A wearable computer, also known as a body-borne computer, is a computing device worn on the body. The definition of 'wearable computer' may be narrow or broad, extending to smartphones or even ordinary wristwatches.
Rambus Inc., founded in 1990, is an American technology company that designs, develops and licenses chip interface technologies and architectures that are used in digital electronics products. The company is well known for inventing RDRAM and for its intellectual property-based litigation following the introduction of DDR-SDRAM memory.
Synaptics Incorporated is a publicly owned San Jose, California-based developer of human interface (HMI) hardware and software, including touchpads for computer laptops; touch, display driver, and fingerprint biometrics technology for smartphones; and touch, video and far-field voice technology for smart home devices and automotives. Synaptics sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and display manufacturers.
Fullpower is a Santa Cruz, California-based privately held developer of cloud-based IoT and wearable product technology used for activity tracking and sleep monitoring. Fullpower specializes in wireless technology, microelectromechanical systems, and nanotechnology. The company holds over 125 patents for its intellectual property, which it licenses to manufacturers.
Electronic textiles or e-textiles are fabrics that enable electronic components such as batteries, lights, sensors, and microcontrollers to be embedded in them. They are not to be confused with smart textiles, which are fabrics that have been developed with new technologies that provide added value. Many smart clothing, wearable technology, and wearable computing projects involve the use of e-textiles.
Faroudja Labs was a San Francisco–based IP and research company founded by Yves Faroudja. Faroudja Labs shouldn't be confused with Faroudja Enterprises, Yves Faroudja's latest venture.
Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they detect, analyze, and transmit information such as vital signs, and/or ambient data and which allow in some cases immediate biofeedback to the wearer.
Withings is a French consumer electronics company headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. It also has offices in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and Hong Kong, and distributes its products worldwide. Withings is known for design and innovation in connected devices, such as the first Wi-Fi scale on the market, an FDA-cleared blood pressure monitor, a smart sleep system, and a line of automatic activity tracking watches. It also provides B2B services for healthcare providers and researchers.
A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While early models could perform basic tasks such as calculations, digital time telling, translations, and game-playing, smartwatches released since 2015 have more general functionality closer to smartphones, including mobile apps, a mobile operating system, and WiFi/Bluetooth connectivity. Some smartwatches function as portable media players, with FM radio and playback of digital audio and video files via a Bluetooth headset. Some models, called watch phones, have mobile cellular functionality such as making telephone calls.
Hillcrest Labs was a sensor processing technology company that developed free space motion-control technology and the first motion-controlled remote for television. Hillcrest also invented the first graphical zoomable interface for television and Kylo, the first Web browser optimized for television. The company, based in Rockville, Maryland, was acquired by CEVA in July 2019.
AuthenTec, Inc. was a semiconductor, computer security, mobile security, identity management, biometrics, and touch control solutions company based in Melbourne, Florida. Founded in 1998 after being spun off from Harris Semiconductor, AuthenTec provided mobile security software licenses to mobile manufacturing companies, and biometrics sensor technology, such as fingerprint sensors and NFC technology to mobile and computer manufacturers. On 27 July 2012, AuthenTec was acquired by Apple Inc. for $356 million.
An activity tracker involves the practice of measuring and collecting data on an individual's physical and psychological activity to keep track and maintain documentation regarding their health and wellness. Used for many groups even animals as seen in collar-mounted activity trackers for dogs. A lot of the data is collected through wearable technology such as wristbands which sync with mobile apps through Apple and Samsung. As daily technologies such as phones and computers have been innovated, it paved the way for such wearable tracking technologies to be advanced. There are a variety of stakeholders involved in the usage of activity tracking through wearable technology and mobile health apps, knowing how much they track ranging from fitness, mood, sleep, water intake, medicine usage, sexual activity, menstruation, and potential diseases raises the concern on privacy given a lot of data is collected and analyzed. Through many studies that have been reviewed, data on the various demographics and goals these technologies are used provide more insight into their purposes.
Hearables or smart headphones or earbuds are electronic in-ear devices designed for multiple purposes. The category is split between hearables for hearing health, and hearables for other applications.
Google's Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) is a skunkworks team and in-house technology incubator, created by former DARPA director Regina Dugan. ATAP is similar to X, but works on projects, granting project leaders time—previously only two years—in which to move a project from concept to proven product. According to Dugan, the ideal ATAP project combines technology and science, requires a certain amount of novel research, and creates a marketable product. Historically, the ATAP team was born at Motorola Mobility and kept when Google sold Motorola Mobility to Lenovo in 2014; for this reason, ATAP ideas have tended to involve mobile hardware technology.
LifeBEAM, founded in 2011, is an artificial-intelligence wearables technology company. The technology was originally developed for monitoring pilots, astronauts and special forces through sensors in their helmets. It was then expanded to consumer fitness products, including artificially intelligent wearables, such as Vi.
A pulse watch, also known as a pulsometer or pulsograph, is an individual monitoring and measuring device with the ability to measure heart or pulse rate. Detection can occur in real time or can be saved and stored for later review. The pulse watch measures electrocardiography data while the user is performing tasks, whether it be simple daily tasks or intense physical activity. The pulse watch functions without the use of wires and multiple sensors. This makes it useful in health and medical settings where wires and sensors may be an inconvenience. Use of the device is also common in sport and exercise environments where individuals are required to measure and monitor their biometric data.
Oura Health Oy is a Finnish health technology company, known for the Oura Ring, a smart ring used to track sleep and physical activity. The company was founded in 2013 by Petteri Lahtela, Kari Kivelä, and Markku Koskela. Harpreet Singh Rai was the CEO from 2018 until 2021, when he was replaced on an interim basis by Michael Chapp. In 2022, Tom Hale was appointed CEO. The company is headquartered in Oulu, Finland, with other locations in Helsinki, Finland, and San Francisco, United States. The company raised its initial US$2.3 million seed funding in 2015 led by Lifeline Ventures, introduced the first-generation ring via Kickstarter in 2016 and launched the ring at the Slush tech conference in 2017.
Yihong Qi is an engineer, professor, entrepreneur, and inventor. His work focuses on networking science and technology. Qi is currently an adjunct professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. He is a Fellow of The Canadian Academy of Engineering and of the National Academy of Inventors. Qi's research has led to the founding of five independent companies.
WHOOP is an American wearable technology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Its principal product is a fitness tracker that measures strain, recovery, and sleep. The device is best known for its use by athletes. The device is often used to keep track of overall health and even detection of illness.
