Please kick mi. Adidas's connected, sensor-filled miCoach Smart Ball.

Key trends: the internet of things, sensors, well-being, playful, fitness, wireless charging.

via CNET >>

Perhaps you can forget the Wii when you have the mi. This looks like a great way to get the kids out of the house. Check out this product from Adidas: the miCoach Smart Ball.

Yes, you have the smartphone, smart home, smart watch, smart clothes. And here comes the smart sporting equipment.

In this sensor-filled world of the internet of things, we can count calories, we can count steps, so why shouldn't we be able to count kicks? Adidas's miCouch Smart Ball connects to the user's smartphone via Bluetooth as uses sensors and software to monitor kicks, and includes some games which cross the real world with the virtual one. And for a touch of additional coolness, it uses wireless charging. We'll be seeing a lot more solid uses for wireless charging going forward for sealed gadgets like this.

The miCoach costs around $299/€299 in America/Europe. So, not exactly a toy.

Lifelogging: dashcams of our lives. Try and catch the wind.

KEY MOBILE TREND: lifelogging, ODLs.

A 24 minute video on lifelogging.

Big proactive in Japan. Personal agents keep you on your toes. DoCoMo video.

KEY MOBILE TRENDS: big proactive, personal agents, proactive, ODLs, lifelogging, wearables, voice input.
EVENT HORIZON: two years.

Proactive is where it's at. Stay one step ahead.

Walk it off. Fitbit's Flex fitness tracker. Another lifelogging device hits the market.

KEY MOBILE TRENDS: lifelogging, ODL, wearable computing, well-being, sensor fusion.
EVENT HORIZON: three years.

via Apple Insider >>

Build it and they will run?

The biggest uncertainty is almost always the consumer. Cool lifelogging devices such as this new Flex fitness tracker, and Nike's FuelBand and Jawbone's Up and other 21st century pedometers have been hitting the market during the past few years. But will this drive more consumers to hit the pavement?

The Flex fitness tracker from Fitbit is another wrist-worn, sensor-filled device. It boasts auto real-time syncing, and 24x7 life tracking. For $100, it could be a potential life-changing bargain. But will devices like this go mainstream?

Concussion-Detection Application

Mobile apps. What will they think of next? [ via TrendHunter ]

Why wearable computing? "Because people are starting to get a little bit bored with the smartphone."

^Tweet

KEY MOBILE TRENDS: wearable computing, ubiquitous computing, natural user interface, sensors
EVENT HORIZON: 2 YEARS

"Now is the right time for wearables..."

It's funny: we know more about what some vague acquaintances had for lunch last week than we do about our own bodies. Hopefully we are in for a change very soon.

So, smartphone vendors, if these people are right, it's time to understand a new generation of product opportunities. Please get ready to get it on!

LifeBEAM SMART helmet. Another example of wearable data-collecting devices.

Indiegogo pages >>

Here's an interesting project I found on Indiegogo's site: a bicycle helmet which collects heart rate data. The helmet can feed the data to a smartphone using Bluetooth. As the helmet also has an accelerometer, the project owners are looking into the possibility of crash detection. Since bikes or helmets don't have airbags, I am not so sure what good a crash detection feature would do, but perhaps at some points sports clothing will get more protective.

In some ways this could be considered a solution looking for a problem to solve which already has a solution: Bluetooth-enabled heart-rate monitors already exist, and so do helmets. I suppose it could be argued that this saves the user a bit of hassle. But the point here is that sensors such as heart-rate monitors are being "sewn" into other wearable devices.

This on-going collection of vital data has great potential. Let's get it on.

Tweet

Wearing, thin. The white hot mobile trend: ubiquitous computing & thin clients is wear it's at.

SAMSUNG (SMART)WATCH CONFIRMED >>

KEY MOBILE TRENDS: wearable computing, sensors, multi-device ownership, smartwatches, wellbeing, ubiquitous computing

Talking shoes from Google, contextual-sensing jewelry from Samsung. Big brands and small, device vendors had better get to wear the action is.

You will certainly be hearing lots about wearable devices over the coming year, and some of you might get tired of the exaggerated stories and the miserable puns. But when hype reaches its peak is when it's really time to evaluate market potential and write down business-development plans.

I've been hearing about ubiquitous computing since the turn of the century. The long-term vision of migrating machine interaction into everyday things and away from personal computers and handsets has excited technology executives to such a degree, that most large tech companies and campuses formed UC units. Now, the enablers are nearly in place and products will rain onto the market during the coming years. Many products will fail to deliver, but a few will really change the way we live and breath.

Google Glass and Google's talking shoe concept (please see video below) are two examples of keeping people contextually informed and constantly connected to the grid. Every smartphone vendor worth its salt will be sprouting sensor-filled mobile accessories during the coming years.

While we know the components enabling this key trend, as is so often the case, the supporting business models are the real uncertainty. Some legitimate mobile healthcare-related services will prove to be a good value for healthcare providers and individuals, but leveraging the vast amounts of data collected could lead to a trade of atoms for bits, that is, lower-cost accessories in return for some of the contextual data.

I suspect most large handset vendors have their wearable computing in-house experts and major mobile platforms are working on robust APIs to support the development of an array of accessories and applications. Vendors who aren't prepared could be left out in the cold.

So, looking forward, computing power and sensors will be everyware. Are you ready to uncover the opportunities?

Platitude & attitudes: this shoe from Google/Adidas will make life much tougher:

Smartphone cameras can take your pulse

STORY >>


KEY MOBILE TREND: healthcare

Front-facing cameras moonlight as healthcare monitors. It seems like everybody has a few jobs these days.

While there are existing apps for smartphones that use the device's camera to read a person's pulse on a fingertip, this is the first I've heard of such passive reading of blood flow in the face.



Read more: http://technology.inquirer.net/23943/japans-fujitsu-says-smartphones-can-take-your-pulse#ixzz2NvGGYNFO
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook




( Photo via Inquirer.net )

Remember this heart-warming video from Nokia?

All this talk of mobile healthcare apps and sensors brought back some heart-warming memories for me: remember the Nokia N79 Active? (Actually Mobihealth reminded me about this.)

From 2009, Nokia's N79 Active sensed, collected, and shared. Too bad it ran out of time. This sort of gets the blood boiling in some ways. Samsung is running with this baton now.

Samsung S Health accessories. Samsung's Sensor fusion play.

TECH RADAR STORY >>

KEY MOBILE TRENDS: mobile health, sensor fusion, sensors, big data, big proactive, wearable computing

Last week I wrote a blog entry about my take on a potential wrist-worn device from Apple (please see "An Apple watch could be a genius big-data play"). It's complete conjecture on my part, but I see that any such device would be just as much about collecting information as providing it.

I have no detailed comments to share on Samsung's Galaxy S4 which was unveiled yesterday. The vendor showed off a series of evolutionary new features which anyone following the latest trends would have expected. A 1080p, 5-inch screen, eye-tracking, wireless charging, NFC... Samsung ticked off all the right boxes for a 2013 flagship device.

But the more interesting development wasn't in the device itself but what was happening around it. Samsung also introduced a series of health-related accessories which will work with the device and its "S health" software. The accessories included a scale, a heart-rate monitor, and an "S band" similar to the Fitbit or Nike's FuelBand. These accessories collect and feed info to the smartphone for further processing and storing. The data allows users to see journals over time.

Vendors of smartphones should be aware that opportunities are growing outside of the box and beyond the screen. Sensor fusion is no illusion.

Nintendo Wii Fit, eat your heart out.

It looks like Samsung got the jump on Apple in sensor fusion:
Images via GSM Arena & CNET:


Video via Laptop Mag:

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For those looking to network with Chinese mobile players and understand the market: the kind producers of the Global Mobile Internet Conference 2013 and the extended "G-Trip" contacted me to share a 25% discount code with any readers who might wish to attend. You can register your attendance at http://beijing.thegmic.com/register/ and paste in the following code into the "discount code" section: GMIC-VQ9596MT GWIC 2013. Be there. And see see Tiananmen Square.

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Ingestible sensors? It's a tough pill to swallow, but it's true.

story via SPRINGWISE >>

PRODUCT VENDOR WEBSITE >>

KEY MOBILE TRENDS: mobile health, sensors

Talk about sensor fusion. Now sensors will enable you to discover your innermost feelings.

More pill signals connected to mobile health. What a day. A company called Proteus Digital Health has introduced something called the "Feedback System," which includes a wearable patch for collecting information, and an ingestible sensor, which the company says is the size of a grain of sand.

The sensor reports biorhythms such as heart rate, temperature, activity and rest patterns it collects internally to the patch which in turn connects to a smartphone for further uploading and analysis.

Sensors will let you get to know yourself inside and out. (No word on pricing or availability from the company.)

The internet of pills. New high-tech pillboxes are very smart, very proactive, and very well connected.

via MOBIHEALTH >>

KEY TRENDS: mobile healthcare, big proactive, internet of things

Internet-connected pillboxes. Of course.

I came across an interesting article at the very useful Mobihealthnews site about the growing number of connected pillboxes and pillbox caps available on the market. I must say: this is truly a pragmatic use of connecting things.

Here is one product example: GlowCap from a company called Vitality, glows orange as a reminder when it is time to take medication and can also make a chirping sound and even send out updates via e-mail, texts, or make a robocall. Apparently it can be very tenacious.

GlowCap also tracks use over time in a journal and can even connect automatically with the pharmacist when it is time for a prescription refill. GlowCap retails for a reasonable $10 to $75 or so in the U.S. but it does require an on-going service plan which costs $15 per month. That's a nice recurring revenue stream for several players, and does appear a bit costly at first. However, the value of the service could be well worth it for certain demographics.

Here is a case where the internet of things can really be just what the doctor ordered. I don't want to seem like a pill pusher here, but this can really be an interesting device + service for some.

GlowCap® Medication Reminder Kit by Vitality:
Price is around $60 in the U.S. are major retailers.

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For those looking to network with Chinese mobile players and understand the market: the kind producers of the Global Mobile Internet Conference 2013 and the extended "G-Trip" contacted me to share a 25% discount code with any readers who might wish to attend. You can register your attendance at http://beijing.thegmic.com/register/ and paste in the following code into the "discount code" section: GMIC-VQ9596MT

GWIC 2013. Be there. And see see Tiananmen Square.

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Scanadu. Star Trek Tricorder-like device headed this way.

COMPANY WEBSITE >>

KEY TRENDS: healthcare, big data, big proactive, wearable computing, sensors

Product tagline: "Sending your smartphone to med school."

Some nice visions here. Perhaps a touch of vapor as real products won't hit the market until the end of the year. But it sure is high time we learn a bit more about ourselves. Something to keep an eye on. Scanadu.

An Apple watch could be a genius big-data play. Time will tell but the potential is there.

ARS TECHNICA STORY >>

TRENDS TO NOTE: wearable computing, big data, sensor fusion, smartwatches.

An Apple watch? It seems like this prediction has been made several times before. But you know what they say about a broken clock...

Mobile watch accessories have been around for almost a decade. Back in 2006, Sony Ericsson together with Fossil introduced a sleek Bluetooth watch. It acted as a companion to Sony Ericsson handsets providing the bearer with some basic connectivity back to the phone. And Microsoft and partners brought out a series of "SPOT" connected watches around the same time. Despite many good efforts, there was little sincere consumer interest.

But smartwatches and fitness bands have become a resuscitated trend over the past year. (Please see the related smartwatch signals on my blog here.) Sony, Motorola, Jawbone, Nike, and others have introduced clever wrist-worn devices to keep users connected to their devices and to their bodies.

Now it looks like Apple is about to join in (beyond the nano that is). Some possible product leaks out of Apple are consistent and solid, and it is known that Apple has been gathering the talent to make a market for wearable computing products. So, will Apple be the company which gets the watch accessory spot on?

There is interesting speculation about Apple's implementation of extra sensors in such a device. I could imagine that an advanced wrist-worn computer could constantly collect information such as blood pressure, pulse/heart rate, body temperature, stress levels, and possibly sleep patterns. By combining such data with info from environmental sensors such as accelerometers, thermometers, barometers, altimeters, GPS receivers, air-quality sensors, and of course time & date could lead to a collection of vast amounts of correlated information. And it is exactly this sort of sensor fusion that big data is all about.

Apple has made stickiness an art form. And in an age of increased product commoditization, holding on tightly and fighting portability has been a very smart strategy to fight substitute products. [Americans would know this as the "Roach Motel" approach.] Apple could now be working on bringing more consumer content inside its walled garden: years' worth of data about a user's body, exercise patterns, and environmental exposure. This would be an extremely valuable addition to Apple's vault of bits and bytes.

Smartphones have become flat, dull, look-alike devices. Wearable accessories and big data are two trends that could break the monotony in the coming years. Just look at what Google is doing with Glass. Smartphone vendors would be wise to chime in before it's too late.


HP's Mobile Health blood pressure Monitoring Solution:
Constantly feeds info to the cloud on a patient's vitals.

More "big proactive." Stressing big data with the Neumitra Bandu. This watch collects stress data and advises.

via Ecouterre >>

Neumitra COMPANY WEBSITE >>

Here is another good example of using big data for the power of good. The Bandu from a Bostn-based startup called Neumitra is a watch which has sensors which are able to collect info from the body about stress levels. The data is then uploaded to the cloud where it is stored and analyzed on an on-going basis. The service provides feedback on relaxation and also has a location-based element as it layers stress on the map.

So please take five and watch the Bandu video to get a better understanding.

iTube: mobile food allergen detector. I heart the potential of sensors + big data + clever algorithms.

GIZMAG STORY >>

Facebook tells us about old friends we may want to get back in touch with. LinkedIn tells us about jobs we may be interested in. Amazon tells us about books we may like. YouTube tells us about videos we may be interested in seeing. The supermarket even prints out customized coupons for ice cream I might be interested in trying. All this without asking.

For the most part, I find that such proactive marketing is rather helpful and amazingly accurate. But this shouldn't be surprising: there is a lot of big data and clever algorithms behind each notification.

And the potential for combining big data with proactive notification is just beginning. Let's call what we'll be seeing in the near future "big proactive." There will be more proactivity concerning individual healthcare and well-being as a history of data compiled from sensors overtime will calculate risks of disease. Sensors know the when, the what, the where, the weather. And going forward they will sniff out problems with our bodies and the air around us. Sensors will even be checking our food.

Here's an interesting project done at the University of California, Los Angeles called "iTube" which uses sensors to turn a smartphone into an allergen detector. By detecting food allergens such as gluten, peanuts and eggs, the smartphone can act to warn users of potential food risks.

I'm positive that sensors and big data will be big moving forward.

Misfit Shine. An activity-tracking device that radiates simplicity. The pairing is the real magic.

ABC STORY >>

PRODUCT PAGES >>

COMPANY PAGES >>

Activity tracking devices have been popping onto the market over the past few years with companies such as Nike, Jawbone, Motorola, Sony, and a series of start-ups introducing smart, wearable devices to encourage better living.

Here is another one from a company called Misfit Wearables, which was co-founded by former Apple CEO John Sculley. The device is called "Shine," a coin-sized metallic device that, the company says, can intelligently and automatically track activities such as running, swimming, and biking.

No matter how well the activity tracking works, what I find most amazing is the super smooth pairing between a Shine and an iPhone. According to the Misfit, all that is required to sync the accessory to an iPhone is placing it on the screen. This is where the device really does shine. As the iPhone does not have NFC, Misfit is making some very clever use of the iPhone's existing capabilities, possibly via sound waves and/or WiFi or Bluetooth.

Prices start at US$79.

Check the pairing. Sound, BT, WiFi? How'd they do that?

BCI reaches new heights: a thought-controlled artificial leg teams with this stair climber.

SOURCE >>

More think about it!

This young man with a thought-controlled artificial leg will climb 103 flights of stairs up to the top of Chicago’s Willis Tower, aka the Sears Tower.

Is Muse the new mouse? Think about brain-computer input using the InteraXon "Muse."

PROJECT PAGES >>
( SOURCE )

"The technology will know what's on your mind, and respond..." InteraXon.

Brain-computer interfaces have the potential to change the way we think about using devices. The why isn't very clear yet, but the how is getting there.

Here's how such things start: with devices like the Muse from a startup called InteraXon. It is a head-worn device with four EEG sensors supporting the collection of information such as stress levels and concentration. So what? Please think about the potential.

For learning, for gaming, for well-being, for healthcare, the applications will be discovered and they will be developed.