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The verdict from the shows was that 2014 will be the Year of the Wearable
WEARABLETECH
of 2OO4
They’re not new – we’ve had Wearable Technologies for over 10 years.
It’s what used to be called the Quantified Self.
www.ecouterre.com
Ecouterre – the ecoFashion website has been holding a public vote on
Wearable Tech for 5 years and is a good indicator of how the public
perception of the market has changed in that time.
In 2013, it began to look like this.
Technology made way to lifestyle and fashion.
Fashion became king
There are wearables for babies
Even wearables to tell you your kids are drowning
As well as Wearables for Pets
This one isn’t serious…
But this is one of many that you can buy today.
There’s even Wearable Tech for your Barbie!
Discarding altruism for fashion
There’s another trend in Wearables
It’s not all fashion – Google recently announced a glucose monitoring contact lens for diabetics
WEARABLETECH
of 2OO9
The same concept picked by Ecouterre in 2009
Wearable Tech used to be about helping society deal with health issues
And enabling Assisted Living
Now it’s about Objects of Desire
Which at least recognises the need for a business model.
The Big Question is:
Will we move past wristbands in 2014?
Behind the glister a perfect storm is forming
Previously disparate industries are starting to come together
Fashion
Tech
Sport
Medical
Albeit only tentatively
Fashion
Tech
Sport
Medical
The big change is low cost sensors
The availability of small, cheap, micro-electromechanical sensors (MEMS) has rocketed.
MEMS Shipments
2007 – 10 million
2014 – 3.5 billion
2020 – 300 billion
They measure movement, position, temperature, activity and vital signs, but only cost a few tens of cents.
Initially developed for cars, they’re now in every smartphone, tablet and wearable device.
Along with the availability of low cost wireless
Bluetooth low energy (also known as Bluetooth Smart) has changed the game.
– It’s low power, running on coin cells
– It’s already in hundreds of millions of smartphones and tablets
– It’s designed to work with low power sensors
– Chips are available combining it with application processors
– It’s cheap (~$1)
Bluetooth SMART is the first wireless standard specifically designed to be easy and flexible for designers to use, allowing it to be applied to totally new connected product designs.
The glue binding these together is:
Analysts predict over 50 billion connected devices will be in use by 2020, generating a tsunami of
personal data.
A significant proportion of those could be wearable devices.
The Internet of Things
Pebble Watch: $10M
It’s never been easier to make products
Emotiv: $1.6M
Crowd-sourcing is funding a new wave of hardware innovation.
Reference designs from silicon vendors mean products can be developed much faster.
Far Eastern ODMs are keen to support any new product or company which moves them away from a dying PC market.
Large companies are close behind
• Samsung is engaging startups that it will fund with early-stage investments in the $100,000 to $2 million range from its $100 million accelerator fund.
• Apple has been hiring health sensor experts (from Sano Intelligence, Proteus Digital, Vital Connect, C8 Medisensors, Masimo and Senseonics).
• Intel has demonstrated intelligent ear-buds which choose music based on your heart rate.
As PC and laptop markets start to die, the pace of smartphone evolution slows and smart watches fail to inspire, market leaders are looking to wearables as the saviour of their industries.
They may be pretty, but by themselves, your wearable is just a Hardware App
The market will be won by companies that understand the value of data insight.
Hardware and Wireless aren’t enough
BUT…
Lots of data needs new business models, which bring new problems.
Nobody expected wristbands to be worn 24/7
What does all that data tell the manufacturer?
How often you’ve had sex.
When people actually go running.And how often?
Whether anyone else was there?
And who they were?
Whether you have a prostate problem?.
Or a urinary tract infection?.
How does that change your responsibility?
Successful companies will employ:
Data Scientists
Behavioural Scientists
Fashion Designers
Ethicists
Do you?
Designers need to think past sensors and hardware
A way of packaging sensors
A way of storing data
Constantly evolving analytics
Moving the data
Compelling customer feedback
Hardware Model Service Model
Unless you complete the chain, wearables are only “Fashion Tech”
The new game is about data.
Multiple service purchases are key
To reach the connected wearable device numbers, consumers will need to have multiple devices.
Unless services are renewed, devices will be discarded.
The industry needs to find way of making devices compelling for three years or more.
It opens up a market opportunity for wearable device service providers, who can manage multiple devices and generate compelling insight.
Source: WiFore
Number of wearables and associated apps
Wearables can be objects of beauty
• To be successful, they also need to enable compelling applications which can generate sustainable revenue.
• Otherwise, they’re just pretty hardware, and that could be a very limited market.
Nick HunnCTO
mob: +44 7768 890 148
email: [email protected]
web: www.wifore.com
Creative Connectivity Blog: www.nickhunn.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nickhunn
Essentials of Short Range Wireless: www.wireless-book.com
