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.

India-based wearable maker Fastrack announced three new products under Fastrack Reflex portfolio - Fastrack Reflex 3.0, Fastrack Reflex 2C Pay, and Fastrack Reflex Tunes which marks the brand’s entry into the Hearables segment. The products will be available in 165 plus Fastrack stores and on Fastrack.in.

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

Since its inception in 2017, Fastrack Reflex wearables have seen 2 million young Indians flaunting their Reflex bands. According to IDC, Fastrack was ranked No. 2 in the smart wearable category between the years 2017 to 2019.

Fastrack Reflex 3.0

The Fastrack Reflex 3.0, priced at $35 (Indian ₹2,495), is a dual-tone (pink and green) smart band that comes with more than 10 sports modes and offers 20 watch faces that can be matched with interchanging straps. The tracker boasts a full-touch color display. Reflex 3.0 is water-resistant and is equipped with a heart rate monitor along with features like phone finder, sleep tracker, idle alert and vibration alarm, etc., reports Business Standard. It has music and camera control and comes with a 10-day battery life promise. It also features over 10 sports modes including running, hiking, walking, yoga, and cycling. The accompanying app, the Fastrack Reflex World, provides the user with a fitness activity report and in the future will give access to health and diet tips, new workout suggestions, etc.

Fastrack Reflex Tunes

Fastrack has entered the hearables market with the launch of Fastrack Reflex Tunes, which offers a range of products from over the head, behind the neck, and the popular truly wireless. The hearables are designed with an understanding of the audience and are packed with great sound quality and extended battery life. Fastrack Reflex Tunes are compatible with Android and iOS, has Bluetooth v5.0 and have varying playtime range from 6 to 26 hours.

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

Fastrack Reflex 2C Pay

Aiming to make a footprint in the contactless payment space, Fastrack has also introduced Fastrack Reflex 2C Pay in collaboration with YONO SBI. Users will be able to make contactless payments using their fitness bands. The Reflex 2C Pay will also have smart band features like a sleep and activity tracker, music control, seven-day power reserve and phone finder.

As the industries demand more efficient and safer workforce, the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) has become more ubiquitous. From wearable clips to smart scanners, the use of wearable device is now a common thing among workers. Field service workers working in dangerous conditions are benefitting from the use of Augmented reality (AR) headsets, which allow them to view instruction manuals, use voice commands to perform tasks hands-free, and receive expert help remotely.

Read more: Kinetic Raises $11.25M In Series A Funding to Help it Grow And Increase Sales

PepsiCo is one of the companies using wearable devices at a pretty good scale. The company is benefitting by outfitting its workers with wearable technology provider Kinetic’s REFLEX devices.

REFLEX is a smart wearable that aims to reduce workplace injuries for industrial workers. The wearable device attaches to a worker’s belt and monitors activities that put them at risk of injury, such as unsafe postures, jumping off vehicles, or slips and falls.

Besides helping the workers avert injury, the Reflex device is saving PepsiCo money by reducing worker compensation costs related to repetitive strain and other workplace-related impairments. According to Kinetic, claim costs can be reduced by up to 54% by using the Reflex device, reports David Miller in Automation World.

“Workers at companies like PepsiCo do a lot of lifting, a lot of manual handling, high-risk postures like twisting and turning. We’ve always done all of the traditional ergonomics work and trying to do as much as we possibly can. But there was always something missing; there was always that kind of behavioral element that we never really tapped right into to create a sense of ownership in the mind of the individual employee,” said Cormac Gilligan, VP of Global Environment, Health & Safety, PepsiCo.

To reduce injury during lifting, the device detects unsafe postures and alerts the worker with a real-time vibration. Workers can gamify the process by competing with their colleagues to stay under a certain goal of unsafe motions per day. Managers can then view insights and analytics on the company’s dashboard.

Read more: KINETIC-JLG Partnership To Deploy COVID-19 Safety Wearables For Industrial Workers

“Integrating wearable technology with your workforce is going to be a fundamental part of future automation. What this technology gives you is predictive indicators in a way that’s step-change beyond what the traditional model of the safety industry we’ve spoken about,” Mr. Gilligan said.

“The employees are having conversations with us that are helping us to understand why, at a particular time or in a particular place, they have to adopt a high-risk posture, which helps us to redesign the work area or process. We were telling them what to do, and now they’re telling us what to do - that’s extremely powerful.”

Golf fans who have been curious what the golfer's heart rate is during a game may be able to find out. A multi-year partnership between the human performance company WHOOP and the PGA TOUR will implement a WHOOP Live for Charity initiative to highlight player biometric data and heart rate during defining moments throughout the season with those real-time metrics integrated into video content. Featured players will receive a $10,000 contribution to the charity of their choice on behalf of WHOOP and the TOUR.

Read more: Tag Heuer Releases Colorful Golf Edition Smartwatch Along with a Golf App

“We are excited to grow our partnership with WHOOP and utilize their health technology to optimize the way our athletes train, recover and sleep,” said Brian Oliver, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. “Our athletes understand the importance of maintaining their health to ensure peak competitive performance, career longevity, and overall well-being. The WHOOP Strap will help our athletes unlock actionable insights via physiological data to help them understand and prepare their bodies for competition. We’re eager to begin a first-of-its-kind activation at the TOUR that will incorporate player biometric data with defining moments from the golf course to create fascinating content for fans.”

The PGA Tour will use Whoop fitness straps to show the heart rates and other biometric data of players “during defining moments throughout the season,” it announced. The new project could provide interesting data for golf fans by showing which players control their physiology best under pressure, reports PGA TOUR.

The latest Whoop Strap 3.0 uses your heart rate to measure your sleep quality, workout intensity, and recovery while providing advice on how to improve in those areas.

Read more: Garmin’s Approach S40 is a Stylish Smartwatch that’s Especially Designed for Golfers

The Tour had already distributed around 1,000 of the devices to players on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and PGA TOUR Champions circuits. On top of helping players monitor their fitness, data from the strap may have indirectly identified the first case of COVID-19 on tour with player Nick Watney. “They've done studies where, if your respiratory rate goes up during the night... that's sort of a telltale sign that you might have something,” said major champ Rory McIlroy back in June. “It was actually his Whoop that told [Watney] his respiratory rate went up, and that's why he thought maybe he could have it.”

The world of wearable technology is moving rapidly. The most embellishing form of the wearable device is jewelry. These smart jewelry come in the form of necklaces, bracelets, watches, and rings. They can track your heart rate, sleep, stress, and give you advice on how to stay healthy. From necklaces that track your sleep, to bracelets that make contactless payment – here are our favorites.

Read more: Motiv Ring: A Stylish Fitness Tracker with New Security Updates

Senstone

Senstone is a wearable voice recorder – a new way to create notes — five times faster and much more convenient than any smartphone app. With Senstone you no longer have to pull out your phone to take notes on the go. Just capture the things in your daily life that you don’t want to miss. It automatically converts your voice notes into text and organizes them for easy access.

Senstone is a notepad about the size of a bottle cap. Tap on the Senstone to start recording and speak. Tap again and it stops. All audio and text notes are synced into the Cloud seamlessly. This is a standalone device and doesn’t need a smartphone to work. It records for up to two and a half hours when offline. Then it automatically syncs your notes in the cloud when you are back in range.

Oura Ring

Finnish health tech company Oura Health is the maker of Oura ring, a wearable device in the form of a ring that guides its wearers towards better sleep, recovery, and readiness by analyzing the body’s sleep, daily rhythms, activity levels, and physiological responses.

With daily feedback to improve your health, Oura helps you better understand your body and reach your goals. You’ll be guided through an intelligent, data-driven plan to help you improve across the most important aspects of your well-being. The sleep tracker automatically collects the wearer’s data and synchronizes it to the Oura app to a smartphone running Android or iOS. Just wear the ring around your finger, and it’ll measure your physiological signals, with no switches or flashing lights.

The Oura ring registers your body temperature reading every minute while you sleep. Temperature data collected by Oura ring detected the onset of fevers, a leading symptom of both COVID-19 and the flu, according to a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego, UC San Francisco, and MIT Lincoln Lab.

Amazfit Equator

This exquisite and elegant fitness tracker is made by the famous Chinese brand Xiaomi. It has a simple rigorous design and a removable exchangeable strap. Due to its unique and elegant form, AmazFit can be worn as a pendant, which makes it suitable for all occasions: training, work, parties.

With the AmazFit bracelet you have the opportunity to daily measure the distance covered, to control the number of calories burned during sports activities, to set the frequency of your sleep phases, and to set alarm clocks. AmazFit will help you to get the rhythm of your life under control! The main components of the bracelet Xiaomi AmazFit are a motion sensor and a Bluetooth 4.0 chip. The bracelet is powered by a 15mAch battery and the ultra-low power consumption level ensures the continuous work of AmazFit for 10 days without recharging!

Bellabeat

Zagreb, Croatia-based Bellabeat makes a wellness wearable called Leaf Chakra, which features the added power of healing crystals. Leaf Chakra, the most unique Bellabeat wellness tracker, was created to highlight the importance of personal wellness and to help reaffirm the user’s connection with the Earth and his or her chakra energy through the healing powers of gemstones and crystals.

Leaf Chakra is available in Love and Power varieties and features patented technology that tracks your activity, sleep, and menstrual cycle, and combines this into a single metric that lets you know how stressed you are. You can then choose from about 20 different guided meditations and breathing techniques designed to help you relax.

Tovi Sorga Contactless Bracelet

Tovi Sorga’s fashionable bracelets allow contactless payments. Free to use and easy to manage via the Pingit app on both iOS and Android, for UK residents over 16 with any UK current account. The bracelet never needs charging or batteries and eliminates rummaging for your wallet. The stylish device can be used for payments for a minimum of 2 years.

The bracelets are made of genuine leather with a gold-plated surgical stainless steel magnetic clasp. The position of the payment chip indicated on the outside of the bracelet with a printed heart symbol.

If you have more than one Tovi Sorga wearable, you can easily organize your funds between different devices with Pingit jars.

Read more: These Smartglasses Aren’t Just Smart They’re Also Very Fashionable

The Pingit contactless payment chip is water-resistant and Tovi Sorga luxury leather bracelets are splash and rainproof. But you should not use solvents or solvent-based products. Tovi Sorga comes with a complimentary 1-year warranty. Tovi Sorga bracelets are designed for both men and women and they also come as key rings.

Wearable smart patches offer a wide range of possibilities in medical diagnosis and are becoming increasingly popular. These are already widely used for medical diagnosis, for example, to measure a patient’s blood sugar levels, body temperature, or heart rate. The observation of disease patterns such as skin cancer or chronic wounds is also possible.

Read more: This Wearable Uses Covestro Polycarbonate Blend to Help You Bounce Back from Stress and Get Better Sleep

Covestro, in collaboration with its partner accensors, has developed a concept for reusable wearable smart patches. The smart patches consist of a non-reusable element that is applied directly to the skin, and a durable element in which the electronics are integrated. The miniaturized solution contributes to resource conservation and sustainability. Covestro made this progress possible with Baymedix raw materials for adhesives and foams, as well as Platilon thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) films. accensors has developed the sensor system and electronic modules, Covestro said in a press release.

Smart patches should be as small, flexible, and unnoticeable as possible in order to offer patients a high level of comfort. The newly developed solution consists of two elements: a non-reusable element (the Disposable Patch) including sensors that is applied to the skin with an adhesive and used only once, and a reusable element, the ReUse Patch, which houses all the electronics, for example the measurement technology, power supply, data processing, radio transmission and if desired an optical camera.

High comfort, ease of use, efficient manufacturing

Thanks to Covestro materials and to integrated film sensors, the wearable patches are very lightweight, thin and flexible, and fit well to the surface of your body – you can hardly feel them. Polyurethane adhesives made from Baymedix raw materials are skin-friendly and offer low trauma when removed from the skin. Various sensors are integrated in the patch to determine vital signs, for example, pulse, pressure or temperature. Here, sensor integration is achieved by using special Platilon® films in combination with a thermoformable foam based on Baymedix. All these materials are breathable and can be efficiently processed with roll-to-roll technology.

Removing and inserting the ReUse Patch into the Disposable Patch is also very easy – thanks to an ideal combination of materials and function. accensors particularly developed a film sensor that forms the interface between the smart patch and the patient and can be equipped with varied sensors.

About accensors

Founded in 2015, accensors produces sensor systems in small, medium, and high-volume quantities. accensors operate internationally and count medical technology, pharmaceutics, and biotechnology as well as an industry among its customers. The company’s 25 employees enable the development of innovative products at the two locations Espelkamp and Munich.

Read more: Covestro Unveils Smart Bracelet that Regulates Body Temperature at CES 2019

About Covestro

With 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2019.

US wearables maker Fitbit has launched Ace 3, a fitness tracker specially designed for kids. The Fitbit Ace 3 comes with a touchscreen PMOLED display and offers up to eight days of battery life on a single charge. Kids can wear it while swimming, as it is water-resistant up to 50 meters. Apart from all-day activity tracking, the Ace 3 also offers reminders to move.

Read more: Fitbit Users Can Now Track Their Blood Sugar Levels with the App Update

The Ace 3 has a 20% brighter screen and includes do not disturb and sleep modes. The new animated clock faces change and grows as kids make progress toward their fitness goals. The clock faces are a bunny, a cat, a Martian, and spaceship designs. The screen size is 1.47 inches and has 240 x 240 pixels resolution.

Furthermore, the manufacturer does not have a heart rate monitor this year and offers children the well-known tracking of activities including Sports modes (e.g., running, hiking, cycling), pedometer, and sleep monitoring.

The weight of the tracker is 70 grams and the new model also enables the easy change of bracelets. Except for the note "waterproof", the datasheet does not contain any information on protection against moisture. But since its predecessor, Fitbit Ace 2, was able to survive in a water depth of up to 50 meters and was suitable for swimming, one can strongly assume that the Fitbit Ace 3 is also equipped with a similar or even better protection.

The Fitbit Ace 3 can be paired with Android smartphones and Apple iPhones (iOS) via Bluetooth. With the help of the Fitbit app, children get access to essential information about their daily routine, motivation to exercise more, and incentives, such as virtual badges and avatars. Parents, on the other hand, can use a family account to keep an eye on their child's activities, approve friend requests, and view statistics.

Read more: Fitbit to Equip NASA Employees with Wearables to Protect Them from COVID-19

Price and availability

The Fitbit Ace 3 is available in two colors – Black+Sport Red and Cosmic Blue+Astro Green. It is priced at $99.95. Later this summer it will have two Minions-themed accessory bands (in Blue and Black with yellow buckles) available separately for $29.95. Fitbit Ace 3 is available for preorders from the Fitbit online store.

Exclusive Networks has a struck an agreement to distribute RealWear’s wearable computing devices in India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

The deal now makes Exclusive Networks an official distributor for RealWear’s HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 voice-enabled headsets across South East Asia, Australia-New Zealand, and India. The state-of-the-art headsets improve communication amongst a distributed workforce, as well as safety compliance.

Read more: Italgas Deploys RealWear’s HMT-1Z1 Wearable Solution Running OverIT Field Services Management Software

“RealWear is pleased to be partnering with Exclusive Networks at a time when our customers are actively looking to empower and connect their remote and field services workforce. Exclusive Networks’ wide regional reach in the Unified Communications space and excellent pre-sales and post-sales support makes them a perfect partner for RealWear in the Southeast Asian, ANZ and India markets,” says John Higgs, Vice President, Asia Pacific at RealWear. “RealWear’s fully ruggedized Android wearable computers are specifically designed to safely support industrial and field service workers in high-risk environments. Through the RealWear HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 devices, frontline workers across a range of industries can collaborate remotely, and access data files and documentation workflow on a real-time basis, resulting in higher compliance rates, improved safety, and productivity, and better customer service.”

RealWear’s HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 wearable computers incorporate a high-resolution camera, noise-canceling digital microphones that allow the user to control the device or communicate even in high-noise environments. Users can safely take photographs, pull up additional multimedia, or open up a variety of third-party productivity apps that are optimized for voice controls, reports Exclusive Networks.

“RealWear’s headsets are the future of the connected worker, especially for industrial and remote workers who are required to perform complex tasks in a very hands-on environment,” says Mike Beesley, Vice President, Unified Communications, the Asia Pacific at Exclusive Networks. Beesley added: “Complex equipment and systems often take a team of experts to maintain and fix, which can be hard to organize and find logistically challenging. RealWear’s head-mounted wearable computers connect on-site workers with experts dotted around the world. Its integration with collaboration software such as Microsoft Teams allows for collaboration and remote communication between subject matter experts who can work together to address difficult challenges despite not being on-premises. This is a great addition to Exclusive Networks’ Unified Communications offering and we look forward to providing this solution to our customers.”

Read more: RealWear’s HMT-1 AR Headset Helping Automotive Companies Achieve Greater Productivity

RealWear’s wearable computers connect frontline workers across almost all industries, from oil and gas, mining and construction, to food and beverage. RealWear allows organizations to connect their distributed workforce to a central network, making communication easier, reducing errors, improving compliance, and ensuring workflows can be accessed and followed easier and quicker.

U.S. Army paratroopers are sporting biometric data-collecting wearables nonstop for half a year as part of an ongoing research project to measure stress levels and examine the resiliency of soldiers operating in Arctic environments. As part of the research, about 1,000 paratroopers of the so-called "Spartan Brigade" – the nickname for the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division based in Alaska – are wearing the device.

Read more: US Army Uses Modified HoloLens 2 for Real-Life Video Game

The paratroopers have teamed up with WHOOP, a Boston-based human performance company, in a six-month study with the University of Queensland.

The WHOOP Strap is capable of 24/7 monitoring in an unobtrusive form factor that is able to withstand the rigors of military use while also being waterproof and sporting a 5-day battery life with on-the-go charging.

“Previous research has typically focused on investigating stress in laboratory settings using standardized stress tasks," said Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science at WHOOP and Principal Investigator on the study. “We are carrying this study out in the field to better understand how personal, psychological, and situational factors can impact a soldier while training during extreme Arctic conditions. We are proud to support our troops in an innovative way and this data could be a critical tool for the military to improve soldier resiliency at a time when mental health issues and suicide rates are higher than ever.”

By providing the United States Army with more insight into individual physiology and the impacts of training in an extreme environment, soldiers will be better equipped to manage stress and ultimately, have higher readiness. All leaders from the squad level, NCOs, and above will have access to their paratroopers' data, so they can adjust training and operational plans to maximize the health and readiness of their teams, WHOOP said in a press release.

“Imagine as a squad leader that you have a paratrooper that has had an abnormally low recovery for several days," said the Spartan Command Sergeant Major Alex Kupratty, "Maybe your platoon has been in the field for weeks, or the paratrooper just returned from an Army school. Now, you have the data to better help them recover, or to adjust your training to match the team's needs.”

The research project will analyze personalized data like heart rate variability, resting heart rate, cardiovascular strain, and respiratory rate to also create a biometric baseline for the Spartan Brigade grounded in overall resilience, stress, and sleep quality. Unlike blind studies, the participating paratroopers will have immediate access to their own data, as well as techniques to maximize recovery, and can make decisions using this feedback to optimize their personal performance.

Read more: Pentagon Tells Soldiers to Leave Wearable Trackers at Home When Heading to Warzones

“WHOOP provides seamless and highly reliable biometric capture, thereby producing objective measures of sleep quality and recovery, which are of central importance to our research,” said Dr. William von Hippel, lead investigator on the study and professor at The University of Queensland. “Once the data are analyzed, we hope to uncover insights the military could leverage to enhance training regimens and maximize soldier preparedness.”

Everything we wear is becoming smarter. Smartwatches are slowly replacing analog watches (aka dumb watches) and smart glasses allow us to see more than what’s around us.

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

People now prefer wearing a smartwatch over a dumb watch because of its usefulness in tracking health. Many smartwatches offer heart rate tracking features and there are also chest straps that can monitor your heart. Many people track their heart rate data to estimate their energy expenditure, which is very helpful for body composition.

But how accurate is the data your device is giving you and which ones are better for monitoring your heart – smartwatches or chest straps? Here we compare few types of chest straps and smartwatches.

Both, smartwatches and chest straps, do the same thing but in hugely different ways.

Chest straps

Pros

Before smartwatches, only way to monitor heart rate was a chest strap. Electrodes embedded on these chest straps press against the skin and uses electrocardiography to get the heart’s electrical activity. Chest straps are very accurate. Some brands like Polar claim their straps can measure heart rate to a granular degree of accuracy. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise showed that Polar H7 chest strap was 99.6% accurate when tested against an ECG.

Cons

Many people find chest straps to be uncomfortable. On the other hand, constant exposure to sweat can cause them to corrode, which means interference with the electrodes and delivering inaccurate readings. To pick up electrical impulses coming from your heart, the pads on the chest straps need a bit of moisture, so they may need a few minutes once you get sweating to give you an accurate reading, reports Colin Levitch in CyclingNews.

Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers

Pros

Smartwatches and fitness trackers use a method called photoplethysmography (PPG) to measure heart rate. PPG is a technical term for shining light into the skin and measuring the amount of light that is scattered by blood flow. When you’re wearing your smartwatch or fitness tracker, the heart rate sensors at the bottom of the dial press up against the skin and tracks heart rate. This is very comfortable for the user but there are drawbacks.

Cons

Wrist-based heart rate trackers need to be worn accurately (tight, above the knuckle on your wrist) to get a precise heart rate. Also, skin tone, hair, moles, etc. can affect accuracy. A 2019 study, published in the Journal of Sports Science, found that the point-to-point accuracy in these wearables can vary from +/- 1% to error rates as high as +/-13.5%. Types of LEDs and algorithms also can affect the accuracy of these wearables.

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

Takeaway

When it comes to point-to-point accuracy, chest straps are more accurate than optical heart rate sensors. Chest straps are proved to be the most accurate of the heartrate-measuring devices, with a 99.6% accuracy. The wrist-worn devices, however, are far less accurate. If you want real-time heart rate monitoring and don’t care about point-to-point accuracy, then a smartwatch should be good enough for you.

In the future, wearable sensors like those found in Fitbits and pedometers could be replaced by mushrooms.

Read more: UC Boulder Scientists Develop Self-Healing Device That Can Power Wearables

In a recent study, researchers explored the use of fungi as a potential candidate to produce sustainable textiles that can be used as eco-friendly bio wearables. For example, the processors in tech wearables like Fitbits could be replaced by incorporating oyster mushroom mycelium.

Oyster mushroom mycelium, the fibrous mainframe tissues of fungi that colonize under the soil and from which mushrooms sprout, were able to perceive electrical signals in such a way as to replicate that part for sensors and processors, which are readable by a computer, reports GoodNewsNetwork.

“Smart wearables sense and process information from the user’s body and environment and report results of their analysis as electrical signals. Conventional electronic sensors and controllers are commonly, sometimes augmented by recent advances in soft electronics,” the researchers wrote.

“Organic electronics and bioelectronics, especially with living substrates, offer a great opportunity to incorporate parallel sensing and information processing capabilities of natural systems into future and emerging wearables. Nowadays fungi are emerging as a promising candidate to produce sustainable textiles to be used as eco-friendly biowearables.”

To assess the sensing potential of fungal wearables the team undertook laboratory experiments on the electrical response of a hemp fabric colonized by oyster fungi Pleurotus ostreatus to mechanical stretching and stimulation with attractants and repellents.

“We have shown that it is possible to discern a nature of stimuli from the fungi electrical responses. The results paved a way towards the future design of intelligent sensing patches to be used in reactive fungal wearables,” the team wrote.

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

The joint research venture was undertaken by the University of the West of England, Bristol, the U.K. (UWE Bristol) and collaborators from Mogu S.r.l., Italy, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Torino, Italy, and the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has assessed the sensing potential of fungal wearables.

There's no shortage of smartwatches to choose from these days. But it’s hard to find the one that matches your expectations. eBuyNow, a Motorola brand licensee, is all set to introduce not one but three new Moto-branded smartwatches in 2021. According to Twitter user Felipe Berhau, eBuyNow will be soon releasing these Motorola-branded smartwatches: Moto Watch, Moto Watch One and Moto G Smartwatch.

Read more: Motorola Patent Hints At Solution for Foldable Phone Displays

A few images appearing in Twitter shows the design of the watches. The Moto Watch One and the Moto G Smartwatch are likely to come with a circular build, similar to that of the Moto 360 smartwatch. In contrast, the Moto Watch appears to come in a square-shaped design. The watches are expected to run on Google’s Wear OS and powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor.

The image that shows the potential watch was found in an investor presentation alongside three other smartwatches. The image reportedly also shows a wireless charging coil, reports TheVerge.

According to Reddit user TheMacJezza, one of the images used in the presentation just barely shows some hardware details for one of the new Motorola watches (seemingly the Moto Watch One, based on the lug design). The back of one of the watches says 5ATM (water resistance), GPS, NFC, and most importantly, Snapdragon Wear 4100.

If the new Moto watches succeed to take off, they could offer serious competition to larger Wear OS watchmakers like Mobvoi and Fossil. Compared to what Apple and Samsung offer, the Wear OS smartwatch market is still relatively small. This will give any newcomer to thrive in this market.

Read more: Fossil Launches Nextgen Touchscreen Smartwatches with Wear OS and Extended Battery Life

Motorola stopped making Moto-branded smartwatches. The name was licensed to a company called eBuyNow, which released the third-generation Moto 360 in 2019.

For some time, rumor has been going around that Apple could release their own augmented reality glasses. However, it was recently circulating that the tech giant could actually be planning other mixed reality devices as well, such as an AR/VR headset. Now according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will also release AR glasses and AR contact lenses within a decade.

Read more: Apple Watch’s New Health Feature Monitors and Notifies You About Your Cardio Fitness

In the past few years, Apple has increased its focus on health, fitness, and wearable products like the AirPods and Apple Watch. The company also is repeatedly associated with other wearables.

Kuo outlined three predictions for Apple: an AR/VR headset in 2022m, AR glasses in 2025, and finally, AR contact lenses between 2030 and 2040. Kuo doesn’t get any more specific than that in terms of a release timeframe.

According to MacRumors, Kuo said the lenses will bring electronics from the era of "visible computing" to "invisible computing". He predicts that Apple's MR/AR product roadmap includes three phases: Helmet type by 2022, glasses type by 2025, and contact lens type by 2030-2040.

These AR lenses probably won’t have their own computing power and storage, which suggests they’d likely be connected to an iPhone or other device.

AR/VR headset in 2022

We could see Apple AR and VR headsets as soon as next year. According to Kuo, the prototypes show that it weighs between 200 grams and 300 grams, reports 9to5 Mac. “If Apple can successfully solve the significant technical problems, the final product weight will be reduced to 100–200 grams,” Kuo writes.

Augmented Reality glasses in 2025

Kuo believes Apple will release AR glasses by 2025 “at the earliest” and the company has yet to start prototype production.

Read more Apple Watch’s Future Band Design Could Boost Battery Life

Contact lenses after 2030

Kuo’s final prediction is AR contact lenses, which he believes Apple will launch after 2030. But he sees “no visibility for the launch schedule” yet. The main focus for these contact lenses will be invisible computing and they are unlikely to have independent storage and power technology.

The "Global Consumer Wearables Market 2020-2026 - Competitive Intensity Driving Healthcare Focus in the Market" report has been published by ResearchAndMarkets.com.

This study covers the aspects mentioned below and serves as a starting point for companies to design the strategy and framework for their next steps in the healthcare domain.

Read more: Wearable Medical Devices Market Expected to Experience Huge Growth by 2030, Says Market Industry Reports

With several consumer wearable devices now having regulatory clearances for detecting conditions like atrial fibrillation and other cardiac conditions, their role in the healthcare landscape is becoming prominent.

COVID-19 induced lockdowns, quarantines, and the need to avoid healthcare facilities for fear of contracting the virus has brought wearable devices to the forefront for monitoring patients' vital signs remotely. These have also proved key in facilitating 'back to school' and 'return to work' programs.

Effectively, consumer wearables are carving a niche in the healthcare domain by enabling disease prevention and early detection, post-acute care monitoring, as well as chronic disease monitoring and management. The sector is therefore likely to blur out the distinction between consumer-grade and medical-grade wearables, since both may have regulatory clearances for various applications. This also means that the consumer wearable device makers must adapt to the nuances of the healthcare industry and design business models that fit the needs of the industry, says a press release.

As is already clear, the data emanating from these devices is of significant value. However, monetizing this data is no easy feat. Several models have already emerged that support healthcare industry stakeholders in their quest to help populations stay healthier, live longer, and recover quickly from their ailments.

Read more: Fitness App Market Poised To Grow at a CAGR of 12%, Reaching 1.68 Billion During 2020-2024 Period

Partnerships are key, but consumer device companies continue to hesitate to fully commit to this space. Regardless of whether these companies take the plunge, there are ample opportunities for wearable device makers in the healthcare space, given the need for these tools to help manage the burgeoning population of people who need care and support, remotely.

GPS has become so popular that it’s a must-have feature in smartwatches and smartphones. For many of us, getting to a new place without the help of GPS is almost impossible. However, most of us do not know how GPS works and some are unaware of other satellite navigation systems like Glonass, Galileo, and BeiDou.

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. This satellite-based navigation system is made up of at least 24 satellites.

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

The GPS does not require the user to transmit any data, and it operates independently of any telephonic or internet reception, though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the GPS positioning information.

GPS works in any weather condition, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, with no subscription fees or setup charges.

The satellites were put into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense (USDOD). Originally meant for military use, the satellites were made available for civilian use in the 1980s.

Following a precise orbit, the GPS satellites circle the Earth twice a day. A unique signal and orbital parameters are transmitted by the satellites, allowing GPS devices to decode and compute the precise location of the satellite. GPS receivers then use this information and trilateration to calculate a user's exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver measures the distance to each satellite by the amount of time it takes to receive a transmitted signal. With distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine a user's position and display it electronically to measure your running route, map a golf course, or find your way home.

Garmin is a pioneer in building portable GPS systems. The company launched its first GPS device in 1989.

How accurate is GPS?

Thanks to their parallel multi-channel design, today's GPS receivers are extremely accurate. Garmin’s receivers are quick to lock onto satellites when first turned on. They maintain a tracking lock in dense tree-cover or in urban settings with tall buildings. Certain atmospheric factors and other error sources can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Garmin GPS receivers are typically accurate to within 10 meters. Accuracy is even better on the water.

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

Other Satellite Navigation Systems

GLONASS. GLONASS is a satellite constellation system built by Russia. GLONASS stands for Global Navigation Satellite System and is slightly more precise with roughly 4.5-7.4-meter accuracy. The accuracy it achieves is due to the positioning of the 24+ GLONASS satellites, which are designed for greater coverage at high altitudes. Some smartwatches offer GLONASS in addition to GPS. Aside from being precise, GLONASS can be a useful backup when your device can’t locate GPS.

BeiDou and Others. BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, or BDS, is China’s satellite navigation system. This system was previously known as Compass. BeiDou started offering global services in 1918 and it now has 35 satellites.

Another navigational system is India’s Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). It has 8 satellites, reports Android Authority.

Japanese government offers another navigational system, called Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). With 8 satellites, QZSS is a four-satellite constellation and has 3 satellites visible at all times.

Some of these systems are only available in the respective countries. However, some smartwatches offer multiple navigational systems. Most Garmin running watches, for example, offer GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, which were created by the European Space Agency.

The advancements of technology have affected every aspect of our lives and the sports industry is no exception. Thanks to technology, the modern athlete can enhance their performance, and trainers can evaluate athletes’ performance via wearable devices. For athletes, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and other wearables have become an indispensable part to optimize training sessions.

Read more: Duke Athletes Develop Wearable That Can Predict Injuries Before They Happen and Accelerate Healing

Wearables conquer the market

As the market for wearables is growing, more and more developers from the IT industry are working on intelligent clothing, like Smart T-shirts, which carry data without an additional belt or bracelet attached to the athlete's body. These smart shirts can track the respiratory rate, calorie consumption, and heart rate. This is made possible by sensors sewn into the garment, reports Thomas Wingenfeld in itespresso.

From Smart Shirts to Smart Socks

Smart wearables contain a wide range of features. They can be used to automatically adjust temperatures using carbon nanotubes, for example, or operate smartphones, generate solar-generated electricity during training, measure all possible body functions and thus monitor health. Special chips that are integrated into running shoes provide information about the cadence of the runner, while socks provide information about the way in which the foot is put on when rolling. The number of manufacturers of smart sportswear who are constantly designing new products for the market together with IT learners or start-ups is also growing. According to estimates by market researchers, consumers worldwide will have spent around 52 billion dollars on wearables in 2020.

In Singapore, India, and Hong Kong there are now three out of four sports fans who have used wearables, apps, and other technologies in a stadium. In India, this should apply to 88 percent of stadium visitors. Germany is not that far with 50 percent.

Read more: Nexus Uses Revolutionary Tracking Technology for CrossFit Athletes to Quantify Their Workout

Courses offered in universities

The topic of Wearables for sports has also reached universities. At the German University for Prevention and Health Management, for example, the "Sports and Health Informatics" course has been offered for some time. The contents of the course deal, among other things, with the various digital and technical possibilities for fitness and health and implement them. In addition, students learn how digital training and assistance systems are evaluated in order to analyze their benefits and potential - in a target group-oriented manner. "The sports and health sector in connection with the IT sector have become important markets for growth and employment and their economic importance will continue to increase with regard to digitization," according to the University’s homepage.