In today’s fast-paced industrial and manufacturing sectors, safety and efficiency are paramount concerns. Companies are increasingly turning to innovative technologies to transform their workplace culture, with the Wearable Internet of Things (WIoT) taking center stage. This cutting-edge technology is not only overhauling traditional practices but also revolutionizing the way companies approach worker safety and productivity. In this article, we will delve into the ways wearable technology is currently reshaping the industrial and manufacturing landscape, explore the myriad benefits of WIoT, and shed light on the software solutions that are propelling this revolution.

A Shift in Workplace Culture

Industrial and manufacturing environments have long been associated with rigorous physical demands and safety concerns. However, as technology advances, so too does the ability to safeguard workers and improve overall efficiency. Wearable technology, in particular, has emerged as a game-changer. From smart helmets to augmented reality glasses, these devices are revolutionizing the way workers interact with their environment.

One of the most significant shifts brought about by WIoT is the move towards a more proactive approach to safety. Traditionally, safety measures were often reactive, focusing on addressing incidents after they occurred. With wearable devices, companies now have access to real-time data that enables them to identify potential hazards before they become accidents. For example, smart vests equipped with sensors can monitor environmental conditions, such as temperature and air quality, alerting workers and management to unsafe conditions instantly.

The Multifaceted Benefits of WIoT

The adoption of WIoT is not solely driven by safety concerns; it also promises a host of other benefits. One of the most compelling advantages is its ability to reduce worker fatigue. In physically demanding industries, fatigue can lead to accidents and decreased productivity. WIoT devices can monitor a worker’s biometrics, such as heart rate and body temperature, in real-time. When fatigue is detected, alerts can be sent to both the worker and their supervisor, prompting necessary breaks or adjustments to tasks.

Furthermore, WIoT is facilitating the digital transformation of facilities. These devices are no longer just tools for monitoring workers; they are becoming integral components of interconnected systems that optimize operations. For instance, by equipping machinery with IoT sensors, it becomes possible to track equipment performance, anticipate maintenance needs, and reduce downtime. This seamless integration of WIoT technology results in cost savings and improved efficiency.

Enhancing Body Mechanics with Wearable Devices

The realm of body mechanics in the workplace is also being revolutionized by WIoT. Wearable devices, such as exoskeletons and wearable sensors, are designed to support workers and help them maintain correct postures and motions. These devices are equipped with sensors that can provide real-time feedback to workers, guiding them to adopt ergonomic positions that reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries.

Additionally, the data and understanding collected by these wearable devices is a goldmine of information. To harness this potential, companies are turning to sophisticated software solutions. These solutions aggregate data from various wearable devices and integrate it into a centralized platform. This allows for comprehensive analysis and insights that were previously unattainable.

For example, advanced analytics can identify patterns of movement and posture that may lead to injuries over time. By utilizing this data, companies can implement targeted training programs to improve worker ergonomics and reduce the risk of chronic injuries. Furthermore, the data can be used to engineer workflows, optimize the allocation of tasks and resources for maximum efficiency.

The Power of Integration

Integration is key to unlocking the full potential of WIoT. By consolidating data from wearable devices into a single platform, companies can achieve a holistic view of their operations. This data-driven approach enables predictive maintenance, real-time safety monitoring, and workflow optimization, all within one cohesive system.

Moreover, the benefits of WIoT extend beyond the factory floor. Office-based employees can also benefit from wearable technology, as it can monitor posture and sedentary behavior, promoting better health and well-being. For instance, smart wristbands can remind office workers to take breaks, stretch, or adjust their sitting positions, reducing the risk of long-term health issues.

Embracing Innovation: WIoT’s Role in Shaping Tomorrow’s Workplace

The Wearable Internet of Things is ushering in a new era of workplace culture, where safety, efficiency, and worker well-being take center stage. Companies that embrace WIoT are not only reducing the risk of injuries but also driving digital transformation, reducing worker fatigue, and optimizing operations. With the integration of advanced software solutions, the potential for improvement is boundless.

As more companies recognize the transformative power of WIoT, it is clear that this technology is here to stay. It is no longer a matter of if, but when, organizations will adopt WIoT to enhance worker safety and productivity. The future of industrial and manufacturing workplaces is being shaped by wearable technology, and those who embrace it are poised to lead the way in the evolving landscape of worker safety and efficiency.

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The Internet of Things (IoT) has ushered in a new era of connectivity, and its impact is profoundly felt in the world of wearables. Smart wearable devices, from smartwatches and fitness trackers to augmented reality glasses, have become integral to our daily lives. In this article, we will explore the pivotal role of IoT in wearables, its key applications, benefits, challenges, and the exciting future it holds for personal technology.

The IoT Revolution in Wearables

Wearable technology has evolved beyond mere timekeeping or fitness tracking. Smart wearables have become powerful, connected devices capable of collecting and transmitting a wide range of data. IoT is at the heart of this transformation, enabling these devices to communicate with other systems and users.

Key Applications of IoT in Wearables

1. Health and Fitness Tracking

Wearable fitness trackers and smartwatches equipped with IoT technology can monitor a variety of health metrics, including heart rate, steps taken, sleep patterns, and more. These devices often sync with smartphone apps to provide users with real-time insights into their well-being and fitness progress.

2. Location and Navigation

GPS-enabled wearables, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, can provide accurate location and navigation data. This is especially valuable for outdoor activities, runners, cyclists, and hikers.

3. Augmented Reality (AR)

AR glasses are wearable devices that overlay digital information on the user’s field of view, enhancing their perception of the physical world. IoT connectivity in AR glasses can deliver real-time data and interactions, making these devices more powerful and interactive.

4. Communication

Smartwatches and similar wearables enable users to make calls, send texts, and receive notifications, keeping them connected without needing to pull out their smartphones.

5. Environmental and Biometric Sensors

IoT wearables often include sensors that measure environmental factors, like temperature and air quality, as well as biometric data such as body temperature and stress levels. This data can be used for health monitoring and wellness management.

6. Location-Based Services

IoT in wearables allows for location-based services such as geofencing and location-sharing. Users can set up alerts when they enter or leave specific areas or share their location with family and friends.

7. Payments and Transactions

Many wearables, including smartwatches and fitness trackers, support contactless payments. These devices can be used to make purchases, access public transportation, and more, simplifying daily transactions.

8. Work and Productivity

IoT-powered smart glasses are finding applications in various industries. They can provide real-time information, instructions, and data visualization for workers in fields like manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics.

Benefits of IoT in Wearables

The integration of IoT in wearables offers numerous advantages:

1. Health and Wellness

Wearable devices with IoT capabilities empower individuals to take control of their health and fitness. They can monitor key metrics, track progress, and receive personalized recommendations for a healthier lifestyle.

2. Convenience

Wearables make it easier to access information and services without having to pull out a smartphone or other device. This convenience is especially valuable in situations where using a larger device would be impractical.

3. Safety and Security

Location-based services and emergency features in wearables enhance user safety and security. IoT connectivity allows wearables to transmit critical information in emergency situations.

4. Enhanced Communication

Wearables enable seamless communication, reducing the need to constantly check a smartphone. They allow users to stay connected while keeping their hands and attention free.

5. Improved Productivity

IoT-powered wearables in the workplace streamline tasks and enhance productivity. Workers can access vital information and instructions without having to consult manuals or look at screens.

6. Real-Time Data

Wearables equipped with IoT technology provide real-time data, which can be especially valuable in sports and fitness, healthcare, and various professional fields.

Challenges and Considerations

While IoT in wearables offers numerous benefits, it also poses challenges and considerations:

1. Data Security and Privacy

Collecting and transmitting personal data via wearables raise concerns about data security and privacy. Robust security measures are necessary to protect user information.

2. Battery Life

IoT wearables often require a constant connection to the internet or other devices, which can put a strain on battery life. Extended battery life remains a challenge for manufacturers.

3. Compatibility

IoT devices must be compatible and standardized to ensure seamless data exchange and integration. Common protocols and standards are essential for achieving this.

4. Data Accuracy

The accuracy and reliability of data collected by wearables are paramount, especially in healthcare and fitness applications. Ensuring that the data is precise and reliable is critical.

5. Ethical Considerations

Wearables can raise ethical concerns, particularly in terms of data collection and sharing. Users and manufacturers must consider the ethical implications of wearable technology.

The Future of IoT in Wearables

As technology continues to advance, the future of IoT in wearables looks promising. Here are some trends and developments to watch for:

1. Enhanced AI Integration

IoT and artificial intelligence (AI) will work together to provide more intelligent wearables that can analyze and provide insights into user data.

2. Extended Battery Life

Improvements in battery technology will extend the battery life of wearables, reducing the need for frequent charging.

3. Enhanced Connectivity

Wearables will become even more connected and integrated with other devices and services, offering a seamless user experience.

4. Health Monitoring Advancements

Health-focused wearables will provide more advanced monitoring and diagnostic capabilities, leading to better healthcare outcomes.

5. Personalization

Wearables will become increasingly personalized, adapting to user preferences and individual needs.

Conclusion

The Internet of Things is transforming wearables into powerful, connected devices that enhance health, convenience, communication, and productivity. Challenges related to data security, battery life, and compatibility must be addressed to ensure that the benefits of IoT in wearables are fully realized.

As IoT technology continues to evolve, it will remain a driving force in wearables, offering a glimpse into a future where these devices become even more integral to our daily lives, providing insights and convenience that we cannot imagine living without.

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Proximity Trace Helps Organizations Minimize Exposure for Workers and Aims to Get Them Back to Work More Safely.

In response to the need for greater worker protection during the COVID-19 pandemic, Triax Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of Internet of Things (IoT) worksite technology, announced a new IoT system, Proximity Trace™.

The new solution provides proximity distancing alerts and contact tracing through a wearable device for workers across many industries, including construction, heavy industrial, energy and manufacturing. It offers added protection for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and helps companies get workers back to work safely, while addressing recommended social distancing practices.

“In talking with our customers, we recognized a critical industry need to keep workers safe from COVID-19 exposure on the worksite, so we quickly got to work developing a solution,” said Robert Costantini, Triax Technologies CEO.

“We leveraged our experience in IoT technology and workforce safety monitoring to address companies’ urgent needs for workers to maintain appropriate distances, to perform historical contact tracing for any employee testing positive for the virus, and to assist companies in getting their workforce back on the job as they implement new safety protocols. Our solution is designed to ease the burden on workers to maintain appropriate distances as part of new safety practices that very well could become the next normal.”

The Proximity Trace devices are affixed to a hard hat or worn on the body with a lanyard and emit a progressively louder alarm, alerting workers when they are too close to each other. This enables them to focus on their work, rather than worrying about their proximity to another worker or potential exposure to the virus. The alarm can also serve to change behaviors by reminding workers to practice safe social distancing.

In the event that there is a confirmed case of COVID-19, an employer can conduct contact tracing using historical data captured passively by the worker’s device to identify who may have been exposed. Traditional methods of contact tracing rely on workers’ memories and whether they can identify by name other workers they were in contact with during a given time period. With more reliable information, companies can decide who needs to be in mandatory or precautionary quarantine per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, and whether the site can continue to operate safely without the need to shut down the entire operation.

“Worker safety is our top priority, so we were thrilled to hear that our technology partner Triax developed a solution to address the social distancing and contact tracing problems the industry is facing during COVID-19,” said Jason Pelkey, senior vice president, Chief Information Officer, Gilbane Building Company. “We’re rolling this out at our active sites and we’re excited about the role it could play in keeping workers safer at those sites as well as non-essential sites as we begin returning those to full operational status in the months to come.”

Proximity Trace was designed to support appropriate social distancing guidelines as outlined by government agencies. It can be used alongside an organization’s internal policies on social distancing and other safety guidelines.

Proximity Trace doesn’t use Triax’s proprietary mesh network, but rather communicates separately to a cloud dashboard specifically designed for contact tracing. The product is undergoing field testing and key feedback from early customers will be incorporated into production for commercial availability.

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Berg Insight today released new findings about the connected wearables market. Shipments of connected wearables reached 116.8 million worldwide in 2018.

Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.4 percent, total shipments of smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness & activity trackers, smart clothing, mobile telecare and medical devices as well as other wearable devices are forecasted to reach 238.5 million units in 2023.

Bluetooth will remain the primary connectivity option in the coming years. A total of 67.7 million of the wearables sold in 2023 are forecasted to incorporate embedded cellular connectivity, mainly in the smartwatch and telecare and medical device categories.

The connected fitness & activity tracker segment is led by Chinese Xiaomi, which has been successful with its Mi Band fitness tracker. Fitbit, a pioneer in the segment, is still also among the largest vendors in the segment along with Huawei and Garmin. Berg Insight estimates that shipments in the segment reached 65.0 million units in 2018.

This product category is now facing fierce competition from smartwatches that in most cases include activity tracking features. Apple entered the connected wearables market in Q2-2015 and quickly became the leading smartwatch vendor. In 2018, the company accounted for almost half of the total 45.5 million smartwatches sold during the year.

“Apple continues to hold a firm grip on the smartwatch market and is at the forefront of innovation in the industry” says Martin Bäckman, IoT Analyst at Berg Insight.

The competition has responded with increasingly capable and attractive devices from Wear OS vendors including Fossil, LG and Huawei as well as from vendors betting on other platforms such as Fitbit and Samsung. The smartwatch segment is expected to surpass fitness & activity trackers and become the largest device category within wearable technology in terms of shipments in 2021.

Mr Bäckman concludes:

“Technology advancements, increased consumer awareness and wide availability of devices in different price segments will enable smartwatches to reach shipments of 117.7 million units in 2023.”

Sales of smart glasses and head-mounted displays have so far been modest, but promising use cases in professional markets as well as in niche consumer markets will enable it to become a sizeable connected wearable device category in the next five years. A number of vendors including Daqri, ODG, Epson, Google, Microsoft, Kopin and Vuzix are active in the segment. Standalone VR headsets from companies such as Oculus and HTC aimed for the consumer market are gaining traction and accounted for a large share of the total 1.5 million devices shipped in the segment during 2018. Berg Insight forecasts that shipments of smart glasses and head-mounted displays will reach 11.9 million units by 2023.

Annual shipments of medical devices and mobile telecare/mPERS devices are forecasted to grow from 1.8 million devices in 2018 to 6.9 million devices in 2023. The segment includes wearables such as cardiac rhythm management devices, ECG monitors and mobile telecare devices.

Finally, annual shipments of wearables not covered by the above product categories such as authentication and gestures devices, smart rings, wrist-worn computers and scanners, smart jewellery and connected prosthetics are predicted to grow from 3.0 million units in 2018 to reach 13.0 million units in 2023.

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Sequans Communications S.A. announced that Daatrics, maker of smart wearables, will use Sequans’ Monarch SiP to provide LTE connectivity to its Neebo baby monitor.

Neebo is an innovative infant wearable that provides parents with highly accurate monitoring of their baby’s vital statistics. Monarch is the industry’s most advanced LTE-M / NB-IoT chip, optimized for IoT devices such as wearables.

Andrey Khayrullaev, CEO and founder of Daatrics, said:

“We chose Sequans’ Monarch SiP to LTE-enable the Neebo, because of its ultra-small size that is ideal for this tiny baby wearable.”

“Also, Monarch further improves the peace-of-mind we want to give our users because of its always-on and everywhere available reliability. Sequans’ Monarch is the most mature and proven LTE solution in the world.”

The Neebo infant wearable is a beautifully designed egg-shaped wristlet for baby. It is the only penny-sized device that’s small enough to be placed over a newborn’s wrist. Neebo provides the most accurate infant data stream on the market and monitors baby’s heart rate, oxygen saturation, thermal state, and audio environment, and provides a smart alarm system, alerting parents whenever necessary.

“We are proud that Monarch SiP is providing the LTE connectivity for the new Neebo baby wearable,” said Georges Karam, CEO, Sequans. “It is a special achievement to have all of the excellent Neebo monitoring features packed with LTE inside such a tiny and beautifully designed wearable.”

Daatrics is using Sequans’ Monarch SiP, which is the world’s smallest and thinnest LTE connectivity solution, combining Monarch with the universal radio front end of Skyworks.

Monarch provides full support for power saving mode (PSM) and extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) to enable the long battery life needed by many IoT use cases, and it provides the enhanced coverage modes that extend coverage for deep-indoor and remote deployments. Monarch incorporates the positioning technology of Polte for accurate, low power indoor and outdoor positioning capability using only the LTE radio. Monarch delivers programmable RF filtering for global band support in a Single-SKU, and proprietary dynamic power management technology enabling rock bottom low power consumption of 1 micro amp. Monarch is certified by operators worldwide.

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The worldwide wearables market is forecast to ship 122.6 million units in 2018, up 6.2% from the 115.4 million units shipped in 2017, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.

This will be the first year of single digit year-over-year growth for the wearables market, mostly due to continuing softness among basic wearables (devices that do not run third-party applications). However, double-digit growth will return in 2019 and through the rest of the forecast as smartwatches and new form factors gain acceptance. In 2022, IDC expects total shipment volumes will reach 190.4 million units, resulting in a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6% over the five-year forecast.

“The slowdown in the worldwide wearables market is a sign that this is a market in transition instead of a market in slowdown,” said Ramon T. Llamas, research director for IDC’s Wearables team.

“Vendors are slowly moving beyond first-generation devices and experiences, bringing together an ecosystem of partners and applications for improved user experiences that reach beyond step counting. The wearables of tomorrow will play a more prominent role in communication, digital health care, home IoT, and enterprise productivity that will make last year’s wearables look quaint.”

“The shift from basic wearables to smartwatches is well on its way,” said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “With it, we anticipate far greater diversity in terms of design, feature set, brands, and most importantly, price points than ever before. Fitbit’s Versa was one of the first mass market smartwatches to target the sub-$200 price band and in the next six to twelve months consumers can expect more options in the same or lower price tiers.”

“Apart from smartwatches, we also expect growth from new products as kid’s brands, fashion brands, and sports brands begin to to hit the shelves,” added Ubrani. “Although kids’ wearables have been a phenomenon in the Asia/Pacific region, they are just beginning to emerge in Europe and Latin America with the North American market to follow. Meanwhile, the third generation of WearOS watches are expected to make a small splash this holiday season and gain traction throughout 2019.”

“Through all these changes there will still be an appetite for basic wearables,” noted Llamas. “Wristbands will continue to play a significant role in the wearables market, offering simpler and less expensive solutions than their smartwatch counterparts. We also expect these devices will bring a more smartwatch-like experience to the table. Meanwhile, clothing and earwear will post market-beating growth with use cases that go well beyond their primary functions.”

Forecast Highlights

Smartwatch volumes will reach a total of 46.2 million units shipped in 2018, up 38.9% from the 33.3 million units shipped last year. By 2022, total volumes will grow at a CAGR of 19.5% and reach 94.3 million units shipped, accounting for nearly half the entire wearables market. In the near-term, expect a boost from Fitbit’s entry in the market as well as a reinvigorated WearOS to spur volumes. At the same time, Apple’s new Watch will appeal to cardiac patients thanks to its approval from the FDA and AHA, and its refreshed watchOS5 provides reason for owners of older versions to upgrade.

Wristband volumes will remain essentially flat throughout our forecast. Although numerous vendors have exited in recent quarters and more will exit in the years to come, what will remain are best-of-breed devices that go beyond step counting and move towards being a health and fitness companion. Combined with their simple value proposition and lower prices compared to smartwatches ($44 USD vs $289, respectively) wristbands will continue to play a significant role in the wearables market.

Earwear will grow the fastest among all the other wearables products on our list. In this category, we included those devices that feature a plus-one functionality beyond audio, and already earwear has expanded to include fitness tracking and coaching and real-time language translation, and in the coming years it should not be difficult to imagine a smart assistant tucked into a user’s ear.

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Berg Insight today released new findings about the connected wearables market: shipments of connected wearables reached 96.5 million in 2016, up from 75.1 million devices in the previous year.

Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.2 percent, total shipments of smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness & activity trackers, people monitoring & safety devices, smart clothing and medical devices as well as other wearable devices are forecasted to reach 262.5 million units in 2021. Bluetooth will remain the primary connectivity option in the coming years. A total of 26.8 million of the wearables sold in 2021 are forecasted to incorporate embedded cellular connectivity, mainly in the smartwatch and people monitoring & safety categories.

Apple entered the connected wearables market in Q2-2015 and quickly became the leading smartwatch vendor. The competition have been responding with increasingly capable and attractive devices from Android Wear vendors including Motorola, LG, and Huawei as well as from vendors betting on other platforms such as Samsung. Smartwatch sales are expected to pick up considerably during 2017 and Berg Insight estimates that shipments will reach in the region of 35.0 million units, a 66 percent increase year-on-year.

Adam Palmborg, IoT Analyst, Berg Insight, said:

“Technology advancements, increased consumer awareness and wide availability of devices in different price segments will help the smartwatch category to reach mass market appeal and surpass activity trackers as the largest device category within wearable technology by 2019.”

Today, fitness and activity trackers is still the largest device category and shipments are expected to reach 74 million units in 2017. Market pioneers such as Fitbit and Garmin have in the past years been accompanied by an abundance of companies including major players from the smartphone industry.

“Xiaomi has been particularly successful within the fitness and activity tracker segment, the company is continuously expanding its reach and sales have been largely driven by increased interest from the Asian market”, comments Mr. Palmborg.

This product category is now facing fierce competition from smartwatches that in most cases include activity tracking features. Decreasing prices and new form factors will still enable dedicated fitness & activity trackers to reach shipments of 81.0 million units in 2021.

Smart clothing is expected to gain significant traction within the next five years. Low consumer awareness, overlapping use cases and a focus on elite and professional applications have so far limited the adoption among the general public. Berg Insight forecasts that shipments of smart clothing will reach 18.3 million units in 2021, up from 1.56 million units in 2016. The segment exhibits the second highest CAGR in the wearables industry.

Connected wearables such as cardiac rhythm management devices, ECG monitors, mobile Personal Emergency Response Systems (mPERS) and wearable computers are already common in the medical, people monitoring and enterprise segments. Furthermore, miniaturised electronics, low power wireless connectivity and cloud services have enabled the development of a wide range of novel connected wearables such as authentication and gestures wristbands, notification rings, smart motorcycle helmets and smart gloves.

Shipments of smart glasses have so far been modest, but promising use cases in professional markets as well as in niche consumer segments will enable smart glasses to become a sizeable connected wearable device category in the next five years.

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Innovative new LTE IoT tracker based on Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 1200 platform planned to be available later this year.

YuanTel announced today, wearable devices based on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear 1200 platform featuring support for LTE IoT Category M1 (eMTC) and NB1 (NB-IoT) radio technologies, as well as associated services, at Mobile World Congress Shanghai.

These devices and services are planned to be available later this year. YuanTel is the second ranked mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in China among the 42 licensees, as measured by subscriber size, settlement volume, and service quality, has more than 8 million subscribers, and boasts a strong independent product portfolio and innovation capabilities, including M2M modules for the Internet of Things (IoT).

YuanTel will utilize its strong R&D and experience in communication services and leverage reference design from Borqs based on Snapdragon Wear 1200, to offer and accelerate commercialization of comprehensive solutions ranging from smart connected devices to E2E cloud platforms. The LTE IoT smart wearable products and reference designs based on the Snapdragon Wear platform will target smartwatches, kid and elderly watches, smart bracelets, fitness bands, pet trackers, bicycle sharing and more – all in support of low-power, “always connected” and untethered experiences.

“We are very glad to use Qualcomm Technologies’ platforms to develop and commercialize applications for smart wearable devices. As a leading MVNO operator in China and based on the deep understanding of China’s network status and features, YuanTel firmly believes that it can rapidly respond to the consumer demand by taking our R&D innovation, business models and utilization of the Snapdragon Wear 1200 platform into more diversified products,” said Mr. Wang Lei, president of YuanTel.

At MWC Shanghai, Qualcomm Technologies announced the Snapdragon Wear 1200 platform, which takes advantage of the emerging LTE IoT technology in mobile networks to help usher in a new generation of ultra-low power, highly energy efficient, and always connected experiences enabled by targeted purpose wearable devices such as kid, pet, elderly, and fitness trackers. Snapdragon Wear 1200 complements the existing Snapdragon Wear 2100 and Snapdragon Wear 1100 platforms, extending the proven Snapdragon Wear product family across the smart wearables segments.

“The wearables industry continues to thrive with new innovations in LTE IoT standards and business models,” said Pankaj Kedia, senior director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“The newly announced Snapdragon Wear 1200 supports the required features for a range of smart tracking devices targeting kids, pets, elderly and fitness. We are excited about working with YuanTel, who are taking advantage of Cat M1 and NB-IoT, and bringing exciting wearables products to the IoT space.”

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Partnership will allow Orion Labs to develop wearable devices that provide standalone, wide-area utility thanks to LTE for IoT.

LTE chipmaker Sequans Communications S.A. and Orion Labs, a leader in communication technology dedicated to connecting people and services through the power of voice, today announced a strategic partnership that will look to bring the power of LTE-M to wearable devices for the first time.

Orion Labs will work with Sequans to utilize their world-first LTE-M/NB-IoT Monarch chip to power future wearable communication devices. Using Monarch, Orion Labs will be able to develop wearable devices that can provide voice communications to other devices, people and bots, without the need to tether to a cell phone.

“It’s exciting that Orion Labs has chosen our Monarch chip to develop its next generation of wearable devices,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO.

“The current Onyx product is already a brilliant IoT wearable, and when it is enabled with LTE by Monarch, Onyx will be even more intelligent, and deployable on a wide scale, cost-effectively.”

“Sequans’ Monarch chip is the most highly-optimized and efficient chip available in the market today,” said Greg Albrecht, CTO at Orion Labs. “With Onyx, we are pushing the technology boundaries by offering heads-up voice communication with unlimited range between people and soon with voice services like Amazon’s Alexa and other third-party bots through the Orion Labs bot framework. This partnership with Sequans will allow us to continue to push the boundaries, putting cutting-edge technology into our products to provide the best possible experience for our customers.”

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Worldwide shipments of wearable devices are expected to reach 101.9 million units by the end of 2016, representing 29.0% growth over 2015.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, the market for wearable devices will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3%, culminating in 213.6 million units shipped in 2020.

“Unlike the smartphone, which consolidated multiple technologies into one device, the wearables market is a collection of disparate devices,” said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers.

“Watches and bands are and always will be popular, but the market will clearly benefit from the emergence of additional form factors, like clothing and eyewear, that will deliver new capabilities and experiences. Eyewear has a clear focus on the enterprise as it stands to complement or replace existing computing devices, particularly for workers in the field or on the factory floor. Meanwhile, clothing will take aim at the consumer, offering the ability to capture new forms of descriptive and prescriptive data.”

Two other factors driving the wearables market forward are cellular connectivity and applications.

“Cellular connectivity essentially frees the wearable from being tethered to a smartphone,” said Ramon T. Llamas, research manager for IDC’s Wearables program.
“The immediate use case will be to make telephone calls, but it goes well beyond that. Cellular connectivity on a wearable can transmit and receive data, including time, location, and other data about a user and his or her surroundings. Imagine what that means when tracking steps, analyzing patient activity, or shopping: the information can be shared immediately with a second or third party, and the user can, in turn, receive context appropriate information back.”

“The trajectory of the wearables market signals a strong opportunity for developers,” Llamas continued. “Applications increase the value and utility of a wearable, and users want to see more than just their health and fitness results.”

“News, weather, sports, social media, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications will all have a place on a wearable. And, when combined with cellular connectivity, users will not have to take out their smartphones to get the latest information. All they will need to do is glance at their wearable.”

Category Highlights:

Watch: Popularized by devices like the Apple Watch, Moto 360, and others, this category is expected to increase from 41.0% of total wearables shipments in 2016 to 52.1% in 2020. However, not all watches are the same. While smartwatches are in the spotlight today, future growth will come from basic watches that provide some sort of fitness/sleep tracking while not being sophisticated enough to run third party applications on the watch itself. Traditional fashion brands like Fossil and health/fitness companies like Fitibit and Withings will help this segment grow.

Wrist Bands: Through their simplicity, fitness-focused wrist bands have dominated the market thus far. Driven by low cost vendors Xiaomi and giants like Fitbit, this category will remain influential and accessible. However, that dominance will be challenged by watches as many watch vendors incorporate basic fitness features into their products.

Eyewear: Microsoft’s recent Windows Holographic announcement and abundance of hardware partners along with Google’s competing Android platform are projected to drive uptake in eye worn devices. Initially, such devices are expected to bring a transformational shift in mobile computing to select industries and job functions. However, IDC anticipates some hardware providers will also offer consumer-friendly options. Although this category will account for less than 10% of wearable device shipments by 2020, all eyes are on this lucrative category as it will account for more than 40% of the total revenue of the Wearables market due to the high prices for specialized commercial devices.

Clothing: Traditional fashion and fitness brands are quickly partnering up with tech companies to deliver smarter clothing, bringing some much needed attention to this nascent segment. Even conventional tech companies like Lenovo and Samsung are beginning to dabble in this space, revealing prototypes of shoes or belts. The category stands to capture 7.3% of the market by 2020 as consumers and athletes integrate fashion-tech into their daily lives.

Others: Lesser known form factors like clip-on devices, hearables, helmets, and more will account for 6.1% in 2016 and 3.3% in 2020. While IDC does not expect an immense amount of growth in this segment, it will nonetheless bear watching as numerous vendors cater to niche audiences with creative new devices and uses.

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Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC Supports Sleek Designs, Long Battery Life, Smart Sensing, and Always Connected Experiences.

Qualcomm Incorporated today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., has introduced Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear, a new platform for next generation wearable devices, and the Snapdragon Wear 2100 system-on-chip (SoC), the first in a new product family designed to bring new and enhanced wearable experiences to consumers.

“Qualcomm Technologies is a technology leader in the wearables space with its breadth of product offerings including the Snapdragon 400 processor, which powers the vast majority of current Android Wear smartwatches,” said Raj Talluri, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“With the introduction of the Snapdragon Wear platform and Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC, Qualcomm Technologies is well-positioned to extend its progress in wearables technology by enabling sleek designs, long battery life, smart sensing, and always- connected experiences in the next generation of wearable devices. These benefits are expected to have widespread appeal across the mobile, fashion and sports ecosystems segments in the wearables space.”

“LG and Qualcomm Technologies have led the wearable technology space with close collaboration over the last two years and have launched multiple smartwatches and kid watches,” said David Yoon, vice president, wearables, LG Electronics. “We are delighted about Qualcomm Technologies’ next generation wearable plans, are planning to extend our collaboration with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, and look forward to launching new smartwatches and other wearable devices that bring new and innovative use cases to consumers later this year.”

Utilizing Qualcomm Technologies’ expertise in connectivity and compute, the Snapdragon Wear platform consists of a full suite of silicon, software, support tools, and reference designs to allow mobile, fashion, and sports customers to bring a diverse range of full-featured wearables to customers quickly. Available in both tethered (Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi®) and connected (4G/LTE and 3G) versions, Snapdragon Wear 2100 innovates along four wearables core vectors:

• Smaller Size – 30 percent smaller than the popular Snapdragon 400, Snapdragon Wear 2100 can help enable new, thinner, sleeker designs
• Lower Power – 25 percent lower power than the Snapdragon 400 across both tethered and connected use cases, allowing for longer day of use battery life
• Smarter Sensors – With an integrated, ultra-low power sensor hub, Snapdragon Wear 2100 enables richer algorithms with greater accuracy than the Snapdragon 400
• Always Connected – Next-generation LTE modem with integrated GNSS, along with low power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth delivers an always connected experience

Additionally, customers can develop both tethered and connected SKUs using the same PCB design, thus reducing development costs. Snapdragon Wear 2100 supports both Android Wear, and Android and is targeted for next generation connected and tethered smartwatches, kid and elderly watches, smart bands, and smart eyewear and smart headset segments.

Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon processors already power the majority of Android Wear smartwatches. Earlier this year, Qualcomm Technologies announced that its technologies are used in 65 wearable devices across 30 countries with 50 more expected to launch later this year.

“Wearables have captured the public’s imagination, but a lack of connectivity can lead to frustration,” said Chris Penrose, senior vice president, Internet of Things, AT&T Mobility. “With Snapdragon Wear’s new platform, it’s clear that AT&T and Qualcomm Technologies share a vision for independently connected wearables that create a seamless experience for those who wear them. AT&T’s own NumberSyncSM technology links compatible smartwatches to your primary phone number, creating one number for all your devices.”

Availability
Snapdragon Wear 2100 and other products within the Snapdragon Wear platform are available today.

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According to a new report from the M2M/IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, shipments of connected wearables reached 72.5 million in 2015, up from 25.3 million devices in the previous year.

Growing at a compound annual growth rate of 25.8 percent, total shipments of smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness & activity trackers, people monitoring & safety devices and medical devices as well as other wearable devices are forecasted to reach 228.3 million units in 2020. Bluetooth will remain the primary connectivity option in the coming years. A total of 17.8 million of the wearables sold in 2020 are forecasted to incorporate embedded cellular connectivity, mainly in the smartwatch and people monitoring & safety categories.

Apple entered the connected wearables market in Q2-2015 and quickly became the leading smartwatch vendor. The competition is responding with increasingly capable and attractive devices from Android Wear vendors including Motorola, LG, Huawei and Asus as well as from vendors betting on other platforms such as Samsung and Pebble. Smartwatch sales have picked up considerably during 2015 and shipments are on the track to reach 19.5 million units by the end of the year, a 353 percent increase year-on-year.

“This market development has not gone unnoticed by the traditional watch industry and several vendors including Fossil and TAG Heuer have presented smartwatches of their own”, said Johan Svanberg, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight. Improved devices available in different price segments will drive adoption in the next five years and smartwatches is predicted to become the largest device category by the end of the forecast period.

Today, fitness & activity trackers is still the largest device category and shipments are expected to reach 51.0 million units in 2015. Market pioneers such as Fitbit, Jawbone and Garmin have in the past years been joined by an abundance of companies including major players from the smartphone industry.

“Xiaomi has been particularly successful with its affordable trackers and the company is the only fitness tracker vendor which can compete with Fitbit in terms of sales volumes”, comments Mr. Svanberg. This product category is now facing fierce competition from smartwatches that in many cases include activity tracking features. Decreasing prices and new form factors will still enable dedicated fitness & activity trackers to reach shipments of 71.0 million units in 2020.

Connected wearables such as cardiac rhythm management devices, ECG monitors, mobile Personal Emergency Response Systems (mPERS) and wearable computers are already common in the medical, people monitoring and enterprise segments. Furthermore, miniaturised electronics, low power wireless connectivity and cloud services have enabled the development of a wide range of new connected wearables such as authentication and gestures wristbands, notification rings, smart motorcycle helmets and smart gloves. Shipments of smart glasses have so far been very modest, but promising use cases in professional markets as well as in niche consumer segments will enable smart glasses to become a sizeable connected wearable device category in the next five years.

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New Wearable Solution Targets the Elderly, Lone Workers and Others Concerned with the Safety of Their Workforces.

Numerex Corp, a leading provider of interactive and on-demand machine-to-machine (M2M) products and technology enabling the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced the release of mySHIELD , a mobile personal emergency response (mPERS) system deployed as a wearable device to enhance the safety of lone workers, the elderly, and others. Built on Numerex’s versatile platform , mySHIELD is a valuable tool to help ensure the safety of workers in the real estate, healthcare, educational, security, energy, and other industries where people often work alone, or are likely to find themselves in potentially vulnerable situations where their safety could be jeopardized.

Numerex’s cloud-based mySHIELD solution utilizes two-way, voice-enabled, cellular technology. The mySHIELD device, connected by Verizon, works both indoors and outdoors. With a simple push of a panic button, users can easily communicate their need for immediate assistance, transmit their precise location, and speak to a live attendant in a call-center staffed 24/7/365. mySHIELD solution operates anywhere across North America that the Verizon network is available. So, users are not required to be within certain distance of a base station.

In addition, the solution supports logical grouping of users. Unlike most other mPERS offerings, mySHIELD can combine multiple users into groups and sub-groups. That is, a company deploying the solution can have multiple groupings of monitored users based on their organization’s requirements. Also, companies can specify sub-groups and can assign users to particular managers. This allows managers to view users for which they are individually responsible. This key feature would allow a company administrator or authorized supervisor, for instance, to view the location and status of all mySHIELD equipped associates, or just those assigned to a particular manager or location. This feature is expected to be of interest to school districts, convenience store chains, and healthcare facilities—anywhere it is desirable to view the status of all users together, or those in logical groups, sub-groups, or as individuals.

Available in multiple languages, the mySHIELD solution provides a dashboard that enables administrators to locate users with mapped views, and to schedule automated alerts and notifications via email and text messaging.

“The mySHIELD solution is the latest in the line of innovative and wearable mPERS offerings built on the versatile and proven Numerex platform,” said Kelly Gay, president of Security Solutions at Numerex. “The market for security solutions in general and Lone Worker alternatives specifically, is a key area of interest for Numerex. We know there are many people who daily find themselves in potentially unsafe situations—whether they work alone or in higher-risk occupations.”

“We believe that this solution will have broad appeal and will provide a measure of safety to workers who otherwise might not be able to easily summon help when they need it most.”

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Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, is supplying wristbands embedded with its Optelio Contactless Chip for NFC transport in Wuhan, China.

The capital of Hubei province, Wuhan is one of the most populous city in central China with a population of over 11 million. For this pilot, Gemalto will preload these wristbands with the transit application, allowing users to ride buses and metro with a simple wave of their hand. It will also integrate a fitness tracker, enabling consumers to keep an eye on their day-to-day activities such as steps taken, distance covered, and sleep pattern. Consumers can perform balance check and account top-up through a smartphone application.

Wuhan is a major transportation hub in China. To ensure a smooth flow of commuters, the transit system is rapidly moving towards contactless, with more than 13 million such cards already in use. This simple and secure wristband, which can be enhanced to include payment and other value-added services in the future, will offer consumers an easier and faster way to travel, leading to increased user satisfaction, operator efficiency and regional growth.

Gemalto has been providing contactless transport cards to Wuhan for more than three years. The new wristbands are an extension of these advanced cards. Customized at pre-personalization level, they meet the city and local infrastructure’s requirements, and offer banking-grade security.

Suzanne Tong-Li, President for Greater China and Korea at Gemalto, said:

“China wearable device market is expected to exceed 10 billion Yuan (~USD 1.6 billion) this year. With extensive experience in contactless deployments, both in transport and payment domains, we can offer innovative wearables that contribute to Wuhan’s vision to become world-class transportation hub.”

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Wearables Shipments to Jump to 75 Million in 2015, Up 158% on 2014 – Apple Watch to account for over a quarter of wearables shipments in 2015 – By 2018 almost 350 million wearable devices will be in use worldwide.

Sales of wearables will grow from 29 million in 2014 to 172 million in 2018, with a spike in 2015. The most popular devices will be smartwatches and fitness trackers. This is according to CCS Insight’s latest global wearables forecast.

The next 12 months will be a transformative year for the wearables market thanks to the arrival of the Apple Watch. This highly anticipated smartwatch will create a frenzy of demand, catapulting it almost instantaneously to be the most successful smartwatch ever. CCS Insight expects Apple to employ its full marketing arsenal and the power of its brand to create another must-have status symbol.

CCS Insight projects Apple will account for a quarter of the wearables market in 2015, selling around 20 million Apple Watches by the end of the year. This is equivalent to about 7% of those who own a compatible iPhone at the time of the product’s launch. The current love affair affluent US consumers have with the iPhone guarantees a strong start for the Apple Watch in its home market. However, if sales of the Apple Watch fail to meet expectations it could hurt the whole smartwatch market.

Last year confirmed that North America will remain the biggest market for wearables in the near term. This region accounted for more than half of global sales in 2014 and that momentum continues in 2015.

Commenting, Ben Wood, CCS Insight’s Chief of Research, stated :

“The Apple Watch will be instrumental in taking the wearables market to the next level of growth. If successful, it’ll create a rising tide that will lift the whole market.”

CCS Insight’s consumer surveys indicate extremely high levels of awareness of wearable devices, but the challenge is translating this into sales. Wood continues:
“People without an iPhone will still have a huge choice of alternative wearables. If the Apple Watch performs as well as expected, its halo effect will result in a sales bonanza in the second half of 2015, with record-breaking shipments in the important fourth quarter.”

While the Apple Watch will be in the spotlight this year, fitness bands from companies such as Fitbit and Jawbone will continue to dominate the wearables market, building on their explosive growth in 2014.

CCS Insight analyst George Jijiashvili observes:
“We expect sales of fitness and activity devices to double in 2015 to 40 million units. In contrast to many other commentators, we don’t believe smartwatches will dent sales of fitness products in the short term. Smart fitness devices do one thing and do it well: they measure activity with the goal of improving owners’ well-being. This, combined with lower retail prices, longer battery life and a strong head start in terms of adoption, suggests that these devices will outperform smartwatches for several years to come.”

Action cameras are a much-forgotten part of the wearables market. They were a central product in the market’s early stages and remained the second-biggest category in 2014. Almost 6 million units were sold worldwide in 2014, buoyed by the success of market leader GoPro. Although CCS Insight predicts continued growth in the wearable camera segment boosted by more-affordable and capable products, the near-universal access to cameras on smartphones will limit total sales.

Beyond the well-known brands and types of wearable device, CCS Insight has observed a steady flow of weird and wonderful new products that it defines as the “long tail” of wearables. This category includes smart clothing, intelligent shoes and insoles, jewellery, adhesive sensors and patches, and even sex toys. Many of these devices are developed as crowd-funded projects and few will succeed. They underline the fact that the wearables market is still in its early stages and despite the explosive growth it will be dwarfed by the 1.5 billion smartphone shipments that CCS Insight forecasts in 2015.

The data above is taken from Market Forecast: Wearables Worldwide, 2014-2018, which is published as part of CCS Insight’s extensive wearables research service.

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SmartSoles, Now Available For Purchase, Feature Aeris Connectivity to Provide Invaluable Geo-Tracking to Empower People with Cognitive Memory Disorders to Stay Active.

For families and caregivers of those with cognitive memory disorders such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, the additional anxiety and concern of wondering if their loved one might wander adds to an already stressful situation. Aeris, the Made for Machines technology and service provider, has been working with GTX Corp to alleviate some of this additional stress by providing the always-on connectivity of GTX’s recently announced consumer launch of its SmartSoles, a GPS-enabled wearable insole.

SmartSoles – developed by GTX Corp, a pioneer in wearable technology and a leader in two-way GPS real-time personal location based services – are placed in the wearer’s shoes. The smart insoles contain a GPS and cellular tracking chip connected through the Aeris network that empowers the wearer to stay active, but alerts family and caregivers if the person wearing SmartSoles leaves a geo-fence perimeter established by the caregiver via the SmartSoles website or mobile app.

“SmartSoles and many of our other tracking solutions are designed to address people’s lives and wellness, so we take all the necessary steps to ensure the highest standard of quality,” Patrick Bertagna, CEO of GTX Corp.

“We find Aeris gives us the confidence and support to provide reliable connectivity and on demand service.”

GTX chose Aeris to provide the connectivity for SmartSoles since Aeris’ technology powers a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT) and M2M applications, delivering unparalleled cellular coverage and support services to ensure GTX customers always have the strongest signal, no matter how remote the location of the device. Additional benefits Aeris provides SmartSoles are:

• Aeris’ easy-to-use management portal, AerPort gives GTX the ability to immediately identify the source of any potential trouble – be it device or network – and remedy it fast from remote locations to ensure customers have a true plug-and-play experience.
• Besides connectivity provided by the Aeris network, Aeris has strong partner relationships with many different operators to ensure that GTX customers always have a strong cellular signal no matter how remote their location.
• Aeris’ easy-to-integrate API’s allow GTX’s devices to work right out of the box. The customer can just turn on the device and it will work.
• Aeris’ unique pricing plan gives GTX a competitive pricing option for its customers and a cost advantage over its competitors.

“While there are many significant business applications in the growing realm of the Internet of Things, we are truly excited to be a part of a product like SmartSoles that can make such a positive change on a personal level,” says Marc Jones, CEO of Aeris.

“For the millions of people affected by cognitive memory disorders, this will give caregivers some comfort knowing they have an easy, effective way to keep track of the ones they love through a non-invasive wearable.”

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According to a new report from the research firm Berg Insight, shipments of connected wearables reached 19.0 million in 2014, up from 5.9 million devices in the previous year.

Growing at a compound annual growth rate of 54.7 percent, total shipments of smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness & activity trackers, people monitoring & safety devices and medical devices as well as other wearable devices are forecasted to reach 168.2 million units in 2019. Bluetooth will remain the primary connectivity option in the coming years, but nonetheless, a total of 16.6 million of the wearables shipments in 2019 are forecasted to incorporate embedded cellular connectivity, mainly in the smartwatch and people monitoring & safety categories.

Fitness & activity trackers is the largest device category and shipments reached 13.0 million units in 2014. The market leading vendors Fitbit, Jawbone and Garmin have in the past year been joined by an abundance of companies including major players from the smartphone industry such as LG, Huawei, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony and Xiaomi which have released fitness & activity trackers.

Johan Svanberg, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight, said:

“This product category is now facing fierce competition from smartwatches that have activity tracking features. Decreasing prices and new form factors will still enable dedicated fitness & activity trackers to reach shipments of 42.0 million units in 2019.”

A new breed of smartwatches became available in 2014 when high profile Android Wear smartwatches from Sony, LG, Motorola and Asus entered the market to compete with existing offerings from Pebble and Samsung. “Smartwatches are already the second largest category of connected wearables and sales will pick up considerably in 2015. The Apple Watch will enter the market and other major smartphone vendors will launch next generation Android Wear devices”, comments Mr. Svanberg.

Traditional watch vendors will also enter the market in the coming years, both with smartwatches capable of running third party applications as well as traditionally styled watches with basic smartphone notification features. Improved devices available in different price segments will drive adoption in the next five years and smartwatches is predicted to become the largest device category by the end of the forecast period.

Shipments of smart glasses have so far been very modest, but promising use cases in specific markets such as enterprise and medical as well as in niche segments of the consumer market will enable smart glasses to become the third largest category of connected wearables in the next five years.

“The opportunities are plentiful – improved imaging capability together with hands-free operation, real-time communication and augmented reality functionality would for example make smart glasses a serious contender on the action camera market”, said Mr. Svanberg.

Connected wearables such as cardiac rhythm management devices, ECG monitors, mobile Personal Emergency Response Systems (mPERS) and wearable computers are already common in the medical, people monitoring and enterprise segments. Furthermore, miniaturised electronics, low power wireless connectivity and cloud services have inspired a wide range of new connected wearables such as authentication and gestures wristbands, notification rings, smart motorcycle helmets and smart gloves.

“Most of these products are still experimental, but in a few years’ time there will be many examples of new successful devices on the market”, concluded Mr. Svanberg.

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Wearables Shipments to Hit 22 Million in 2014 up 129% from 2013. By 2018 over 250 million smart wearables will be in use, 14 times more than in 2013.

Shipments of smart wearables are expected to grow from 9.7 million in 2013 to 135 million in 2018, according to CCS Insight’s new global forecast. The forecast predicts that wrist-worn devices will account for 87% of wearables to be shipped in 2018 — comprising 68 million smartwatches and 50 million smart bands with no screen or with a minimal, one-line display.

Quantified self devices, which track fitness and well-being, are the fastest-growing category. CCS Insight believes this can be attributed to their clear purpose, user benefits and increasingly affordable prices.
Commenting, Marina Koytcheva, CCS Insight’s Director of Forecasting says:
“Wearables are poised to be the perfect gift for the person who has everything this Christmas. We believe this will fuel strong growth in the final quarter of 2014 for smart bands, particularly fitness trackers, which will account for more than half of the 35 million wearables in use at end of 2014.”

However, Koytcheva cautions:
“the wearables market is in its Stone Age right now. There needs to be huge improvements to broaden their appeal. This is particularly acute when it comes to devices for women: wearables need to quickly move on from black, clunky devices; fortunately we’re starting to see the first steps in this direction.”

CCS Insight’s forecast also foresees strong future growth in smartwatches. The company expects many smart band manufacturers to extend their product ranges by adding devices with screens. As smartwatches broaden their appeal, capabilities are refined, new functions are added and prices fall, CCS Insight expects smartwatches to displace fitness bands and become the most used form of wearables.

North America currently leads the way in terms of adoption of wearables: 5.2 million wearables were sold in North America in 2013, and over 40% of all wearable devices currently in use are there. This is partially because many wearable companies are based in North America, but also because the region has proven eager to adopt new technology: a good example of this is tablets. But Western Europe is catching up and from 2016 is expected to buy more wearables than North America. Adoption will be slower in emerging markets and primarily driven by tech-savvy, affluent users.

A smart wearable category that will become much more prominent in the second half of 2014 is stand-alone cellular wearables. We expect a number of high-profile devices with their own SIM cards will be announced in the coming months. However, these devices will face significant challenges as people are reluctant to take out another contract with their mobile operator.

Reflecting more broadly on the wearables opportunity Koytcheva notes:

“The market is still in a chaotic stage of development, and there’s still a huge amount of uncertainty. Every category faces different risks: the way people use wearables is still changing, one type of device could kill sales in another category, people are unsure whether some wearables are socially acceptable, and intellectual property rights are a minefield for the dozens of start-ups entering the wearables market.”

As Koytcheva points outs:
“The market could be changed beyond recognition if a major player like Apple decides to get into the game. History shows us that when Apple enters a market it can reshape the way people think about a product.”

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Applying m2m principles for peace of mind.

For a parent, knowing where your children are at any time is paramount to their safety and your ability to sleep at night. It is easily achieved by providing them with a TicTocTrack™ watch, introduced to Australia by mother of two, Karen Cantwell and father of six, Simon Da Roza from iStaySafe.

The TicTocTrack™ watch allows parents to rest easy with the ability to know the location of their child through their personal computer or phone.

Director of iStaySafe, Karen Cantwell said TicTocTrack™ was designed to allow children to feel empowered when it comes to their own safety.

“Many parents face the same concerns, as they constantly worry about the whereabouts of their child at any particular time. I wanted to create a device that was easy to use and provided children with an opportunity to alert family members if they were in need.”

Ms Cantwell said:

“The watch contains a very small GPS tracking device that allows you to monitor where your child is if they have missed a bus, sports practice or haven’t arrived home on time, plus the discreet SOS button allows your child to alert you via SMS should they find themselves in trouble.”

Simon Da Roza said TicTocTrack&#0153 allows the parent to set safe areas, that if the child enters or leaves, alerts you via a simple SMS.

“The use of Google maps in this device allows us to create real time tracking to provide that extra peace of mind,” Mr Da Roza said.

The data and alerts are relayed through the KORE Wireless M2M network.

Vice President and General Manager of KORE Wireless (Asia Pacific), Shane Murphy said this type of device relies heavily on the instant communication and consistent coverage that can be achieved through cellular M2M.

“As the Internet of Things grows, the applications of wirelessly enabled devices are endless. Applying the basic principles and technology of an m2m solution to a problem such as “how do I keep my children safe?” is a great example of the increasingly consumer focussed applications that we see,” Mr Murphy said.

“Wearable technology is a huge growth area at the moment and we’re seeing the Australian market as an early adopter. As younger generations become more active and independent, now certainly seems like a good time for a product like TicTocTrack™.”

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Walk, Run, Bike, Stationary, and Sleep Detection Enabled with InvenSense Ultra Low-Power Automatic Activity Recognition (AAR) System Solution.

InvenSense, Inc., the leading provider of MotionTracking sensor system on chip (SoC) and Sound devices, announces the next generation ultra low-power motion and audio family of solutions enabling a complete ‘AlwaysOn’ wearable experience. The InvenSense ICM-20655 (world’s lowest power 6-axis motion SoC), the ICM-20955 (world’s lowest power 9-axis motion SoC) and the ICS-43430 (best in class I2S microphone) are sampling to select customers. InvenSense continues to ship in volume its current generation of 6- and 9-axis Automatic Activity Recognition solutions.

The ICM-20655 and ICM-20955 motion solutions are paired with the InvenSense Automatic Activity Recognition (AAR) software library, resulting in ‘AlwaysOn’ activity detection including: run, walk, bike, stationary, and sleep on a wrist-worn wearable device. InvenSense’s ultra low-power 2mW 6-axis motion is enabling a new generation of activity trackers. Beyond providing more accurate pedometer functionality, combining low-power gyroscopes and accelerometers with advanced AAR software, enables detection of a broader set of activities ideal for next generation smart watch, fitness band, and fitness watch applications.

The InvenSense ICS-43430 is a high performance, low power, 65 dB SNR I2S digital output MEMS microphone addressing the growing market needs of ‘AlwaysOn’ voice user interfaces needed by today’s wearables. The I2S interface allows the ICS-43430 to connect directly to application processors or DSPs, without the need for an audio codec in the system.

Ali Foughi, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at InvenSense, said:

“InvenSense’s pioneering ‘AlwaysOn’ audio and motion solutions are synergistic with the Internet of Things (IoT) requisite to track behavior, enhance contextual awareness, and help sensor-driven decision analytics.”

“InvenSense created a paradigm shift by taking the industry from simple step counting to precise activity recognition with our initial introduction of low power gyroscope based wearable solutions. With the advent of a 2mW 6-axis motion, InvenSense is raising the bar yet again for ‘AlwaysOn’ power conscious wearable devices.”

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Flexible platform built on a hybrid architecture enables “warp-speed” design for a broad range of fitness, healthcare and infotainment wearables.

To help systems designers more easily navigate the quickly evolving consumer wearables market, Freescale Semiconductor is enabling an open-source, scalable reference platform that gives OEMs the building blocks they need to rapidly develop a wide range of wearable product designs from a common platform.

Unlike other wearable solutions, the new platform is not limited to just one form factor or product category. The highly flexible, system-level design kit supports embedded wireless charging, incorporates processors and sensors within a hybrid architecture for scalability and flexibility, and comes with open-source software. The wearables reference platform (WaRP) is engineered to unleash design creativity for multiple vertical segments such as sports monitors, smart glasses, activity trackers, smart watches and healthcare/medical applications.

Rajeev Kumar, director of worldwide marketing and business development for Freescale’s Microcontrollers business, said:

“Wearables represent one of the ultimate edge node sensors for the Internet of Things, and hold tremendous promise for equipment makers, service providers and consumers alike.”

“This new solution is engineered to dramatically streamline the design and development of exciting new wearables products. It allows designers and OEMs to go from concept to prototype as quickly as the market is changing.”

According to Juniper Research, retail revenue from smart wearable devices will reach $19 billion by 2018, compared with $1.4 billion in 2013. The firm also projects that sales of smart wearable devices will approach 130 million units by 2018, which is 10 times higher than the number estimated to sell in 2013.

WaRP speeds and simplifies development by addressing many of the top technology challenges of the wearables market – connectivity, usability, battery life and miniaturization – thereby freeing developers to focus on creating differentiated features. The platform is built on Freescale’s i.MX 6SoloLite ARM® Cortex®-A9 apps processor as the core processing unit, supports the Android OS, and integrates production-grade silicon, software and hardware. The BOM-optimized hybrid architecture also features Freescale’s Xtrinsic MMA9553 turn-key pedometer, award-winning FXOS8700 electronic compass and ARM Cortex-M0+ Kinetis KL16 microcontroller.

WaRP is a result of collaboration between Freescale, Kynetics and Revolution Robotics. Kynetics provides the expertise for the platform’s software, and Revolution Robotics supplies the solution’s hardware. Freescale, Kynetics and Revolution Robotics worked together to develop a platform that is both scalable and modular for various usage models in the wearables market. This hybrid architecture-based platform enables customers to address different and new verticals as the market evolves, and to scale and customize their designs from both a hardware and software perspective to develop a product, or even an entire portfolio.

Development Support

A nonprofit, community-based organization will provide service and support for the wearables reference platform. The solution’s hardware and software will be open sourced and community-driven. No closed development tools or licensing fees are required when used in conjunction with open source resources. In addition, WaRP will have its own .org community to drive innovation in the market.

Availability

The wearables reference platform kit includes the main board, a daughter card, an LCD display battery and a micro USB cable. Availability is planned for Q2 2014 at www.WaRPboard.org, for $149 (USD) manufacturer’s suggested resale price.

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Expands iFit® Fitness Ecosystem To 360 Degree Fitness Experience.

At the 2014 International Consumer Electronic Show (CES), iFit® will introduce its wearable iFit® Active band, at booth #25933 in the Fitness Tech Zone at the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall #2.

iFit® is the first ever technology to unify your fitness activities at home, in the club, and outside, all with a single login. With over 15 million miles logged on fitness equipment in 2013, iFit® is continually growing and evolving to create the most interactive workout experience possible.

iFit’s complete approach to fitness has expanded to an entirely new way to work out: with Internet-connected fitness equipment, mobile apps, and now wearable devices.

At the iFit® booth, CES showgoers can ride the ProForm Tour De France bike and walk or run on the ProForm Boston Marathon treadmill to experience iFit® in person, including watching Google Street View as the fitness equipment inclines and declines to match the geo-tags in a mapped route.

The iFit® booth has two of the mega-trends that Consumer Electronic Association forecasts for 2014: Wearable health and fitness and the Internet of Things.

The CEA predicts the market for personal health and wellness products to grow 142% by 2018 to $8 billion.

Running, walking and treadmill activity are the top three participation activities in the 2013 Tracking the Fitness Movement, published by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA).

Everywhere You Go (#iFitEverywhere @iFit): The new iFit® Active wearable band is the enhanced experience of iFit®, as it goes everywhere with you. The iFit® Active band is the only one to automatically switch settings from awake to asleep, based on customized settings in the iFit® Active app. By personalizing sleep, workout and wake up schedules, the iFit® Active wearable will automatically log all activity and sleep, without manually switching modes.

All your activity, distance, steps, calories burned, and sleep patterns are automatically recorded on your iFit® Active device and synced to the iFit® Active app via Bluetooth® 4.0. Input your caloric intake with the touch of a button or log daily nutrition details through the smartphone app. The iFit® Active app automatically updates to a single user login at iFit.com.

Wear the iFit® Active band as a watch, clip or pod for your pocket. Sizing is as easy to adjust as a watch strap and can be customized with a variety of colors. The default display for the iFit® Active band includes two metrics: time of day and user’s choice of distance, calories and steps.

The iFit® Active tracker retails for $129 and will be available in Spring 2014 and includes the iFit Active app, available on both iOS and Android.

Everywhere Inside: Through iFit’s partnership with Google Maps, create a route anywhere in the world and internet-connected, iFit-enabled fitness equipment will automatically adjust the incline and decline to the match the geo-tags in the Google Maps. Enjoy watching Street View on iFit-enabled fitness equipment with tablet consoles, or watch Google Street View on your tablet or internet TV.

Pre-mapped routes at iFit® include all 21 stages of the 2012 and 2013 Tour de France and the top marathons including Boston, Chicago, London, New York and more. iFit® also has extensive training programs for running 5K, 10K, Half and Marathon from beginner to advanced.

iFit® provides workouts tailored to your fitness and weight loss goals, created by America’s top trainers, including exclusive training content from Jillian Michaels.

iFit® tracks every workout: speed, incline, decline, distance, workout time, run pace, calories burned, heart rate and watts. Your stats automatically upload to your profile at iFit.com from iFit-enabled machines with built-in Wi-Fi. Workouts history is ready to view anytime, anywhere and workout highlights can be viewed on iFit® Active wearable.

Award-winning iFit® technology is available on a range of fitness equipment: treadmills, incline trainers, stationary bikes and ellipticals. Leading home fitness brands that feature iFit® include: NordicTrack®, ProForm®, HealthRider®, Gold’s Gym®, Reebok® and EPIC®. iFit® Technology is found at clubs with the FreeMotion Fitness® brand.

iFit® is a subscription-based fitness solution. iFit® Premium retails at for $99/year or $9.99/month on iFit.com or at fitness retailers such as Sears, Sports Authority and Modell’s.

Everywhere Outside: GPS-based iFit® apps are the only fitness apps capable of converting your outdoor workouts to iFit® workouts for fitness machines. Run or ride outside, upload to your iFit® account, and then repeat your route on iFit-enabled equipment. You’ll feel every hill or dip, as if you were outside, because iFit® technology will automatically adjust the incline and decline to mimic your route. Watch Google Street View on your console of the same route.

iFit Running and iFit Cycling track distance, time, pace, elevation gain, speed, heart rate and calories, and automatically uploads your route to your iFit.com profile. View workout highlights on the iFit® Active wearable. iFit Running includes cadence meter. iFit Cycling connects to a Bluetooth® Speed Cadence Sensor.

The iFit® mobile apps are free to download on the App Store and the Google Play store.

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According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, sales of smart glasses, smart watches and wearable fitness trackers reached 8.3 million units worldwide in 2012, up from 3.1 million devices in the previous year.

Growing at a compound annual growth rate of 50.6 percent, total shipments of wearable technology devices are expected to reach 64.0 million units in 2017. Today wearable fitness and activity trackers constitute the vast majority of the shipments. By the end of the forecast period, smart watches are predicted to incorporate much of the functionality of these and will then be the largest wearable device segment.

Johan Svanberg, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight, said:

“A perfect storm of innovation within low power wireless connectivity, sensor technology, big data, cloud services, voice user interfaces and mobile computing power is coming together and paves the way for connected wearable technology.”

The first generation of products appeal to specific markets and certain use cases, but refinement in design, technology and connectivity will broaden application areas and speed up market adoption. Initially, the wrist is the most attractive location for wearable devices, which is shown by the success of the Pebble smart watch and the popularity of wristband activity trackers such as the Nike Fuelband and the Fitbit Flex. “However, today’s devices need to evolve into something more than single purpose fitness trackers or external smartphone notification centres in order to be truly successful” continues Mr. Svanberg. Berg Insight predicts that wearable technology will shift from being smartphone accessories into becoming proper stand-alone computing devices. Furthermore, closeness to the body and always aware capabilities will enable them to be more than merely miniaturised smartphones.

Google, Sony and Samsung have already launched products and other major players such as Apple and LG are expected to soon enter the market. Wide market availability of wearable devices also raises privacy concerns. “It is still uncertain where lines should be drawn, but as in the case with most new technology, individual users and solution providers have the responsibility not to misuse the capabilities enabled by wearable tech” concludes Mr. Svanberg.

Download report brochure: Consumer Electronics and Wireless M2M

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Introduces WICED Direct and Framework for Integrating Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC and Location Technology into Wearable Devices Product Family Fosters Low-Power, Affordable “Internet of Things”.

• Market for connected wearable components is expected to reach more than $1.5 billion by 2014¹
• WICED Direct enables OEMs to design accessories, clothing and other wearable sensors that connect and transfer data to smart mobile devices and the cloud
• Innovations open doors for new products such as jewelry with proximity detection, helmets with action cameras and bracelets that lock/unlock doors

Broadcom Corporation, a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today expanded its Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) portfolio with the introduction of WICED Direct.

WICED is a platform that simplifies the implementation of Internet connectivity into an array of consumer devices. By integrating Wi-Fi Direct into the WICED platform, Broadcom is enabling OEMs to rapidly develop wearable products that communicate seamlessly to the cloud via smart mobile devices.

Experts predict nearly 15 million wearable smart devices will be sold this year, and nearly 70 million by 2017². As designs get smaller, lighter and more power efficient, the connection of a wearable device to powerful smartphones or tablets that can process and send data to the cloud is critical.  For this reason, smart mobile devices have become the hub for interconnecting everything.

Rahul Patel, Broadcom Vice President, Marketing, Wireless Connectivity Combos, said:

“The value of a wearable device lies in its ability to connect to a smartphone or the Internet with minimal impact on battery life.”

“As the market gains momentum, Broadcom is actively widening business opportunities in this growing space by offering the breadth of IP and customized components that enable creative new smart wearable devices to be connected.”

Broadcom’s WICED portfolio provides the foundation for embedding low power, high performance, interoperable wireless connectivity into these devices. Emerging segment leaders are currently designing health and wellness devices based on Broadcom WICED technology, including blood pressure monitors, glucometers, smart watches, fitness bracelets and more. By supporting Wi-Fi Direct, a specification that allows two devices to communicate with each other securely via Wi-Fi without an access point or computer, Broadcom is opening the doors to the development of new, innovative smart accessories, clothing and other wearable sensors.

As wearable technology becomes more prominent, wireless connectivity technologies that enable these devices to connect to smartphones are key to unlocking their true potential. Specifically:

• Near Field Communication (NFC) enables a consumer to buy a new wearable device and simply tap it to their smartphone so the devices can start to communicate instantly and securely.  No more complicated menus or arduous setup processes.
• Bluetooth Smart and Wi-Fi allow the consumer to collect data from their wearable device (i.e. calories burned, heart rate, etc.) and transfer it to their smartphone or into the cloud without draining the battery.
• Wi-Fi Direct allows a consumer to directly connect two Wi-Fi devices together without the need for an access point or computer.
• A wearable device combined with location technology allows for interesting new use cases such as doctors tracking patients in clinical environments or retailers sending targeted advertising to consumers.

“OEMs creating wearable products require interoperable technology that will allow these new devices to connect with smartphones and tablets available today,” said Joshua Flood, Senior Analyst, ABI Research.

“Since Broadcom powers the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the majority of smartphones on the market today, the company’s wireless SoCs are an ideal choice for OEMs developing consumer products that are designed to seamlessly communicate with other mobile devices on the market.”

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App-enabled fitness and health devices along with smart glasses to drive consumer demand.

A new report from Juniper Research finds that there will be a total of almost 70 million smart wearable devices sold in 2017, including smart glasses, health and fitness devices along with enterprise wearables, compared to almost 15 million sales in 2013.

Juniper envisages significant adoption towards the end of the forecast period, driven by the launch of augmented reality glasses and similar products from Google, Microsoft and Apple.

Fitness & health wearables to dominate the market

The new “Smart Wearable Devices: Fitness, Healthcare, Entertainment & Enterprise 2012-2017” report indicates that fitness and sports wearables, followed by healthcare devices are forecast to dominate the market with a combined market share of over 80% in the final forecast year 2017. However, even though the number of fitness and sports devices bought per year is higher than the number of healthcare devices sold, the health sector will be slightly larger in terms of retail value due to higher price points.

The report further notes that as the retail price for smart glasses decline towards the end of the forecast period, the adoption level amongst consumers will increase by 2017.

App-ecosystem development is critical

The report finds that the development of an app-ecosystem for wearable devices is essential to create a platform for further broadening the role of wearable devices similar to the smartphone app ecosystem.

Report author Nitin Bhas said:

“The development of the smartphone/app store model has opened up new avenues for other segments within the market, such as the wearable device market, by combining mobility with an efficient method of software delivery. The simultaneous development of app-ecosystem and wearable devices will integrate technologies, such as augmented reality, into human life more seamlessly.”

Other key findings include:

• The market will be dominated by North America and Western Europe, representing over 60% of the global wearable device sales
• Next-gen wearable devices market, including smart glasses, will be worth more than $1.5 billion by 2014, up from just $800 million this year.

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