 device is smarter, more powerful and 50% smaller, and the Quell app has been totally redesigned to make it easier to use. Quell is drug-free and has been cleared by the FDA for treatment of chronic pain without a prescription.

Oska Pulse

Oska Wellness, a pioneer in technology-driven wellness solutions, announced it will debut its next-generation Oska Pulse device at Pepcom’s Digital Experience at the CES 2019.

Oska Pulse is a revolutionary drug-free pain relief device that is clinically proven to reduce inflammation, increase circulation, improve mobility and alleviate pain using Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) technology. Key advancements of the device provide added customer convenience and include: 1) Three times longer sessions for 90-minute PEMF pain relief sessions, and 2) 50 percent longer battery life – 15-hour total run time.

Read more FDA Clears SPR Therapeutics’ Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Systems for Pain Management

Cefaly

A wearable device made by Cefaly for acute treatment of migraines received FDA approval in 2017. The device is placed on the forehead for one or two hours during a headache. It sends electric pulses through the skin into the trigeminal nerve in the face, producing a sedative effect to relieve pain. The wearable enables the use of medicines to be significantly reduced and the sufferer’s quality of life to be markedly improved.

Bragi, a company known for making some of the first Bluetooth headphones, has left the wearables market. The German company said it has sold its hardware business to a third-party buyer and that while it will continue to license its IP and artificial intelligence (AI), it will no longer be making new devices, reports Wareable.

Bragi came to prominence in 2014 when it made headlines with its successful $3.3 million Kickstarter campaign. The company introduced to the world its products like the Dash and Dash Pro, offering a compelling “smart” alternative to other devices.

Read more Nuheara Building Ecosystem for Hearables with its IQStream TV

Nikolaj Hviid, CEO of Bragi, confirmed the move in a statement. However, he was quick to add that his company’s uncoupling from products like the Dash should not be viewed as the end for Bragi.

“Bragi’s technology suite is applied beyond our own products to partners and headphone brands,” Hviid said. “The Dash Pro featured groundbreaking ultra-efficient AI and software that could be updated with new features such as Amazon Alexa, language translation and personalized hearing. With the sale of our product business, Bragi has completed its transformation into a software, AI and IP licensing company.”

The first wire-free headphones from Bragi, The Dash, debuted on Kickstarter in 2014. When AirPods came along in 2016, Bragi was leading the hearables market. So, it announced an AirPods competitor, “The Headphone.”

The Headphone was actually a low-priced version of The Dash designed specifically to compete with the AirPods, but Apple’s AirPods were a major hit with Apple customers and according to many users, Bragi’s hearables were fine, but were never quite able to measure up to the AirPods. And, like many other companies in the past, the market Bragi helped pioneer quickly sacrificed to existing behemoths.

Read more Earin Finally Releases its Second-Generation Wireless Earbuds with Google Assistant

At last year’s MWC, one of Bragi’s EVPs told Tech Crunch: “At some point we may not be a hardware company anymore. That was the plan from the beginning. That was not really a secret.”

Kinduct, the Nova Scotia-based athlete management system has partnered up with Irish sports tech company Orreco to develop products for elite sports teams and athletes.

“Kinduct strongly believes in partnerships that augment both company’s offerings and most importantly improve the experience for our athletes, teams and organizations that we serve,” said Kinduct CEO & Founder Travis McDonough. “The Kinduct-Orreco alliance is a perfect example of this and is without question an industry changing partnership that will help transform outcomes in the human performance market.”

Kinduct is a world leading data and analytics software provider. The company’s highly secure, cloud-based platform allows human performance, health and wellness organizations to spend less time managing their data and more time using it to inform decisions, promote constant improvement and produce exceptional results. Kinduct’s software integrates with new and emerging technologies and data sources to help produce a more accurate picture of your organization’s current and future predicted state.

Read more SOLOS Smartglasses Collaborates with CTS to Provide Cutting-Edge Technology to Coaches and Athletes

Kinduct Technologies is dedicated to making people better. Their products are developed to address the information challenges of organizations who work with patients, athletes and clients. Their software solutions help organizations collect, organize, share and analyze data in one centralized platform, leading to informed decisions and powerful results.

Kinduct was part of an insightful panel discussion on the support of wearables for football players at last year´s WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco. At this year´s edition, the NFLPA will outline opportunities to leverage wearables for data monetization, followed by an insightful panel discussion on the use of wearables and data analytics for protection, health and media in professional sports.

Register now and stay tuned for the full agenda release, there is much more to come!