Tag: wearable devices

A new report predicts that the rate of wearables in U.S. classrooms will notably increase in the coming years.

According to a report from Research and Markets, the classroom wearables technology market will accelerate at an impressive rate over the next four years, growing at a CAGR of 45.52% between 2016 and 2020. Reportedly, this growth trend is mostly due to the development of wearable devices designed to sync with smartphones.

More companies in the telecommunications, mobile and apps industries are seeking to expand into the wearables market.

The 63-page report features big-name companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, who are associated with the education sector and who manufacture wearable devices. It also mentions other leaders in the wearable tech market, including Fitbit, Samsung and Nike.

According to the report summary, “various technology companies are investing heavily in R&D to remain competitive. This is resulting in the incorporation of innovative functionalities, such as gesture recognition and augmented reality, in classroom wearable technology devices. Devices such as Fin, Ring, Kapture, and Myo are some of the products equipped with such modern features.”

It notes that Fin is a smart wearable device designed to be worn on the thumb and functions based on finger gestures.

Improved student engagement is one of the key growth drivers of classroom wearables technology.

Improved digitalization in education, school and institutions has lead to the adoption of digital gadgets and tools like e-learning modules and tablets to better student engagement. Wearable technology has taken this improvement further and has enhanced engagement in ways that were once not considered possible.

For instance, Google Glass gives students the power to harness augmented reality. They can create first-person videos and take part in unique point-of-view experiences. Meanwhile, virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, introduces students into an entirely different immersive 3D learning experience. Such devices can assist students in learning languages among other useful subjects.

That being said, the report does note that one of the major challenges that the wearable tech market faces and will continue to face is the lack of security and data privacy. Still, even with these concerns, the classroom wearable technology market will only continue to evolve with the development and release of new tech.

MasterCard announces partnership with Coin and WiseKey

MasterCard has become heavily involved in the mobile payments space and the company is looking to make this sector more secure than it has ever been. MasterCard has announced that it has partnered with Coin and WiseKey. The partnership with Coin may be unexpected, as the company has encountered trouble with financial institutions in the past in regards to its smart card, which emulated credit and debit cards. Despite this, however, MasterCard believes that its new partnerships will improve the security of mobile commerce.

Partnership aims to launch new system to ensure the security of mobile commerce

Through the partnership, a new developer program will be launched, providing access to an application program interface (API) to efficiently handle mobile transactions made through wearable devices as well as smartphones and tablets. MasterCard and Coin will work together to find ways to efficiently provide digitized card information that merchants can use to authenticate purchases. This is intended to track digital purchases for security purposes, allowing MasterCard and other companies to effectively crack down on fraud.

Wearable devices will have a role to play in the digital commerce space and MasterCard wants these devices to be safe

The partnership with WiseKey, a company that specializes in security, focuses specifically on wearable devices. These devices have yet to become mainstream, but the launch of products like Apple Watch have highlighted how they can be used to make mobile payments. MasterCard and WiseKey want to ensure that the transactions made through these devices is secure, which may improve their popularity among consumers that want to use these devices to pay for products in physical stores.

Security continues to be a main priority for those involved in mobile commerce

Security has long been a major issue in the mobile commerce space. Many consumers have avoided making mobile transactions because of security concerns, believing that their sensitive information would be put at risk. Several companies have begun improving the security of the mobile commerce space in order to increase confidence among consumers. MasterCard, as well as other financial organizations, have made significant progress in this regard over the past few years.