Wearable Technology

This premium article explores emerging lens technologies for virtual reality devices, including geometric phase lenses, tunable liquid crystal lenses, and polarization-based pancake lenses. It will also delve into the vergence-accommodation conflict for VR, with SWOT analyses and solutions.

Borrowing a technique from inkjet printers, researchers have rolled out a pixel-by-pixel method to program and manufacture soft structures for use in robotics, biomedical devices or architectural features.

Gas sensors are simultaneously an established and emerging industry, creating a complex web of technologies and applications for stakeholders to understand. Detection methods span a diverse technology landscape, ranging from semiconductor and optical to acoustic and photoionization.

To help manufacturers of wearable devices adapt to industry trends and customer requirements, Intertronics has introduced the Dymax 2000-MW series of medical wearables adhesives and encapsulants. The series is the first dedicated, light-curable adhesive product line to be specifically formulated without common skin irritants and materials of concern for medical wearable and electronics applications.

Imagine being able to measure your blood sugar levels, know if you've had too much to drink, and track your muscle fatigue during a workout, all in one small device worn on your skin. Engineers have developed a prototype of such a wearable that can continuously monitor several health stats—glucose, alcohol, and lactate levels—simultaneously in real-time.

Smartwatches have soared in popularity in recent years, with their motion and heart rate sensors tracking the activity of millions worldwide. However, not all activity can be monitored using step counts - limiting the appeal of existing wearable technology to many gym-goers and amateur athletes.

Engineers have developed a glucose power source that could fuel miniature implants and sensors. The device is smaller than other proposed glucose fuel cells, measuring just 400 nanometers thick, or about 1/100 the diameter of a human hair. The sugary power source generates about 43 microwatts per square centimeter of electricity, achieving the highest power density of any glucose fuel cell to date under ambient conditions.

Many of our daily activities involve our hands' prehensile abilities. While able-bodied people don't think twice when using a spoon or lifting a glass, these actions are nearly impossible for someone unable to grasp things with their fingers. Emovo Care has now come up with a device that is specifically designed to overcome these obstacles.

Whoop is a wearable fitness company offering a subscription for athletes to use biometrics and companion software to optimize their Whoop strain, recovery, and sleep. Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, interviewed Senior Electrical Engineer Amy Lawson about the history of the company and their latest product release, Whoop 4.0.

Bosch Sensortec manufactures sensors for incorporation with consumer electronics. They have had success in integrating motion sensors into mobile devices and have expanded into pressure sensing for wearables. Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, interviewed Senior Marketing Manager Wolfgang Schmitt-Hann and Head of MEMs Ralf Schellin.

Engineers have invented a silk-based material that when placed under the skin that glows brighter or dimmer under a lamp when exposed to different levels of oxygen in the blood. The novel sensor, which currently is limited to reading oxygen levels, is made up of a gel formed from the protein components of silk, called fibroin. The silk fibroin proteins have unique properties that make them especially compatible as an implantable material.

BeBop Sensors Inc announced the BeBop Sensors RoboSkin line of skin-like coverings for tactile awareness for humanoid robots and prosthetics. A true nervous system for robots at less than 1mm thick, RoboSkin is the only technology that fits all robotic body parts: limbs, fingers, feet, head, and torso, to make robots "feel" better.

Valencell is one of the market leaders in providing PPG technology for wearable sensors/biometrics. Tess interviewed Dr LeBoeuf (President and Co-founder) about Valencell's development of cuffless blood pressure, hearables, and the shift in the wearable sector from fitness to health.

Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, spoke to the CEO of BodiGuide, Deborah Kessler, about their wearable monitor for peripheral edema to continuously monitor fluid retention in the ankle as an aid to heart disease management.

Strategic Elements Ltd reports that nanoionic materials engineering by research partner The University of New South Wales has created an improvement in the ability to convert moisture in the air to electrical energy.

GlucoRx is a UK-based supplier of diabetes management solutions, founded in 2011. Today, GlucoRx is one of the NHS' largest supplier of quality diabetes products. IDTechEx analyst Brendan Beh spoke with GlucoRx's Chief Operating Officer Chris Chapman on the 9th of May, 2022.

In November 2021, IDTechEx talked in detail to Lynx Reality's CEO, Stan Larroque, about the upcoming R-1 headset and its freeform catadioptric prism optics. Laval Virtual 2022 presented a chance to gain updates from the Parisian VR/MR startup and learn about the challenges faced by young companies in the XR industry.

A research team will develop an artificial intelligence tool, Medical Assistance, Guidance, Instruction and Correction, or MAGIC, to assist combat field medics in 50 medical skills applied during common procedures.

Dispelix is a Finnish firm designing surface relief grating diffractive waveguides for consumer augmented reality devices. Unlike other companies' designs, they use a single waveguide layer for full RGB color — this helps to decrease weight but increases design complexity. Its in-house design software was developed specifically to solve this issue. The company is in the process of scaling production with its fab partners.

Plants can't speak up when they are thirsty. And visual signs, such as shriveling or browning leaves, don't start until most of their water is gone. To detect water loss earlier, researchers have created a wearable sensor for plant leaves. The system wirelessly transmits data to a smartphone app, allowing for remote management of drought stress in gardens and crops.