We have done an interview with Brad Cohen, President & Chief Strategy Officer at Lycos. Mr. Cohen will be speaking at WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in Munich on January 27 in session “Integrating Wearables in a Bigger Context”. Have a look at our article too find out more about Lycos´s view on wearable market.
Can you outline your new line of wearables and their ecosystem to our readers?
LYCOS has been a pioneer in the Internet since the creation of the Spider Search Engine in 1995. In the early days LYCOS was trying to solve the problem of simplifying searching on the Internet. Instead of just seeing a list of results in a direct format, LYCOS searched the web in real time making the entire process easier.
Today, LYCOS is simplifying a new problem; your entire digital life. We are creating wearable technology backed by a sophisticated cloud based platform to connect YOU to your HOME and TRANSPORTATION. Connecting the dots between each of these vital areas. Not just as disconnected devices, but as an overall IoT ecosystem connecting you to your world and the rest of the universe. We recently launched our Smart Band and Ring. The goal is to use our wearable devices to connect your world together. By allowing everything to talk with one another we make your life a little easier and simplify your digital life. Each of our products have connectivity to each other, our app, and the cloud
We plan to launch several products for you (wearable) your home and car in 2016. We will also be opening up our overall IoT platform to all developers and other types of hardware to communicate with the LYCOS Life systems.
Why did you decide to pursue wearables in the first place?
This is the first hardware initiative that LYCOS has ever tried. Wearables are one part of LYCOS Life’s overall IoT strategy. When we looked for various wearable devices that we needed to close the loop for our strategy we could not find a suitable product that had over 2 weeks battery life, simple to use, looked beautiful, and packed the sensors/logic we needed. Since we could not find what we needed, we decided to produce this ourselves.
You will be speaking at the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference 2016 Europe
I will be exploring the importance of privacy as it relates to wearables, cloud, mobile, pc, and IoT. It will address why you should share all of your information with your Wearables as long as they can keep the secrets safe and help you to live a better life in return.
In your opinion, what is the wearable form factor of the future? Will the wrist still play an important role in the years to come?
For the last 20 years we have been learning how to use the Internet. Today, the Internet is learning us. This means that we are rapidly transitioning from a device based world to a sensor driven world. With Machine-2-Machine communications exponentially growing and the advancement of 3D printing things are changing really, fast and we are just at the start of this journey.
I think that 3D printing is going to change everything. You will be able to decide what form factor you want and then just print it. Assuming this is the case, then you will be able to take the sensor package that you purchase and plug it into your own form factor. At this point, your imagination is the only limiting factor. I believe that the wrist will stay relevant long after my time.
What is your favorite wearable and why (despite your own of course)?
Is a trick question? Since you didn’t ask me what my favorite electronic wearable was, I will tell you that my analog wrist watch is my favorite. It is simple, durable, and the battery lasts a long time.
Our conference in Munich is approaching fast. If you want the opportunity to network with one of the most influential companies in the wearable market, please register here; before it´s too late.
