Wearables
Skin patch might someday track your health
A type of acoustic sensor that resembles a small Band-Aid on the skin can monitor your heartbeat and other health measures, researchers say. The sensor may one day offer a way to painlessly and wirelessly track an individual's health. The patch, which weighs less than one-hundredth of an ounce, can help doctors monitor heart health, stomach condition, vocal cord activity, lung performance and potentially many other bodily functions, research...
Simplify wearables with ultra-low power microcontrollers
Designers can now easily develop high-performance fitness and medical wearable devices with enhanced functionality using the MAX32630 and MAX32631 ARM Cortex-M4F microcontrollers from Maxim Integrated Products. With the fast-growing market for personal wellness and medical wearable applications, new complex demands are being placed on the internal electronic components of devices.
Tracking physical activity with wearable health devices
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed an energy-efficient technique for accurately tracking a user's physical activity based on data from wearable devices. One goal for wearable health technologies is to identify and track physical activity by the wearer. However, accomplishing this goal requires a trade-off between accuracy and the power needed for data analysis and storage, which is a challenge, given the limited ...
Wearable THz scanning device for medical applications
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a portable and wearable terahertz scanning device made using arrays of carbon nanotubes, for non-invasive inspection of three-dimensional objects without requiring bulky peripheral optical components. The device is expected to have wide ranging applications including the noninvasive inspections of medical and drug delivery equipment such as syringes, as well as in medicine for imagin...
'Back to the Future' inspires solar nanotech-powered clothing
Marty McFly's self-lacing Nikes in Back to the Future Part II inspired a UCF scientist who has developed filaments that harvest and store the sun's energy—and can be woven into textiles. The breakthrough would essentially turn jackets and other clothing into wearable, solar-powered batteries that never need to be plugged in.
Wearable platform wins multiple prominent industry awards
It has been announced by NXP Semiconductors that its Hexiwear IoT and Wearables Development Platform has received recognition on multiple fronts, winning the 2016 ECN IMPACT Award for rapid prototyping, as well as accolades from the ARM TechCon Innovation Challenge winning 'Best Internet of Things (IoT) Product', 'Best in Show' and 'Reader’s Choice' Awards.
Sensor platform simplifies design of wearable applications
Designers of health, wellness and fitness applications can quickly and easily validate next-gen solutions with the small hSensor Platform from Maxim Integrated Products. Creating a custom board with sensors can be complex, as designers must first build custom hardware and firmware to validate their concepts and then build prototypes before starting any field trials.
Lower-limb 'robotic exoskeleton' for human gait rehab
Stroke and spinal cord injury patients often require gait rehabilitation to regain the ability to walk or to help strengthen their muscles. Wearable "robot-assisted training" is quickly emerging as a method that helps improve this rehab process. In a major advance, researchers from Beihang University in China and Aalborg University in Denmark have designed a lower-limb robot exoskeleton—a wearable robot—that features natural knee...
Here to stay, or a flash in the pan?
From the Apple Watch to the Samsung Gear S3, it seems that there is a smart watch for everyone these days. However, new research is telling a different story, revealing that sales of such devices are showing a steep decline.
Tracking system incorporates security-critical features
Drawing on its expertise in producing advanced, resilient engineering solutions to deal with exacting application demands, Steatite now introduces a comprehensive, high integrity tracking system. It presents the national security, border control and law enforcement sectors with an ultra-reliable, all-encompassing, end-to-end solution that is simple to implement and can be tailored to fit their specific operational requirements.