Wearable Technology

Thursday 30 June 2022 - Emerging optical technologies have the potential to make realities feel more real in a compact device that may be worn all day. But what are these technologies and how will they alter the landscape of this growing industry? How will manufacturers and material suppliers need to react?

Imagine a more sustainable future, where cellphones, smartwatches, and other wearable devices don't have to be shelved or discarded for a newer model. Instead, they could be upgraded with the latest sensors and processors that would snap onto a device's internal chip — like LEGO bricks incorporated into an existing build. Such reconfigurable chipware could keep devices up to date while reducing our electronic waste.

Wearable sensors — an important tool for health monitoring and for training artificial intelligence — can be waterproof or can measure more than one stimuli, but combining these factors while maintaining a high level of precision in the measurements is difficult.

Thursday 23 June 2022 - Mass-digitization trend is predicted to cause the gas sensor market to surpass $8 billion by 2032. The gas sensor market is a complex combination of multiple technologies and applications - and understanding where true opportunities for commercial success exist is challenging.

This premium article introduces blood pressure and explores the technology trends and market outlook in wearable blood pressure, in particular focusing on the incumbent technology, the key players, and the role of wearable blood pressure in disrupting big-brand dominance.

Air quality concerns are on the rise globally, with urban pollution the dominant cause. However, radon accumulation and unpleasant aromas are often bigger problems in rural locations, creating opportunities for gas sensors that offer continuous monitoring and even odor categorization.

On display now at Milan Design Week is the SSYS 2Y22 Reflection Collection. Created using the new Stratasys J850 TechStyle 3D printer, this Stratasys created and curated collection was made possible through close collaboration with seven design groups and includes exclusive dresses and suits, daywear, lighting, luxury packaging, cosmetics, handbags, accessories, footwear and more.

VividQ is a Cambridge, UK-based firm which focuses on developing IP for computer-generated holography, both for software and optical engine hardware. Its method of generating holograms is efficient on common GPUs and its display solutions may be constructed from off-the-shelf hardware. The key use cases it targets are AR wearables and automotive HUDs.

WeART is a Milanese early-stage wearable haptics company. Its iF Design Award winning TouchDIVER device simulates surface texture, the force felt when touching the surface, and surface temperature in a glove-like form factor. The device is usually paired with an XR headset. The company has already gathered 40 industrial customers since the TouchDIVER's release in October 2021.

NASA has selected Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to advance spacewalking capabilities in low-Earth orbit and at the Moon, by buying services that provide astronauts with next generation spacesuit and spacewalk systems to work outside the International Space Station, explore the lunar surface on Artemis missions, and prepare for human missions to Mars.

Scientists have developed a stretchable and waterproof 'fabric' that turns energy generated from body movements into electrical energy.

Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, interviewed the President and General Manager of Biosency, Marie Pirotais and Yann Le Guillou. Biosency is a company developing wearable solutions and a remote patient monitoring platform.

Arizona-based innovators announced they are developing a new exoskeleton that will make workplaces safer for millions of workers in many industries. The wearable exoskeleton technology called PhenEx will help workers squat and lift heavy loads promoting overall worker health.

Last summer, Northwestern University researchers introduced the first-ever transient pacemaker — a fully implantable, wireless device that harmlessly dissolves in the body after it's no longer needed. Now, they unveil a new, smart version that is integrated into a coordinated network of soft, flexible, wireless, wearable sensors and control units placed around the upper body.

In 2022, hype around extended reality (XR) devices and the metaverse is at an all-time high, but hardware hurdles continue to hold back headset development.

The self-powered fabric was developed using triboelectric nanogenerators, which use movement to collect the energy needed to power the posture monitoring sensors. The data collected by the sensors is processed by an integrated machine learning algorithm that can provide immediate feedback, alerting the wearer when they need to adjust their posture.

Toppan, formerly Toppan Printing, were originally a printing technology company, but now focus on a range of technologies, including communications, packaging, and electronics.

Imagine this: A smooth touchscreen display placed on top of a thin silicone polymer film suddenly generates the feeling of a tiny raised button under the user's finger. Or how about the idea of wearing that same polymer film like a second skin? If used to line an industrial glove, the film can provide valuable feedback by gesture recognition and by sending tactile signals, such as pulses or vibrations, to the wearer.

Withings Health Solutions is a growing division of the Withings company, which has historically made smartwatches for the consumer market. Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, interviewed Antoine Robiliard, VP of Health Solutions at Withings, about their recent release of a remote patient monitoring programme, combining wearable technology with a dedicated software platform.

Infi-Tex are a UK-based smart textile company, with a focus on intelligent, pressure-sensitive materials.