Gadgets

Category: Gadgets

Mobile technology in China is fueling innovation

Lucy | January 22, 2015

At the moment, this industry makes up about 4 percent of the gross domestic product of that country.

According to a report that has been recently published, mobile technology makes up approximately 4 percent of the gross domestic product of China, as the country now has enough innovators within that industry to include itself among the highest in the world.

Around the globe, only the United States and South Korea have more mobile tech inventors than China.

This, according to a report that was issued by the Boston Consulting Group. It also stated that beyond mobile technology, China is watching a considerable increase in its community of app developers. It has been estimated that there are about 1 million people who are currently employed within the rapidly growing mobile application field. This is over twice the number of people who are working in that field in the United States.

It is clear that China has stepped onto the wave of mobile technology and plans to continue to ride it.

According to the report, “China has become a highly competitive place to import and assemble components into finished products, allowing the country to tap into its strong manufacturing base.” At the moment, the report says that the mobile tech sector in the country represents 3.7 percent of the country’s GDP. Moreover, its compound annual growth rate from 2009 through last year was recorded to be 17.7 percent.

The report stated that on a global scale, the mobile tech revolution is headed toward the next trillion dollar market. As the largest smartphone market, China has been rapidly improving its market share in areas that have higher value. The report also included the results of a survey that included the participation of 7,500 individual customers, as well as 3,500 small and mid-sized companies. The participants – both business and individuals – were from six different countries, including the United States, China, and India.

The mobile technology report expressed that “With the success of companies in the device space, as well as telecom equipment manufacturers, Lenovo Group Ltd.’s recent acquisition of Motorola has further strengthened China’s capabilities in mobile innovation.”

Wearable technology offers support to Parkinson’s patients

Julie Campbell | January 21, 2015

The tech also has capabilities for supporting limbs and easing other types of medical struggle.

A new form of clinical wearable technology in the form of a garment called PlaySkin Lift brings together Spanx technology and a trunk brace in order to provide children with physical disabilities with a comfortable, lightweight garment that will assist them in areas where they struggle.

This smart clothing was designed by researchers from the University of Delaware and is making a difference.

That said, PlaySkin Lift is only one of a growing movement in medical wearable technology. This category is seeing many new entrants that have prototypes and products that are starting to have a positive impact on several different types of condition. For example, within the same building as the mobility lab at the University of Delaware’s STAR campus, there is another group of researchers that are currently placing the polishing touches on a type of vibrating shoe. These wearables are meant to assist people with Parkinson’s disease in being able to walk faster while being better capable of keeping their balance.

At the moment, the largest category of medical wearable technology is in fitness trackers, but that is changing.

Wearable Technology offers medical support - breakthrough Although consumer focused devices are meant to track steps, resting heart rates, sleep, calorie burning, and other common fitness related metrics, experts are now saying that there will one day be wearables that will be able to measure every component of a person’s physiology, which could be very helpful in improving health over the long term.

At the moment, there are already devices that are in the research and development phase that are meant to assist everyone from Alzheimer’s disease sufferers to individuals who are suffering from chronic pain. In the former category, there is a gadget in the works that is meant to stimulate individuals with that form of dementia. In the later, there is a leg belt that delivers an electrical current that is meant to relieve painful discomfort. There is even a personal light tracker that is being created to assist individuals with severe depression. There have already been many reports of contact lenses for individuals with diabetes, so that they can continually track and record their blood glucose levels.

These examples, alone, represent only a tiny fraction of what is currently in the works in clinical wearable technology, but they show that this is a significant category in which device are going to continue to be released over the long term.