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An international team of nanomaterials researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Korea University have developed a new, ultrathin, bendable and stretchable film that is both transparent and highly conductive to electricity. This film has potential applications in roll-up touchscreen displays, wearable electronics, flexible solar cells and electronic skin.

The transparent flexible film can be bent repeatedly and stretched to seven times its original length.

Senior...

Picture credit: Amazfit

US-based wearable technology company Amazfit has introduced the new Amazfit Arc, a new heart rate, activity and sleep tracker that can follow a user’s progress in real-time. The Amazfit Arc features a scratch-resistant OLED touchscreen and a 20-day battery life for an introductory price of $49.99.

The Arc joins the recently announced, ceramic-based Moonbeam and Equator wearables by the company, which are the slimmest and most lightweight activity trackers on the market today. All...

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A research team from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has presented a new graphene-based supercapacitor at the 252nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Philadelphia.

The flexible micro-supercapacitors could trigger new developments in the realm of wearable technology, with a myriad of possibilities such as smart T-shirts that charges mobile phones or dishwashing robots, according to the researchers.

Picture credit: VSP Vision Care/YouTube

VSP Global and the University of Southern California (USC) Center for Body Computing (CBC) are partnering to launch an important academic study and consumer pilot test involving the company’s latest version of tech-embedded eyewear, Level, which is still in a prototype mode.

Developed by VSP Global’s innovation lab, The Shop, Level incorporates a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer that helps a wearer...

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Insight Partners has published a new report which argues that the global wearable technology market is set to grow from $26.19 billion in 2015 to $170.91 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 20.8%.

The smart watches segment was the largest in 2015 as the hand worn terminals product segment is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 24.4% between 2016 and 2025, the researchers argue.

Among the application segments, healthcare and medical boasted the largest share of the wearable technology market in...

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A study from Hexa Reports titled “China’s Wearable Technology market” argues that the wearable technology market in the country is anticipated to see substantial growth by 2025.

Over the past 20 years, the Chinese market has witnessed rapid expansion, resulting in the transformation of China’s society and economy on account of manufacturing capabilities and rising consumer consumption in the country. The country is one of the world’s major producers for...

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Headlines shouting “Brexit” have dominated the news of late and many analysts have characterized the vote as an “angry outcry” by working class citizens who’ve lost ground financially due to globalisation.

While that interpretation is debatable, it seems indisputable that globalisation has displaced a significant number of workers in many first-world countries. Workers in third-world countries have aspirations to skilled jobs, but may lack access to...

Picture credit: Narrative

The Swedish wearable camera manufacturer Hardware has announced the initiation of a ‘company reorganisation’ in order to restructure its business amid financial difficulties.

The move, under the Business Reorganisation Act in Swedish law, enables companies to ‘restructure [with] a viable business but…facing a risk of temporary financial difficulties’, in the words of a press release.

The company manufactures the Narrative Clip 2, which as the name...

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It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it. This milestone allows me to reset our SWOT analysis and share the overall strategy for the year to come with the team and I am glad to give you a glimpse at it here.

Three years ago, wearable tech was in its infancy. The whole industry has evolved a lot in just a few years – and I shared that evolution

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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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Toy manufacturing giant Mattel has completed the acquisition of Sproutling, a maker of smart technology products and smart monitors for parents and families.

Sproutling, with offices in San Francisco, will keep developing and launching products under the bespoke brand. Additionally, the company will collaborate on design and development of new products for the Mattel range of brands, based on Sproutling's technology platform.

Mattel global head of strategic development and M&A,...

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Frost & Sullivan has released a report that names wearable electronics among the leading microelectronics technologies in the future, with the segment expected to make headway in terms of adoption soon.

Wearable electronics is expected to play a major role in consumer and healthcare applications and this development along with the rise in the use of smart devices is boosting the development of microelectronics technologies.

The demand for cost-effective and robust devices that...

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Wearable software and hardware supplier Hillcrest Labs has introduced its MotionEngine Wear software to improve development of wearables.

The software’s always-active, sensor-enabled attributes are capable of catering to wearable manufacturers seeking cost-effective, turnkey solutions that facilitate quicker development, more functionality and improved performance along with optimisation for the supply chain. MotionEngine Wear is well-suited for use in smartwatches, activity and...

(Image Credit: Samsung Mobile)

When it comes to design - both hardware and software - there's little dispute that Samsung's Gear S2 has upped the game with its unique rotating bezel and UX. It's even attracted legendary Italian designer Alessandro Mendini. However, it's become clear the Korean giant has some hurdles to overcome when it comes to software and services. 

The issue lies...

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Move over Xiaomi, there’s a new kid on the block. According to latest IDC industry figures, Apple had the second highest number of shipments of wearable devices in the second quarter of 2015, narrowly behind Fitbit.

The numbers, taken from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, saw Apple ship a total of 3.6 million units in Q215 representing almost 20% of shipments, while Fitbit shipped 4.4m at 24.3%. Xiaomi, which similarly announced itself in the first quarter,...

Fitbit retains the number one position in the global wearable device market, but is under stiff competition from Chinese-based firm Xiaomi, according to the latest numbers from IDC.

The figures represent a stark closing in on Fitbit’s market dominance. The San Francisco-based company punts out 34.2% of the 11.4 million wearables shipped in the first quarter of 2015, compared with Xiaomi’s 2.8 million (24.6%).

Xiaomi’s first wearable device was announced in July 2014, which naturally...

Samsung was among the first to release an Android Wear smartwatch, but the Korean giant has been focusing its efforts on a Tizen-based watch called 'Project Orbis" which is due for release later this year.

Being based on Tizen, the firm would have more control over the experience than the limited changes which can be made to Google's smartwatch OS. The upcoming device has not yet been fully-revealed, but Samsung hasn't been shy about its existence with invites teasing "Get...

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Anyone with a vested interest in the wearable tech market will recognise that at present, products are still very much in their infant stages in terms of take-up and overall popularity. Here at Apadmi we recently conducted some research into consumer attitudes to wearables in the hope it would shed some light on uncertainty surrounding the technology at present. Our results found that, as it currently stands, 35 per cent of...

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The past 12 months has proved an important period for the wearable tech market. We’ve witnessed an explosion of devices onto the market, and wearables have begun to deliver on the hype surrounding them. From smartwatches to smart wristbands, to fitness-tracking earphones, wearables have evolved quickly, and there are plenty of elegant and niftily-designed devices tempting consumers to invest. Have a quick look at your wrist. It may be hosting a traditional watch now, but Gartner...

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Analyst house Juniper Research has released a new paper asserting ‘invisible’ wearables – hardware which is indistinguishable from non-smart technology – will provide a key market opportunity by 2020.

In a report entitled ‘The World in 2020: A Technology Vision’, made available for free download here, the analysts argue many wearables companies are...