Developers of health and fitness wearables — currently the industry’s biggest segment — are challenged with providing accurate and reliable biometric information. If the consumer cannot be convinced that calories burned, steps taken, and blood pressure numbers do not reflect reality, then health and fitness wearables will never gain the traction they need to become mass market. Enter Valencell, a core technology provider for biometric information to silicon providers and OEMs. Continue reading Sensors/MEMS Session: Biometric Information for Wearables

During a CES session on “The Wearable Revolution,” panelists agreed that it is still early for the wearables category, but a revolution is right around the corner. Moderator Joanna Stern, personal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, pinpointed her main gripe: ugly, clunky watches and fitness trackers. “Will we look back at this generation and be reminded of the 25-pound laptop?” she asked. Panelists suggested the technologies that will make wearables more attractive and more effective are now being released. Continue reading CES Panelists Agree the Wearable Revolution is (Almost) Here

During her CES keynote address, Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez suggested that the growing crop of interconnected devices that make up the Internet of Things could potentially put individuals’ privacy and security at risk. “Ramirez outlined several concerns including ubiquitous data collection, or the ability of sensors to collect sensitive personal information about consumers all the time and in real time; unexpected uses of consumer data, such using individual energy use patterns to set their homeowners’ insurance rates; and cybersecurity threats,” reports The Wall Street Journal. She recommended that companies minimize the data they collect, consider encrypting sensitive information, and be more transparent about how they use personal data.

During a CES press event in Las Vegas, Panasonic showed a prototype Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player (the Blu-ray Disc Association is finalizing the new Ultra HD Blu-ray format standard). While a formal release date for the player was not announced, the first film titles are reportedly slated for release before the end of 2015. According to HDTVtest, the new standard will use the H.265 HEVC codec and will support 3,840 x 2,160 video at up to 60 frames per second, the BT.2020 wide color gamut, and 10-bit video encoding. One of the more interesting features will be support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) video, which significantly expands the brightness peak.

Samsung Electronics plans to extend its Tizen operating system beyond mobile phones to its new smart TVs beginning next month. At CES, Samsung CEO BK Yoon announced that Tizen TVs would initially launch in the U.S. and Korea, followed by a rollout to additional international markets later in the year. Samsung, which has spent years developing Tizen as an alternative to Google’s Android mobile operating system, is looking to better compete in software and services with OS leaders Google and Apple. Continue reading Samsung Targets Google and Apple with Plans for Tizen TVs

The Internet of Things will comprise 200 billion devices by 2020, according to Steve Holmes of Intel’s New Devices Group. He spoke about “Challenging Developers to Make It Wearable” during a day-long Sensors and MEMS Technology Conference at this week’s CES in Las Vegas. “I want to talk to you about why I think people are under-estimating the impact of wearables, what Intel is doing and to share some of the things we’ve learned about bringing products to market,” he said. Continue reading CES Session: Challenging Developers to Make It Wearable

3D Sound Labs, a French company exhibiting in the Eureka Park startup area at the 2015 International CES, demonstrated new headphones that combine head tracking and software to dynamically tune sound that creates what the company describes as “the most immersive, wearable sound experience.” According to CEO and co-founder Xavier Bonjour, a former Technicolor executive, the Neoh headphones produce an experience that does for sound what virtual reality technology is producing visually. Continue reading Startup Demos Virtual Reality Audio with Neoh Headphones

Charter Communications announced a cloud-based cable TV service called Worldbox to be backed by Cisco technology. Charter CEO Tom Rutledge unveiled the initiative at CES with Cisco CEO John Chambers. The system will allow Charter to update its services regardless of which set-top boxes are being used by its subscribers. Cisco plans to supply data center and networking equipment. “By using cloud-computing technology to deliver software updates, Charter will be able to add features and content quickly, instead of sending technicians to install new machines in homes and businesses,” reports Bloomberg.

Speaking at the Citi 2015 Global Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam announced that his company plans to launch an Internet pay TV service during the second half of this year. The “mobile-first” OTT service, separate from Verizon’s current FiOS TV, is expected to initially roll out with 20-30 channels, and target younger consumers who are not interested in paying for cable (similar to Dish Network’s planned Sling TV service announced at CES). According to Variety, McAdam also denied a recent report that his company is considering an AOL acquisition, although he suggested there is a potential to partner.

A flying camera, an invisible piano keyboard that can be played, sensors that help the visually impaired navigate the world… these are just some of the technologies that will make 2015 a watershed year. “It’s the beginning of the next consumer technology wave,” said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich in his CES keynote address. “The last time we saw a wave of change this big was 20 years ago today, in 1995, with a revolution in consumer computing with the Pentium processor and first commercial browsers.” Continue reading Intel CEO Brian Krzanich Predicts New Consumer Tech Wave

Wearables are powered by MEMS (Microelectrical Mechanical Systems) and sensors, and the MEMS Industry Group (MIG) is focused on addressing the issues that will help catapult wearables and the Internet of Things to become more powerful market segments. The wearable sensor market is expected to expand seven-fold in five years, to be valued at more than $450M in 2018. At CES, MIG Executive Director Karen Lightman introduced a day-long conference devoted to MEMS and sensors. Continue reading MEMS and Sensors Power Wearables, the Internet of Things

Emerging trends in new wearables represent the next great market opportunity, say a group of consultants and analysts who cover the field. As part of the Sensors and MEMS Technology Conference at CES, panelists took to the stage to discuss “Wearables: A Very Real Market Opportunity.” Although current penetration of wearables is a mere seven percent, that number is expected to grow dramatically. “In the next five years we’ll have a wearable that the majority of the population will want,” said Jim Feldhan, president of Semico Research. Continue reading CES Conference Session: Wearables as a Market Opportunity

PC game hardware manufacturer Razer may be looking to compete with virtual headsets such as the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. At CES, the company unveiled its own VR headset, the open-source OSVR Hacker Dev Kit. According to Razer, the $199 kit is compatible with Oculus DK2 software and experimental Linux and Android VR software. Slated for June availability, the kit is tied to a new consortium that plans to offer an alternative test bed for developers interested in VR. Continue reading 2015 CES: Razer Unveils its $199 Open-Source VR Headset

Liquid Image, maker of camera-equipped masks and goggles, has updated its Ego LS 800 wearable action camera with plans to ship this spring. The camera features the ability to record 1080p video at 30 fps, or 720p at 60 fps, while simultaneously live broadcasting over LTE — a first for the camera category. The onboard LTE chipset has been upgraded so that it can stream video over Verizon’s LTE network. The Ego LS is not the first action cam to live-stream video, but other cameras use Wi-Fi. Continue reading Liquid Image Ego LS to Live Stream Video Over Verizon LTE

Samsung was the first to showcase a bendable TV at last year’s CES, and this week the company is demonstrating a 105-inch, 21:9 screen that can expand or contract depending on how curved the viewer wants it. “For such a novel TV, Samsung put out all the stops, including 4K resolution, quantum-dot technology for improved color and its Tizen-powered smart-TV platform,” reports Mashable. “The bendy set has features of Samsung’s new SUHD line, which includes a ‘re-mastering engine’ for improved picture quality, an extremely thin screen bezel with chamfered edges and Samsung’s Tizen-powered Smart TV interface.”