This winter edition of our news roundup recap comes along with Santa Claus and with some surprises!
Nobody saw it coming when back in 2015 we saw the most funded Kickstarter campaign of the history turning into a reality. We are talking about the Pebble Time Smartwatch. Not even one time but twice with the Pebble 2, positioning them in the ranking of the top 3 of most-funded campaigns on Kickstarter. Now things have changed as Fitbit recently bought software assets from Pebble. The purchase excludes Pebble’s hardware. The deal is mainly about hiring the startup’s software engineers and testers, and getting intellectual property such as the Pebble watch’s operating system, watch apps, and cloud services. Another company we lost on the way among many others.
Osram also made a big announcement, launching the first broadband infrared LED. Osram Opto Semiconductors is using converter technology for infrared emitters for the first time. The result is a LED that emits broadband infrared light in a wavelength range from 650 to 1,050 nanometers (nm). The main application is near-infrared spectroscopy, for example for analyzing food. This translated into an every day language means that we could use this in the future as an add-on in our phone that paired with an app could measure calories, the freshness of the food or nutritional content thanks to the characteristic absorption behavior of certain molecular compounds. If a defined spectrum is directed at a sample it is possible to determine the presence and quantity of certain ingredients from the wavelength distribution of the reflected light. If you want to learn more about Osram and to hear the latest developments they made they will be speaking at our upcoming WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 7-8 in Munich!
TÜV SÜD tested the new Huawei Fit wearable. Huawei had its new HUAWEI FIT model MES-B19 tested according to the TÜV SÜD standard and was awarded the Wearables certification mark. It is also the first model to include the usability test of the mark. As consumers generally wear these devices 24/7, the aspect of personal health and safety is of special significance. The TÜV SÜD certification mark is designed to offer guidance to customers, by affixing the certification mark to its product, Huawei can now demonstrate that its MES-B19 is safe to all its consumers.
To finish this year we end with the news from Snapchat and their latest marketing move including a wearable! Spectacles are sunglasses with an integrated video camera that makes easy to create Memories. The spectacles connect directly to Snapchat via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and transfer your Memories directly into the app. Now the marketing trick, where can we get those? They are not available to everybody or everywhere or at any specific store…You can only get these from a flying bot that lands at designated points of different cities and like a vending machine delivers the glasses in exchange for $130…
The biggest medical fair in the world took place in November and the WT booth was there to display plenty of companies with solutions and innovations for the medical field. We made a short recap with an overview of the different companies and their products.
Another big announcement took place recently. The Finalists of the IWC 2016/2017! 29 nominated finalists will present their solutions at the Innovation Wildfire session on the first day of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference 2017 EUROPE, but only six will be awarded as WT | Innovators of the Year 2017. The different categories are : Sports&Fitness, Wellness&Healthcare, Safety&Prevention, Gaming&Lifestyle, Smart Clothing and Smart Jewelry. Good luck to all the nominees!
These were the latest news so far for this 2016. We can’t wait for the next edition to see all the wearables and innovations that CES will bring us! Stay tuned!
