Year End Tech Review Series: Wearables

Year End Tech Review Series: Wearables

TechCrunch DISRUPT 2014

September 8 – 10, 2014


Pier 48 | San Francisco


This past year I came to Tech Crunch Disrupt 2014 to present a project I had just released on the app store: Diffr App. I feel that this product deserves its own article so now I will move to my technology innovation review.


TC Disrupt this year brought together innovations that transform the way our societies interact with technology and information. Such products are lately referred to as: Internet of Things (IOT), Mobile platforms and Wearables. Here I will present my top choices for wearables:


Recon


Recon instruments won’t only be developing high-tech components for other eyewear makers, the company presented their own pilot  pair of sunglasses, embedded with an Android-compatible interface.


Jet  (at $599 /pair) is being marketed for high-end sports consumers: golfers, cyclists and runners.


Jet promises to offer streams of performance-enhancing data, like heart rate and speed, to hardcore enthusiasts. The product would be shipped in the fall according to co-founder and chief technology officer Hamid Abdollahi: http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/29/atheer-labs/

VivaInk


Vivalnk is a completely new wearable technology. This flexible electronic tattoo like sticker is adhesive inexpensive and disposable, which can communicate with smartphones and tablets.


VivaInk teamed up with motorola to release a temporary tattoo that can unlock a smartphone, (no PIN required). Slap it on your skin, hold your phone up to it, and bam — phone unlocked. http://www.vivalnk.com

Skully

Skully delivered the most advanced technology ever seen in a motorcycle helmet. An elaborate sensor network, microprocessors, camera, turn by turn GPS navigation, rear view display, voice control & music link to name a few. Information appears to be approximately 10 feet from the ride which offers automatic variable focal distance where the GPS itself is clear no matter where the rider is looking ( they call it Synapse platform).  Check them out at http://www.skullysystems.com/#smartest-helmet


Atheer Labs

Atheer is the pioneer in augmented interactive reality (AiR), they combine 3D augmented reality with human interaction to boost productivity.Atheer labs smart glasses provide a see through experience based on augmented reality. The user can see through information critical to their workflow and contextual to the real world. With these AR technology, users can interact with objects digitally and collaborate with peers on data like never before. Their technology offers demos in oil, health care and field service: https://www.atheerlabs.com/index/index/


Fove

Fove’s wearable provides eye tracking  technology that gives the user’s way to control and interact  in various applications:  A collaborative project with University of Tsukuba special needs education school gave physically challenged  children a chance to learn and play the piano.





Fove also presented eye tracking technology applied to gaming and the potential opportunity that this could extrapolate in other applications. Check them out: http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/09/fove/




These are only the most relevant examples of  wearables in order of innovation in my humble opinion. I would highly recommend checking upcoming reports on Internet of things and innovative platform based apps.


Armando Russi

Reporter

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