Strategy December 09, 2015
8 New Wearable Technologies From 2015
Smartwatches, checkpoint-friendly backpacks, fitness trackers and lipsticks that can charge cellphones ... these are among the new wearable technology devices that have debuted in 2015. Read the Advantages feature so that you’re up to speed on what’s hot and new in the world of wearable tech, and see the items below in our online exclusive slideshow!
Imagine walking to your car and fending off an attacker – not with pepper spray or a handheld alarm, but with your ring. Siren, a New York-based company owned by designer Kat Alexander, now offers the SIREN Ring personal safety device, a line of urban-inspired, fashionable rings that include a built-in alarm. Read more.
While the price of wearable technology might give some consumers sticker shock, new entry-priced smartwatches are entering the market every day, seeking to undercut the competition. One example: Alcatel’s simply named Watch, which retails for about $150, has the ability to work with both Androids and iPhones, a capability not matched by other smartwatches, except the popular Pebble device. Read more.
The apparel world is exploding with smart shirts – T-shirts and athletic shirts that do more than keep you dry during your workout. One example: Ralph Lauren is gearing up to launch a nylon shirt for retail that features a stretchy band underneath the chest that is woven with biosensing silver threads. Read more.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been used since the 1970s for tagging everything from cattle to airline luggage. Today, a form of the technology has leapt into personal items such as credit cards, bank cards and passports. Recently, industry supplier Leed’s (asi/66887) has begun offering bags and backpacks with additional anti-theft properties, such as split-proof zippers, RFIT-protected passport pockets, and hidden straps that the user can wrap around chair legs. Read more.
Shirts aren’t the only wearable items that are smart. Hats are integrating new technologies as well. As an example, the LifeBEAM Smart Hat measures heart rate, number of steps taken and calories burned, and sends the data wirelessly to a smartphone or fitness tracker. Read more.
Most wearable technology has been more focused on function rather than fashion. But one company, Bellabeat, has been creating intelligent accessories marketed to women. One example is LEAF, a simply piece of leaf-shaped jewelry that can be worn as a necklace or bracelet or simply clipped to a jacket or sports bra. Read more.
Only 40% of adults wear helmets while bike riding, resulting in numerous preventable head injuries every year. The Hovding seeks to change all of that. The device is an airbag collar designed to be worn by cyclists. Read more.
Japanese eyewear company JINS aims to turn the traditioanl definition of glasses on its head with its first foray into the wearable tech market. The MEME, released this year, is all about peering inward, rather than out. Nearly indistinguishable from a typical fashion frame, these smart glasses are packed with bio-sensors to track eye movement in eight directions. Read more.