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By the middle of 2017, China’s central bank regulation will ensure that all payment terminals will feature contactless payment. In anticipation of this development, Oberthur Technologies (OT) is collaborating with Mobvoi and China Union Pay to launch an Android smart watch that will facilitate contactless payment in China secured by OT’s embedded Secure Element.

As of September 2015, Mobvoi’s Ticwatch is the best-selling Android smart watch in China following its...

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Researchers at the University of California San Diego claim to have put together the first flexible wearable device capable of monitoring both biochemical and electric signals.

The Chem-Phys patch represents a breakthrough in the healthcare wearables space and provides real time recording of electrocardiogram (EKG) heart signals and levels of lactate, a biochemical marker of physical effort.

Nanoengineers and electrical engineers at the UC San Diego Center for Wearable Sensors...

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Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman has said in a blog post that rumours about the company exiting the wearables business are “unequivocally false”.

The post is in response to news last week that the maker of the UP line of fitness trackers had decided to put an end to its business. Rahman said: “To be clear, Jawbone remains wholly committed to innovating in and building great wearables products. We have never been more excited about our pipeline of technology and products and...

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BACtrack, a company that designs and sells portable breath alcohol testers for consumer and professional use, took the first prize at the Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge organised by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

BACtrack won $200,000 at the competition that assessed a discreet device capable of measuring blood alcohol levels in near real-time. BACtrack’s entry, the BACtrack Skyn, is a wrist-worn device and offers continuous and non-invasive...

Picture credit: Yei Hwan Jung and Juhwan Lee/University of Wisconsin–Madison

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison claim to have developed the fastest stretchable, wearable integrated circuits, which could disrupt the healthcare wearables space.

The details were published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials and the team was led by Zhenqiang “Jack” Ma, Lynn H. Matthias Professor in Engineering and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in electrical and computer...

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A report from SNS Research argues that the global wearables market will see 140 million unit sales and $30 billion of revenue by the end of 2016.

The research firm adds that fitness and sports centric wearable device shipments are anticipated to witness a CAGR of 28% over the next half decade, finally totalling 80 million device shipments by the end of 2020.

Wireless carriers are increasingly integrating wearable devices within their M2M and IoT strategies and these devices are...

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NuEyes has developed head-mounted, hands-free wearable technology that provides CCTV and text-to-speech capabilities in an easy-to-use headset about the size of a pair of sunglasses. The device, carrying the name of the company, comprises ODG smartglasses that offer magnification up to 12x. The company has now announced an exclusive partnership with New England Low Vision and Blindness (NELV&B) to bring the device to the visually-impaired across New England.

Prior to the launch...

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A new study by Grand View Research projects that the valuation of the global wearable technology market is expected to reach $196.5 million by 2022.

Investment in research and development by a large number of industry players is expected to play a key role in growth in the wearable technology market in the years to 2022, according to the researchers. Another key factor set to positively impact the market is increasing disposable income across the globe.

During the forecast period,...

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The total shipment volumes of wearable devices grew 67.2% year on year to 19.7 million units during the most recent quarter, according to analysis from the International Data Corporation (IDC), with Fitbit continuing to lead the pack.

The figures, from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, found Fitbit continues to be the leading vendor, followed by Xiaomi, Apple and Garmin, with Samsung and BBK tied for fifth spot.

IDC's wearables team research manager, Ramon Llamas,...

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According to the latest report from CCS Insight, approximately 10 million wearable devices will be operational in the UK by the end of 2016, with five million sales and the overall figure tripling to almost 33 million units in the next four years.

Fitness trackers will lead the way in terms of volume with sales of 1.7 million expected in 2017, according to the researchers. However, in terms of value, smartphone companions such as the Apple Watch will be the leading category, worth...

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Spiceworks has released a study which argues a majority of IT professionals (53%) hold wearables are the foremost source of security breaches among IoT devices connected to their network.

Companies connecting wearables to their network have seen a nearly 100% increase, rising from 13% to 24% since Spiceworks released its 2014 IoT report. Video equipment (50%), physical security (46%) and appliances (45%) are the other sources liable to attack.

Only around 33% of organisations are busy...

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Russell Brands has announced it is working with science and technology provider Dow to provide odour protection to its sports apparel products.

Russell will utilise Dow Chemical’s patented SILVADUR technology to provide advanced odour and freshness protection to apparel performance products. The products making use of this technology will feature the Intellifresh brand, with the first apparel from Russell Brands to incorporate this technology being the Russell COOLFORCE...

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IDTechEx Research has published its new report forecasting the wearables market from 2016 to 2026, and argues there will be three billion wearable sensors by 2025 with almost a third of it being sensors that are only beginning to emerge.

According to the report, titled 'Wearable Sensors 2016-2026: Market Forecasts, Technologies, Players', sensor development is driving next-generation wearable devices, and development is going further than simply attaching the...

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Tractica has released a new report forecasting a massive rise in global healthcare wearables shipments by 2021.

The report has suggested that worldwide healthcare wearable device shipments will rise from 2.5 million in 2016 to 97.6 million annually by 2021. The global healthcare wearables market will make up $17.8 billion of yearly revenue.

Smart watches, wearable patches and fitness trackers will all play key roles in the rise of wearables for wellness and health. Healthcare wearables...

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Nautilus Lab has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for its PEM Wave CARE wearable device for chronic pain relief.

The device claims to also help improve immunity and blood circulation. It can be worn as a necklace to improve blood circulation or attached to a body part to provide relief from chronic pain or inflammation. It can be operated by a smartphone app via Bluetooth.

It is the latest development from...

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8% of American adults say they own an Apple Watch, according to research by ad tech provider Fluent.

The results of the survey, which polled 2,500 respondents, exceeded the expectations set after its first Apple Watch study in April 2015. In the 2015 survey, Fluent found that 5% of Americans planned to buy the first version of the Apple Watch, amounting to around 12.5 million people.

A year later, the figures show that 8% of Americans now own an Apple Watch. With the 2% margin of...

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Defibrillators utilising wearable technology could be a good option for some patients with heart rhythm abnormalities but not all, according to an advisory note from the American Heart Association.

The advisory, published in the association’s Circulation journal, says that the wearable automatic defibrillator may not be suitable for all those diagnosed with life-threatening heart arrhythmia but not deemed suitable for implantable cardiac defibrillators...

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Research and Markets has forecast that the global wearable medical device market will reach $27.8 billion (£19.8bn) by 2022.

According to the report, the market growth will be driven by rising prevalence of medical conditions such as hypertension and obesity. A sedentary lifestyle will also boost the demand for such devices, as well growing health awareness.

The demand for wearable technology will also grow, driven by rising incidences of diabetes and other chronic conditions that...

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In order to foster the development and testing of apps among developers, Vuzix has begun delivering Alpha copies of its SDK for the M300 Smart Glasses, slated for launch in the summer of 2016.

The development and testing will be undertaken utilising the Android emulator configured as an M300 device. The new SDK will be delivered in stages and include frequent updates as they become available in the spring of 2016.

The Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses provide a “hands free”...

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A new report from Argus Insights argues that consumers are more satisfied with wearable hardware than the apps it contains.

Though wearable technology is extending itself from wrist-worn devices to include shirts, tattoos, hats, shoes and other forms, actionable collected data is the key feature that counts, according to the researchers. The survey covers over 136,000 consumer reviews of wearables devices and applications from November 2015 to February 2016.

Argus Insights CEO, John Feland,...