Wearables
When to get your head out of the game
Head injuries are a hot topic today in sports medicine, with numerous studies pointing to a high prevalence of sports-related concussions, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, among youth and professional athletes. Now an MIT-invented tool is aiding in detecting and diagnosing concussions, in real time.
DuoSkin: From touchscreen to touchskin?
Tattoos which contain your music? On-skin jewellery that can control your smartphone? Pay for your coffee with your elbow? …Sound a touch far fetched? A group of students from MIT Media Lab and Microsoft Research have developed prototypes of on-skin user interfaces, which resemble jewellery.
Making smartwatches easier to use
A system for making smartwatches and fitness-trackers easier to use, created by computer scientists at the University of St Andrews, could transform the technology for users without the need to buy new hardware. WatchMI allows wearers to access functions on their watch using a wider range of actions: for example by twisting the watch face, applying pressure to the screen, or by panning the watch to the right or left.
How the brain reacts to Google Glass
"Smart" eyewear—that can integrate AR with your own, feed you live information about your surroundings and even be used in the operating room—is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Wearable displays also have the potential to enhance cognitive ergonomics, or more simply, make it less mentally taxing to complete certain tasks. But before technologies like Google Glass become a part of daily life, engineers need a way to monito...
Fabric coating allows rips to 'heal' themselves
Ripped pants or a torn shirt usually means a trip to the tailor or a garbage can is in one's future. But scientists could be closing in on a new solution. They report in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces a fabric coating made of squid proteins that allows rips in cotton, linen and wool to "heal" themselves. Damage to a variety of surfaces, ranging from biomedical implants to clothing, can limit a product's usefulness.
Exploring the concept of a wearable personal cloud
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are exploring the concept of a wearable personal cloud - a fully functioning, yet compact and lightweight cloud computing system embedded into clothing.
Tattoo-like health monitor does not require batteries
An international team of researchers has developed an ultra-thin health monitoring device that affixes to the skin like a patch and looks somewhat like a tattoo. As they note in their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the tiny device is able to monitor skin temperature, UV exposure, heart rate, changes in skin colour and blood oxygen level. Fitbit and other devices like it have become popular over the past few years as people ...
Electronic skin patch monitors alcohol levels
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a flexible wearable sensor that can accurately measure a person's blood alcohol level from sweat and transmit the data wirelessly to a laptop, smartphone or other mobile device. The device can be worn on the skin and could be used by doctors and police officers for continuous, non-invasive and real-time monitoring of blood alcohol content.
Thin-film transistors developed for wearable display
With the advent of the IoT era, strong demand has grown for wearable and transparent displays that can be applied to various fields such as augmented reality (AR) and skin-like thin flexible devices. However, previous flexible transparent displays have posed real challenges to overcome, which are, among others, poor transparency and low electrical performance.
Personal security wearable relies on u-blox, not a phone
Whereable Technologies uses u-blox technology for the first live-monitored personal safety wearable that doesn’t require connection to a cell phone. RiskBand, which launches in fall, 2016, is a small, bracelet-like device that allows wearers to summon help and stream audio and photos with just one discreet push of a button.