In the past few days, numerous well-known manufacturers have presented new devices, which we would like to present to you here:

Honor Band 6

The former Huawei subsidiary Honor is launching Honor Band 6. The fitness bracelet, which is the last product from Honor to be developed in collaboration with Huawei, will be available in Germany from April 30. Honor Band 6 is equipped with a comparatively large and slightly curved AMOLED display. In the diagonal dimensions, the screen that can be operated with the finger is 1.47 inches (approx. 37 mm) with a resolution of 194 x 368 pixels. For comparison: The Honor Band 5 is equipped with a touchscreen of just 0.95 inches. In addition, the manufacturer promises a battery life of up to two weeks. A multifunction button is integrated into the housing on the right-hand side. The Band can track your Blood oxygen (SpO2) and stress levels. Interesting for sports fans, at least ten training modes are pre-installed. The Honor Band 6 is waterproof - up to 50 meters. However, it lacks its own GPS module. The price of the Honor Band 6 will be 49.90 euros. The case is basically black, the bracelet, depending on personal preference, in black, rose or gray.

Read more The Best Wearables from CES 2021: Fossil, Skagen, Vuzix, and More

OnePlus Watch

OnePlus has already entered the wearables market with the OnePlus Band and is now followed by the first smartwatch. The OnePlus Watch can display messages and calls (you can also make calls). There is also an internal memory with 4 GB and the OnePlus TV (not available in Germany) can be controlled with the watch.

The OnePlus Watch has more than 110 training modes and is waterproof up to 50 meters. The watch is flat and weighs only 76 grams. The round touch display is 1.39 inches and offers a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels. There are two additional function keys on the side. The typical extras are also on board: optical heart rate monitor, GPS receiver, and Bluetooth 5.0 for coupling with the smartphone. The premium version of the watch is available in limited Cobalt Edition. The limited-edition watch case is made of a cobalt alloy, a unique, hypoallergenic material that is twice as hard and more corrosion-resistant than conventional stainless steel. The dial is made of specially treated sapphire crystals. The OnePlus Watch should be available in Germany from April 26th at a price of 159 euros.

Suunto 9 Titanium

Suunto 9 Titanium is a multisport GPS watch designed for athletes who demand the best from their sports watch. An intelligent battery life management system with smart reminders ensures your watch will last just as long as you need it to. The robust Suunto 9 is made for long, arduous training and racing, and extreme adventures. The smartwatch is clearly in the premium league on the smartwatch market. At a price of 599 euros, this multisport watch offers a minimalist design combined with a titanium bezel. In addition, the watch from the Finnish manufacturer is able to record up to 170 hours of GPS workouts. According to the manufacturer, the watch was developed to track demanding outdoor sports and other adventures. The classic extras such as pulse measurement and blood oxygen measurement are also on board, as are weather monitoring functions and over 80 sport modes. A navigation function makes it possible to navigate to various points of interest (POI) directly on the wrist. The Komoot app, which is popular in Germany, is also supported. Particularly interesting for athletes: the Suunto 9 Titanium is equipped with an abrasion-resistant textile strap.

Garmin Approach S12/S42/G12 Smartwatches

Garmin launched 3 new watches in its popular Approach series of GPS golf products – the Approach S42 smartwatch, the Approach S12 watch, and the Approach G12 GPS rangefinder – all with more than 42,000 preloaded courses so golfers can walk onto any tee box with confidence. Garmin Approach S42, Approach S12 are smartwatches while Approach G12 is a smart display with a clip that attaches to your belt or shirt. It’s a watch without a strap, basically.

The sports watches offer the possibility of reading the distance to the beginning, the middle, and the end of the green on over 42,000 golf courses worldwide. Obstacles are also shown on the displays of the smartwatches so that your next shot does not end up in the bunker, water or tree. The equipment differs from device to device.

For example, while the Garmin Approach G12 and S12 only offer manual measurement and recording of the range, the Approach S42 is able to carry out an automatic range measurement. In return, the G12 and S12 offer up to 30 hours of battery life in golf mode, while the S42 only has 15 hours. The G12 and S12 models are not able to receive notifications from the smartphone, the Approach S42 can.

This is also noticeable in the price. While the Approach S42 is available for 299.99 euros, the Approach S12 is cheaper at 199.99 euros. For the Approach G12 you ultimately have to put 149.99 euros on the table.

Read more The Best Heart Rate Tracking Watches and Chest Straps for 2021

Blackview X5 Smartwatch

Blackview officially unveiled the Blackview X5 smartwatch with quite useful features for the introductory price of a 50% discount price of $29.99. It is a new affordable smartwatch that can provide you with accurate sleep monitoring, activity counter, and heart rate monitor. The watch is equipped with a 1.3-inch TFT LCD display (240 x 240 pixels) and has a running time of around one week. Typical smartwatch functions such as a sleep tracker, heart rate monitor, and mirroring of notifications are supported. On the other hand, there is nothing to be found in the watch's datasheet about its own GPS receiver or the ability to measure the blood oxygen content. But it only costs the equivalent of around 50 euros. Caution: the watch is not waterproof and only offers access to nine sport modes.

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Peloton has bought startups Aiqudo, Atlas Wearables and Otari in recent months. Respectively, they had developed a digital voice assistant, fitness-focused smartwatches, and an interactive workout mat with a built-in screen.

Read more: Exactech Acquires Medical Wearables Pioneer Muvr To Help Surgeons Better With Joint Replacement Patients

The New York-based fitness technology company bought Aiqudo Inc. in February, and Atlas Wearables Inc. and Otari late last year. Atlas is developing a smartwatch that supports users in training and measures their performance. Otari has developed an interactive sports mat with an attached screen that users can use to take part in various training sessions.

The most interesting acquisition, however, is likely to be the takeover of Aiqudo. The AI start-up that specializes in voice interaction. What Peloton expects from Aiqudo is obvious: voice interaction with the training equipment is not only a good idea in times of social distancing; Voice interaction is becoming more and more common. A progressive brand like Peloton cannot sensibly do without it. Aiqudo has developed voice assistant for electric cars from manufacturer Byton and has also used its technology in AR headsets.

Peloton said it paid a total of $78.1 million in cash for three companies during the final quarter of 2020. Aiqudo is not included in that amount given the deal closed this year, reports Bloomberg.

Lately, Peloton is increasingly trying to expand its own product range through acquisitions. Also in December, the company acquired Precor, a manufacturer of fitness equipment, for $ 420 million.

In December, Peloton had announced a deal to acquire Precor, a manufacturer of commercial fitness equipment, for $420 million. Word also spread around that same time of Peloton's acquisition of digital fitness platform Peerfit.

If the company wants to achieve its ambitious goals of 2.3 million users in 2021 (it had 1.7 million users in the second quarter), it not only has to broaden its range but also reduce delivery times for spinning bikes and treadmills. Despite increased production capacities, these are still around three months.

Read more: Hillrom Buys Continuous Remote Monitoring Technology from EarlySense for $30 million

In a recent interview with Bloomberg News, Peloton Chief Executive Officer John Foley suggested the company has a pipeline of new products and said a rowing machine and a strength training device are “good guesses” as to what the company is developing.

After the acquisitions became known last week, the Peloton share rose by almost five percent.

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Nymi’s newest band the Nymi Band 3.0 has been certified as a FIDO2 authenticator, confirming the compliance of its biometric access control technology with the FIDO Alliance’s protocols for passwordless authentication.

Read more Xyntek, Nymi Partner Up to Add Wearable Biometric Devices to their Platform

The company has been a member of the FIDO Alliance since 2014, and built its workplace wearable solution for compliance with the organization’s standards, reports Biometric Update.

The FIDO2 certification covers the Nymi Connected Worker Platform (CWP) in addition to the band itself. The CWP is an enterprise software platform that allows employees to use the Nymi Band to log into various workplace systems, thereby creating a streamlined authentication procedure across an entire organization.

The Band utilizes fingerprint recognition technology to verify the identity of the user and then provides ongoing passive authentication through the use of a heart rate monitor. This process eliminates the need for passwords and PIN codes and negates the threat that companies traditionally face when those passwords are lost or stolen.

The FIDO2 certification of Nymi CWP radically transforms the way workers interact with their digital environment, providing a unifying platform to simplify usability and strengthen privacy and security, the company states.

Benefits of the FIDO2 authentication

• The Nymi Band now provides two-factor passwordless authentication for web applications and services that support FIDO2. Continuous biometric verification replaces PIN-based verification. FIDO2 functionality is only available while the user is authenticated.
• Nymi Band implements CTAP2 (Client to Authenticator Protocol) over NFC.
• Nymi Band can now store multiple key pairs for multiple relying parties.
• The Nymi Band 3.0 can be registered as a security token with standard services such as Microsoft, Google, and many others.

Read more SMK Electronics Collaborates with CAARESYS to Develop Biometric Passenger Monitoring Technology

Nymi and partner rfIDEAS recently spoke over email with Biometric Update about the expansion of applications for biometric wearables in the workplace, and the likely staying power of those new uses.

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In this era of wearables, AI, and algorithms, a new type of wearable is on the horizon – a wristband that can read your mind. Social media platform Facebook says it has developed a wristband that translates motor signals from your brain so you can move a digital object just by thinking about it.

Read more: This Dress Can Read Your Mind And Change Shape And Color Through Your Brainwaves

Facebook’s bracelet lets you type without a keyboard (potentially without even moving your fingers) or control something on soon-to-be-released AR glasses.

“At Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) Research, we’re building an interface for AR that won’t force us to choose between interacting with our devices and the world around us. We’re developing natural, intuitive ways to interact with always-available AR glasses because we believe this will transform the way we connect with people near and far,” Facebook said in a blog post.

“What we’re trying to do with neural interfaces is to let you control the machine directly, using the output of the peripheral nervous system — specifically the nerves outside the brain that animate your hand and finger muscles,” says FRL Director of Neuromotor Interfaces Thomas Reardon, who joined the FRL team when Facebook acquired CTRL-labs in 2019.

This new technology could help people with mobility and sensory limitations tremendously. Facebook showed a demonstration of a person who was born without several fingers, on one hand, using the device to move a computer 3D model of a full hand moving and grasping.

Another of the most interesting use of this tech is typing without a keyboard. This eliminates the possibility of typos from accidentally hit keys.

Facebook isn't the only player working to make smart tech that is truly mind-reading. The U.S. Army is also formally interested in the telepathic possibilities of this technology, reports Pymts.com. The Army, in cooperation with researchers from the University of Southern California, UCLA Berkeley and Duke University, is providing $6.25 million in funding over the next five years to research whether algorithms and advanced mathematics provide the foundation for separating brain signals that "influence action or behavior from signals that do not.”

Read more: Be Careful What You Think! This Device Can Hear Your Inner Voice

Hamid Krim, an Army Research Office program manager, explained that initiatives based on research might be able to create devices that will detect things like stress and fatigue signals from soldiers and transmit them to their leaders. Theoretically, it could also be used to create a channel for silent communication via a central computer while boots are on the ground.

Huawei has launched three new wearables in Germany – the FreeBuds 4i true wireless earbuds, the Watch Fit Elegant and the fitness tracker Huawei Band 6.

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

FreeBuds 4i

Thanks to the intelligent Active Noise Cancellation, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i wireless earbuds recognize a wide variety of ambient noises and actively reduce the noise so that you can concentrate fully on your own phone call or your favorite music. With the additional awareness mode, however, it is very easy to fade in important ambient noises and interact with the environment without having to take off the headphones. With a simple click on the Huawei FreeBuds 4i, you can switch quickly and easily between ANC and awareness mode. The dual -Microphone system is made with a slot channel design to effectively reduce wind noise outdoors, and the AI ​​noise reduction technology filters out additional noise In addition to the high-quality sound, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i also offers individual operation. Users can easily and intuitively control music playback and voice calls and activate sounds by touching them with gestures.

Specs:

• Battery: 55 mAh battery
• Active noise cancellation with transparency mode
• Seven hours of music and five hours of battery life when making calls with ANC on
• Fast charge function: 10 minutes of charging allow four hours of music playback

Huawei Watch Fit Elegant

The Huawei Watch Fit Elegant offers a 4.16-inch OLED screen and a metal housing. The watch with an elegant appearance has a battery life of up to ten days and 96 user-defined training modes, automatic training, and stress detection, and heart rate monitoring, the Huawei Watch Fit Elegant is the perfect all-rounder for every occasion. Here, too, you can choose from 96 sport modes. The watch also automatically recognizes the training and can measure your stress and heart rate.

Read more: Huawei Now Allows Third-Party Apps On Its Wearables

Huawei Band 6

Huawei Band 6 is a slim fitness tracker that weighs 18 grams and has a 3.7-centimeter (1.47 inch) OLED touchscreen. The smart companion measures the pulse, the oxygen content in the blood (SpO2), sleep activities thanks to TruSleep technology and the stress level and thus provides the user with important health and fitness values. The high contrast guarantees an optimal reading of the values. If you want to hear motivational songs while exercising with one of the 96 sport modes via the linked smartphone, you can easily control the music playback via the Huawei Band 6.

Wearable technology is becoming increasingly ingrained with many aspects of healthcare. The industry is expanding. Last year, Google bought Fitbit for $2.1 billion and according to a survey by Polaris Market Research, the global wearable medical devices market size is expected to reach USD 85.6 billion by 2027.

Innovations in remote monitoring are helping millions of patients by enabling healthcare professionals to monitor their vitals from the comfort of their own homes and keeping informed on their well-being in real-time, reports Neil Cooper in Pharma Times.

Wearable devices like AVA are providing better insights into women’s health by tracking their period cycles. The wearable device, which is required to be worn during the night, gives women insights into their fertility, pregnancy, as well as their overall health. Pregnant women can track their weight, sleep, and stress levels.

These innovations give the academic research community a big opportunity to understand trends and data at an incomprehensible scale.

So, where will wearables take us in healthcare?

Read more: Innovative Wearables Helping To Change The Healthcare Landscape

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a big role in healthcare as well. Consumer-focused digital healthcare companies are making big advances in this space. Novartis is using artificial intelligence to improve patients’ lives and optimize the healthcare ecosystem. Novartis is collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build an enterprise-wide data and analytics platform to help transform business operations, starting with the way medicines are manufactured and delivered.

In the future, we may see doctors prescribing IoT-enabled inhalers supported by a wearable sensor that helps monitor the health condition of the patient. The data generated could provide personalized advice for patients while also help medical organizations to develop preventative treatment and therapies.

Mental health tracking may become the next major focus area for wearables, according to Neil Cooper’s report. In the near future, we may see wearables investigating the known relationship between poor psychological wellness and biological processes, which will be of enormous use to medical care administrations. Fitness trackers and smartwatches already provide sleep tracking, blood oxygen levels, stress, etc. With the advancement of technology, we may see sensors providing nutritional deficiencies or other indicators.

The most prominent and useful application of wearables in healthcare in the future may be preventative care. This will be possible by tracking new types of data and re-imagining existing consumer technology. Google Glass and Snapchat glasses, for example, could be tailored for preventative care. If a person is at a high risk of stroke or is prone to a disorder that is triggered by light, these glasses could warn the user and automatically alert the next of kin. If a person is prone to panic attacks, a smartwatch can track their heart rate in conjunction with external stimuli, like loud noises, and then give the wearer warnings or advice.

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

In healthcare, wearable technology offers promising transformation for the industry, particularly as patient care devices. Device developers, along with healthcare service providers and regulators, must embrace the potential of wearable technology in improving patient care.

Just a few years ago, the word exoskeleton meant something we see in a movie that a human actor wears to fight off aliens. But now, exoskeletons are reality, helping workers to ease strain and prevent injury.

Read more: ErgoJack, a Soft Robotic Upper-Body Orthosis Aimed at Reducing Workplace Injuries

Exoskeletons are wearable devices that augment, enable, assist, and/or enhance physical activity. One of the main reasons for exoskeleton successes has been the popularity of exosuits – soft shell textile-based exoskeletons that are more comfortable and lighter weight.

HeroWear, a Nashville, Tennessee-based wearable technology company, has developed Apex exosuit. Developed in conjunction with the Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology at Vanderbilt University, Apex complements the human body by supporting and assisting the lower-back muscles primarily involved in repetitive lifting and bending activities, reports HeroWear.

Some exoskeleton devices use motors and batteries (or some other power source) while others like the Apex are passive, using bands or springs to provide assistance. More specifically, Apex exosuit is quasi-passive, which means you can turn the assistance on or off as needed.

Back injuries are some of the most common ailments in the workforce worldwide. Injuries sustained from physical fatigue and strain lead to lost wages and lost productivity, costing billions. Low-back pain costs Americans at least $50 billion in health care costs each year.

What sets Apex exosuits apart from others?

• Apex weighs only 3 pounds but it takes 50 pounds of strain off your back every time you lift an object. With no motors or batteries.
• The suit provides strength when you need it and gets out of your way when you don't. This is accomplished through a patent-pending on/off function, activated by a single, easy-to-use switch, which is unique in our market.
• This is the world’s first female-specific exosuit. The Apex follows a modular design that allows custom components for each part of the suit, including components designed specifically with females in mind. These exosuits take a one-size-fits-all approach, without specific fitting for females.
• While other exosuits use batteries or other power sources, Apex is nonpowered. It does not need to be recharged each workday.

Read more: Exoskeletons Market to Reach $5.2 Billion by 2025 With Medical Exoskeletons Dominating

HeroWear exosuits come complete with full training and support for every purchase, ensuring that each device is properly fitted for the wearer.

It was in development for a long time, now Telekom has become the first provider to finally bring it onto the market in Germany: The AR glasses “Light” from Nreal.

This open up new, future-oriented opportunities for communication, entertainment and interaction in the high-performance 5G network to the general public. With the mixed reality glasses, users experience mixed reality and augmented reality applications integrated into the real environment. For the time being, the Nreal Light can only be used with the OPPO Find X3 Pro smartphone. Other compatible devices will follow in the future. Advance sales start on Telekom's new innovation platform “INITIATE”. From April, the MR glasses will also be available in the Telekom online shop.

Read more: Nreal’s Mixed Reality Glasses are Compact but Project High-Quality Visuals

“With the launch of Nreal Light, Telekom is opening a new category of end devices on the European market. The smartphone receives additional added value in combination with the glasses. New MR applications in the areas of entertainment, shopping, gaming, and social media will enrich our reality. We are thus offering our customers completely new communication experiences and interactions with one another,” says Wolfgang Gröning, Vice President XR + Immersion at Telekom, reports Telekom.

Popular apps work with mixed reality

At the start of Nreal Light in Germany, users will already be able to use many of their favorite apps from the Google Play Store. The Nebula operating system brings, for example, YouTube, Amazon, Zalando, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok directly to the mixed reality glasses. You can also mirror your own pictures and videos. The users can open several applications at the same time and arrange them individually. For example, they watch videos on YouTube and at the same time can easily write text messages using the smartphone's voice control. In addition, there are augmented and mixed reality apps with 3D graphics and space tracking specially produced for Nreal.

“Our goal was to enable Nreal Light users and the XR community to take full advantage of the multitude of compatible applications. With these you can really enjoy the new, immersive mixed reality environment,” adds Chi Xu, founder and CEO of Nreal.

Nreal Light glasses

Nreal Light are mixed reality glasses. It combines augmented reality and mixed reality applications. Thanks to their ergonomic fit, the 106-gram light glasses are intended for daily use at home or on the go. The Nreal operating system Nebula guarantees the smooth playback of digital content in three-dimensional space, mirrored by the smartphone. This content is shown in the glasses displays with a resolution of 1080p per eye. Users continue to see their surroundings and interact with them completely freely. Three integrated cameras with environment recognition and freedom of movement in six degrees of freedom (6DoF), dual surround sound speakers and dual microphones for convenient voice control ensure the perfect immersive audiovisual experience.

The digital glasses are connected to the OPPO Find X3 Pro via a USB-C cable. This provides the glasses with computing power and an Internet connection. Navigation is also carried out via the smartphone, which is used as a laser pointer. With an update, intuitive gesture control will soon be possible.

Read more: Varjo XR-1 Super-Fast Mixed Reality Headset is Being Used by Volvo to Test Drive Cars

INITIATE - the platform for innovative technology

With INITIATE, Telekom is also launching its own platform for innovative technology that makes everyday life easier, enriches our lives and connects people. With INITIATE, customers get early access to products that are not yet available for sale everywhere, but which are nevertheless fully developed and immediately available. The Nreal Light is one of the first successful technologies on the INITIATE platform.

The Nreal Light is available for 799 euros. The OPPO Find X3 Pro costs 1,149 euros.

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

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

How Does the Heart Rate Sensor Work?

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

Consumer Complaints

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

How Skin Tone Affects the Sensor

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

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

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

Possible Solution

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

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

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

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

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

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Release Date

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

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

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Features

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

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

Price

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With Mudra band, you can:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Specifications:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Smart health partner

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

Zepp global sleep study

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

Zepp Lullaby Generator

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

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

Zepp invests in research, technology, and global collaboration

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Reporting Functionality with Contact Tracing

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

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

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

Subscription Model

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stand out from the crowd

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

Hearables and wearables

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

Individual TTS voices

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

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

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

Call center voices with emotions

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

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

Digital voices on a new level

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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