Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more sophisticated at imitating humans, but more efficiently, quickly and at a lower cost. Artificial Intelligence is the game-changer in healthcare. AI-enabled wearables offer on-demand self-diagnosis in real-time.

Read more: Innovative Wearables Helping To Change The Healthcare Landscape

What distinguishes AI technology from traditional technologies in healthcare is the ability to gather data, process it, and give a well-defined output to the end-user. AI does this through machine learning algorithms and deep learning. These algorithms can recognize patterns in behavior and create their own logic.

In the healthcare industry, IoT is driving the evolution of wearables. Medical wearables typically collect health data, monitor it, and interact with users. It provides the user and the physician with awareness of various health parameters.

As the market grows for wearables, bigger players like Apple, Fitbit, Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi are developing more advanced AI-enabled wearables and this is pushing the boundaries of the capabilities of wearables.

AI algorithms can diagnose diseases faster and more accurately than conventional methods. They are particularly successful in detecting diseases from image-based test results.

According to an analysis by Accenture, AI applications in healthcare can make annual savings of $150 billion dollars for US healthcare by 2026.

Wearables allow self-diagnosis that makes people aware of their health conditions. Self-diagnosis removes suspicions and skepticisms related to tools used and the facility from peoples’ minds, reports AnalyticsInsight.

Here are some AI-enabled wearables used in healthcare diagnosis:

Smartwatches can now monitor heart rate and blood pressure. Some newer models like Apple Watch Series 4 can even provide ECG reading. There are watches that can monitor blood oxygen levels, sleep, stress, and more.

Wearable biosensors. Philips developed a self-adhesive biosensor that can measure vital signs like heart rate, ECG, Skin temperature, and respiratory rate.

Nirami solutions developed a portable device that can detect breast cancer. This low-cost device uses AI to detect the growth of cancer cells in the breast.

Read more How FDA is Backing the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Telemedicine

Takeaway

Digitally enabled diagnosis tools and Ai-enabled wearables are transforming healthcare diagnostics. One of the most amazing developments in this field are devices connected with IoT and wearables that can detect and diagnose diseases.

When you’re running or cycling, it’s difficult to answer call or change the song you’re listening to. ArcX decided to change all that. The company’s new smart ring works as a remote control for your phone. There’s a small joystick on the end of the ring, which allows you to answer calls, change tracks, or do just about any activity from your phone without it being a distraction.

Read more: Samsonite’s New Smart Backpack Powered By Google’s Jacquard Tag Can Control Your Phone

You can also place the ArcX inside a series of cases, which makes it easier to strap it to a handlebar or oar, as required. The ring can be used with any Bluetooth-controlled equipment, such as action cameras or wireless speakers. The device also comes with an Android and iOS app. This helps you set custom controls for your smartwatch or emergency alarm. The ring can last for up to 20 days on standby and five days on a single, hour-long charge.

The companion app is available free on both Android and iOS. It provides a host of customizable options and additional features such as a stopwatch, emergency SOS call function as well as the ability to connect with other sports-based Apps, reports EndGadget.

Each ArcX ships with four, stretch fit, outer rings, and a strap mount. Find the right size for you and insert the tech module. A charging clip and carry case are also included. ArcX rings are available in three colors: Cobalt, Graphite, and Fire.

Read more: With Tap Strap 2 You Can Control Any Bluetooth-Enabled Device with Gesture

ArcX founder Paul Blair said that he got the idea for the ring while on a skiing holiday with a friend, who was injured on the slopes. Blair is a decorated British Army paratrooper with more than 20 years of service.

ArcX is expected to launch in the US this May, priced at $99, as well as in the European Union for €89.

Smart glasses and head-mounted displays have found their way into corporate operations in recent years. COVID-19 pandemic has forced on-site workplaces to change into mobile or virtual workplaces. Experts believe the next stage of development will be the transition to the distributed and immersive workplace.

Read more: Wearables Make Workplaces Safer, A Long Running Study Confirms

A wearable computer is a computer system that is attached to the user's body during use and supports the user in his work in the real world. Examples of wearable computers are smartwatches, smart glasses, smart gloves, etc. The use of these wearables simplifies interaction with coworkers, devices or machines and changes the qualification requirements for employees. Many companies have also recognized that wearables have the potential to increase work efficiency among employees, improve workers' physical well-being, and reduce work-related injuries.

In Germany, as part of the “GeZu 4.0” project, the Virtual Dimension Center (VDC) Fellbach has now examined a study on the consequences of wearables and virtual technologies on the workplace of the future and identified current opportunities and risks. It has been shown that the workplace of the future will be more distributed, networked and more intuitive to use.

1. The distributed workplace

In the last few decades, we’ve seen the development of flexible workspaces. On-site workplaces have changed into mobile or virtual workplaces (where possible) since the COVID-19 pandemic. The next stage of development will be the transition to the distributed and immersive workplace. While an employee perceives himself/herself in the third person in the video conference, immersive workplaces allow the natural first-person perspective to be adopted. Companies that are already working in virtual reality believe that virtual workspaces will replace video conferences in the near future, reports OneToOne.

2. The networked workplace

In contrast to the distributed workplace, the employee is present at the on-site workplace. The digitization and programmability of the workplace will enable intelligent workspaces that connect the employee with the operational infrastructure via wearables, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. Wearables will be networked with workstations, mobile devices, or electronic whiteboards within office buildings, campuses, co-working spaces, offices, conference rooms, break rooms, sales areas, and assembly lines. Here, too, the separation between private and business life will be more difficult to implement. The adoption of smart workspaces will therefore depend on the requirements of flexible work models as well as employee concerns about their privacy. Overall, the networked workplace will collect information about and through the employee and thus facilitate communication within the company, increase security and productivity and simplify documentation processes.

3. The intuitive workplace

The use of wearables will significantly change the way people interact in the workplace. Speech recognition is the technology with the greatest transformative potential today and will revolutionize the way we interact in the workplace. An important contribution to this can be attributed to the progress of artificial intelligence.

Read more: Is Wearable Technology Going To Dominate Workplaces in 2021?

According to the VDC, many companies already believe that wearables have the potential to increase work efficiency among employees, improve workers' physical well-being, and reduce work-related injuries. However, topics such as data protection, user-friendliness, security, guidelines, device costs, and the integration of wearables into the existing system are currently still in the way of mass use in the workplace.

Chinese tech giant Huawei has announced that its smart wearables are now open to third-party apps. The company has created a live proof of concept of a third-party app with a workout app for the Watch GT2 Pro called Fitify.

Read more: Huawei Focuses On Health Care Wearables As It Pushes Into New Growth Areas

In the past, Huawei never allowed its smartwatches to access the third-party application because it affects some of the important aspects of the wearables. However, recently, the company started allowing for third-party apps to be installed on Huawei smartwatches on AppGallery, reports Yash Mishra in Huawei Central.

Following U.S. sanctions, Huawei put more focus on wearables and audio accessories.

The Fitify app has more than 900 exercises and over 200 million complete workouts. These data come from more than 10 million users in 170 countries and 18 languages.

According to the information, the Fitify app integrated five Huawei Mobile Servies (HMS) kits including Account Kit, Push Notification Kit, In-app Kit, Analytics, and Wear Engine.

The app comes in 18 languages – English, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, and Turkish.

This a huge jump in strategy for Huawei, as the company is opening its gates for third-party developers, Huawei Watch as well as wearable platforms likely to see a big improvement in the coming future.

“By releasing the Fitify app on Huawei’s wearables, Huawei is signaling its determination to work with developers and brands to accommodate apps in its growing portfolio of wearables. Previously the company’s wearables overseas were typically preloaded with in-house apps, but following the introduction of the Huawei Watch GT2 Pro last September, the company is now open to brands and content providers for third-party app development,” said the company in a press release.

Read more: Huawei’s New Health Lab to Explore Innovation of Sports and Health Technology Via Wearables

“We are already the global market leader for wearables quickly gaining market share for the category across many geographies,” said Derek Yu, Vice President of Huawei CEE & Nordic at Huawei Consumer Business Group. “In Q3 2020, we shipped 10.7 million wrist wearable products globally, growing 88.1% year-on-year to a market share of 19.5%. By making Fitify our debut third-party app for our wearable products we are sending a message to the many other high-quality app developers. Our wearables are becoming incredibly popular, and you can benefit by being part of the Huawei AppGallery and wearables ecosystem.”

Augmented reality (AR) technology has seen unparalleled growth in 2020. Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon took AR technology to a new level. The global augmented reality market was valued at USD 1.98 billion in 2020 and is expected to register a CAGR of 151.93% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026).

Read more: Smart AR Glasses, Smart Helmets: Market Analysis and Forecasts

From healthcare to factory floors, augmented reality glasses are aiding people in various professions do their job efficiently. Doctors use them to conduct precise surgery and factory workers use them for productivity, efficiency, and safety. AR glasses have been identified as a vital technology supporting shop-floor operators in the smart factories of the future.

Samsung Glasses Lite

A new leak on Twitter sheds some light on Samsung’s ‘Glasses Lite’ and ‘Next Wearable Computing’ AR vision. The Twitter user "WalkingCat" shows two videos about new augmented reality glasses from Samsung. The glasses are roughly about working with holographic surfaces and models. A similar concept is already known from Microsoft's HoloLens. The "Glasses Lite" are more realistic, which projects a monitor into the user's field of vision. With one click and without a PC, you can simply continue watching or gaming films and series, provided the hardware is compatible. Video calls can also be accepted conveniently anywhere. Control of the AR glasses runs in this case not with futuristic gestures or swiping movements through the air, but with the smartwatch on the wrist. An interesting solution that also seems conceivable for other manufacturers.

Apple AR Glasses

Apple’s rumored AR glasses may come equipped with self-cleaning functionality and radar-like audio, according to the patent application. AppleInsider reports that Apple’s patent application shows the company applied for an "audio-based feedback for [a] head-mountable device,” suggesting the tech giant is working on technology for its AR glasses which could see them capable of detecting far-away sounds and informing the wearer of their location, reports TechRadar. Another patent submitted by Apple indicates the glasses might come with self-cleaning glass.

Read more: Microsoft Files Patent for Eyeglasses That Measure Blood Pressure

Magic Leap 2

American startup Magic Leap is following in the footsteps of Microsoft's Hololens. The company’s AR glasses are used almost exclusively in the commercial sector. Magic Leap has to do a lot to stand up to the competition. According to a media report, the new Magic Leap AR glasses will be 50% smaller and around 20% lighter than its predecessor. The field of vision, on the other hand, will double. Can the price beat Hololens? Compared to the Hololens 2, which costs $3,500, Magic Leap One is a real bargain. Should the new model settle in a similar price range, the air for Microsoft could become thinner, according to ComputerBild.

Blackline Safety, a global connected worker technology leader, has acquired Leister, UK-based Wearable Technologies Ltd (WTL). Under the brand name of Eleksen, WTL is focused on the construction and light industrial safety market. The company has developed a complete platform comprised of smart safety clothing, a cloud-connected safety wearable, personal area networking, sensor partnerships, user portal, software infrastructure and data analytics.

Read more: ProGlove Gets $40M Investment from Summit Partners to Deliver Industrial Wearables Globally

“The Wearable Technologies safety ecosystem targets the construction and light industrial market, complementing the heavier industrial focus of Blackline’s current G7 cloud-connected wearables and area gas monitoring offerings,” said Cody Slater, CEO and Chair of Blackline Safety. “While WTL is pre-revenue, their trajectory includes a strong customer pipeline with several at-scale opportunities that we will pursue as they enter the Blackline family. With our backing, together we will complete their commercialization, delivering a compelling and highly differentiated connected safety offering to businesses in construction, warehousing, transportation, utilities, renewables and the service industry.”

Blackline estimates that the WTL acquisition accelerates its entry into commercial and light industrial markets with a tailored solution by more than two years. Included with the acquisition is a portfolio of over 40 patents that include protection around a line of washable smart safety garments with built-in wiring harness, the foundation for plug-and-play sensors and LED lighting, reports BusinessWire.

The WTL ecosystem is comprised of a smart safety garment that hosts an Eleksen worker-worn hub device with 4G-connectivity. The Eleksen Hub wirelessly supports a range of sensor partnerships, including sound dosimetry, biometrics, ergonomics, vibration and vehicle proximity. Each wearable hub streams sensor data to the Eleksen cloud that powers data storage, alerting, geofencing, dashboards, data visualizations, and trending.

Blackline plans to complete the commercialization of the first Eleksen products and services through FY2021. The cost of the WTL acquisition is not material to Blackline and no purchase price is disclosed. WTL will operate as a wholly-owned Blackline subsidiary.

Read more: The Global Industrial Wearable Market Is Expected To Grow 15% During 2020-2027, Reach US$ 8.63 Bn In 2027

Blackline Safety is a global connected safety leader that helps to ensure every worker gets their job done and returns home safe each day. Blackline provides wearable safety technology, personal and area gas monitoring, cloud-connected software and data analytics to meet demanding safety challenges and increase the productivity of organizations in more than 100 countries. Blackline Safety wearables provide a lifeline to tens of thousands of men and women, having reported over 140 billion data-points and initiated over five million emergency responses.

Garmin is well known for building sports watches that last the distance. The company’s newest, Enduro, is built to last even the toughest conditions, aimed at those who like to take part in intense races and endurance events. The watch features customizable power management modes and a Power Glass™ solar charging lens that harvests the power of the sun to extend battery life up to 65 days.

Read more: Garmin Vivoactive 5: Likely Release Date, Rumors and Features Everybody Want

“Built to last during any training session or ultra-event, Enduro gives ultrarunners and cyclists the confidence that their watch has as much energy as they do, plus the unique insights they need to monitor their performance,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “And with Enduro on their wrist, ultra-performance athletes can focus on the competition instead of their battery life.”

Enduro’s lightweight and durable design feature a new UltraFit nylon strap and optional DLC coated titanium bezel. Designed to endure, runners and cyclists can quickly adjust settings to disable certain features to get the longest battery life on a Garmin wearable to date. A full charge will get an athlete 70 hours in GPS mode which is extended to 80 hours with solar capabilities, reports BusinessWire.

Next-level training

Designed for unremitting race conditions, Enduro has several new training and recovery tools:

• VO2 Max: Track cardiovascular fitness levels with the new trail run VO2 max, which automatically adjusts based on trail conditions. A user’s VO2 Max is also adjusted by the environment through heat and altitude acclimation.
• ClimbPro: Get real-time information on the current and upcoming climbs including gradient, distance and elevation gain by using the ascent planner. For additional safety and awareness, ClimbPro trail enhancements provide information for descents and flats.
• Rest Timer: Select the Ultrarun activity which features a rest timer to log the time spent at aid stations.
• Mountain Biking: Track the details of every MTB ride with mountain biking metrics plus specialized grit and flow measurements that rate trail difficulty and track the time of descent, giving a score to beat on the next ride.
• Recovery: Giving the body time to recover between sessions is crucial. After each workout, the built-in recovery advisor will recommend how long to rest before another big effort and the next workout based on sleep and wellness data.
• Recommended Workouts: For training guidance that takes fitness level into account, get daily run and ride suggestions based on current training load and training status.

Everyday wellness tracking

Enduro offers innovative health and wellness features including wrist-based heart rate and a Pulse Ox sensor for altitude acclimation and advanced sleep tracking. It also includes Garmin’s exclusive Body Battery™ feature that monitors data to gauge energy levels, which can help with scheduling workouts and rest times.

Staying connected, even off-grid

Enduro is packed with navigation and connectivity features including access to multiple global navigation satellite systems to track in more challenging environments than GPS alone, as well as built-in ABC sensors such as an altimeter for elevation data, a barometer to monitor the weather, and a 3-axis electronic compass.

Read more: Garmin Announces Tactix Delta, a Multisport GPS Smartwatch Built to Military Standards

When paired with a Garmin inReach® Mini satellite communicator, users can send and receive messages quickly from the wrist and share their location so friends and family can follow along, even during the longest of races or extended training sessions that go beyond reliable cellular connectivity. The inReach Mini is lightweight and compact and can easily be clipped to a hydration pack or vest. In addition to two-way text messaging and location sharing, inReach Mini includes interactive SOS. When the SOS is activated, a response coordinator will track the device location, notify emergency responders in the area, and stay in communication with preset emergency contacts throughout the incident.

Available now, the Enduro models range in suggested retail price from $799.99 to $899.99. To learn more, visit garmin.com/enduro.

For the ladies who like listening to music on the go but don’t want their earbuds to be conspicuous, German startup Nova Products has found a stylish alternative to earbuds. The company’s Nova H1 is a pair of stylish pearl earrings that double as earbuds. Sold in sets of two, each 7-gram earring has a solid silver body/clip along with a real pearl.

Read more: Innovative Swings Hearables For Fashionable Music Lovers

The Earrings are fully packed with the latest technology embedded in real pearls to provide you with music, phone calls, and digital assistants all day long.

Like conventional earrings, the NOVA H1 are placed on the earlobes and project the sound from inside the pearl straight into your ear canal.

Thanks to their worldwide patented Directional Sound Technology, the sound travels from the earlobe to the ear canal avoiding sound leakage and keeping your conversations and music private and secure.

Two tiny high-end microphones are integrated into each Earring providing the user with crystal clear phone calls and wind-noise cancelation.

The button, located at the back of each earring, allows music control, answers phone calls, plays or skips songs, and activates the voice assistant.

The rechargeable battery inside every Earring is replaceable. The earbuds provide 3+ hours of playtime – and automatically saves batter life with the ultra-sleep mode.

• Streaming music: The earrings allow you to stream music from any audio source like Spotify, Google Play Music or Apple Music, or your music library on your smartphone, computer or tablet.

Read more: Audio Augmented Reality (AuR) enhances our reality by curating or selectively manipulating what we hear

• Phone calls: Make and receive phone calls at home, in the office, or while commuting. Anywhere, any time.
• Privacy: NOVA’s patented Directional Sound Technology helps keep your private conversations private.
• Availability: To order your Nova H1, you need to visit their Kickstarter campaign.

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.”