Tag: wearable technology

Wearable technology offers support to Parkinson’s patients

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 - breakthroughAlthough 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.

Tesco launches mobile commerce app for Google Glass

The wearable technology now has a new shopping app that is to be “the beginning of the journey” for the chain.

Tesco, the British supermarket chain, has now launched a brand new mobile commerce app, but it isn’t the typical shopping or informational app for smartphone users, as it has been designed for Google Glass.

The goal of this m-commerce application is to make it faster and easier for consumers to shop online.

Google Glass users can download the Tesco mobile commerce app for free. It is voice controlled so that the user needs only speak the commands in order to search through the database of products at the supermarket. An example of the phrases that can be used is “OK Glass, find a product: milk”. Equally, users of the wearable technology can scan the item barcodes when they are in store or if they are in their own pantry and wish to re-purchase what they already have.

The mobile commerce app also allows the user to browse for items that they can add to their basket, as well.

Mobile Commerce - TescoThat said, when they want to actually check out, they will need to use the regular smartphone based m-commerce app. The intentions to create the Google Glass based application was first announced in June 2014. At that time, it was still a prototype.

According to Pablo Coberly at Tesco, at the time of that first announcement, “We thought about how our colleagues might be able to use Glass to check stock hands-free, or how our customers might be able to add a product to their grocery delivery basket while making a cup of tea.” He also added that arriving at that phase along the way has brought about new concepts with regards to user interactions, including “user interface elements, new gestures, and input mechanisms.”

Clearly, Tesco came a long way since that time, as they have now launched the Google Glass mobile commerce experience. Coberly recently blogged on the subject, singing the praises of the SDK for the wearables, and applauding the Glass team at Google for the support and experience that they provide.