Category: Technology News

According to Valencell, there will soon be a day when wearables are commonplace but we’re not there, yet.

Performance biometric tech firm, Valencell, has recently stated that while the industry is headed toward a time when it will be difficult to imagine our lives without wearable technology, we have not yet reached that point and there are some very specific reasons to explain that.

The success of the Fitbit IPO, and the sales recorded by the Apple Watch are showing that wearables are growing.

Valencell has explained that while consumers are interested in wearable technology at the moment, these gadgets have not yet reached the point in which they are providing health feedback with the accuracy that they are seeking. This statement was made in a report made by the company based on a study conducted by their team with a focus on wrist wearables. What the team determined was that the PerformTek biometric tech that their company produced was able to deliver heart rate data when worn on the wrist to a degree that it was comparable to the readings collected by way of a chest strap.

The wearable technology research also indicated that the Apple Watch was not able to meet that goal.

The researchers found that the Apple Watch was particularly incapable of collecting accurate heart rate feedback during physical activity.

While it is important to note that this research that praises the PerformTek biometric technology was conducted by Valencell’s own team, meaning that it is more than likely that biases – deliberate or completely unintentional – could be present, this study does raise a very important point with regards to the accuracy of biometric information that is being collected by way of mobile devices.

Previous studies have indicated that many medical professionals and organizations are not yet comfortable recommending the use of wearables for the collection of fitness and medical data simply because they have not yet been adequately studied in order to know whether or not their feedback should be considered to be satisfactory as a basis for making medical or fitness recommendations.

Until the reliability of wearable technology biometric data can be improved and proven, it is likely that this factor will continue to hold back its adoption among the general public.

A new tech is being developed that would allow people with reduced vision to see using smartphones.

Scientists at the University of Lincoln, in the United Kingdom, are using the funding that they have received through a Google Faculty Research Award to come up with a new type of mobile technology that would allow people who have reduced vision to be able to see using smartphones or tablets.

The goal is to make it easier for these individuals to navigate indoor environments that are unfamiliar.

The Lincoln Center for Autonomous Systems now has a team at work on assistive tech that will be using mobile technology for color and depth sensing through smartphones and tablets, in conjunction with localization and 3D mapping, object recognition, and navigation, to help the visually impaired. The goal is to come up with an interface that will effectively relay information about the surrounding environment to users by way of sounds, vibrations, or spoken words.

This will take a common form of mobile technology and make it into an important assistive device.

According to the leader of the project, Dr. Nicola Bellotto, “This project will build on our previous research to create an interface that can be used to help people with visual impairments.” Dr. Bellotto is an expert on human-centered robotics and machine perception from the School of Computer Science at Lincoln.

He has pointed out that while there are many different types of visual aids currently available – from wearable sensors and cameras to guide dogs – each of them come with their own range of usability and acceptability drawbacks. That said, he added that “If people were able to use technology embedded in devices such as smartphones, it would not require them to wear extra equipment which could make them feel self-conscious.”

There are already certain mobile apps that exist that are meant to help users to be able to recognize the layout of a place or to identify an object, but the team at Lincoln is hoping to create something that reaches far beyond the current products. They want to use mobile technology that is specifically relevant to the visually impaired user.