Amazon Launches 'Amazon Halo' and 'Amazon Halo Band' - A New Membership based AI-based Health & Wellness Band & Tools

• Amazon Halo combines a suite of AI-powered health tools with an innovative and stylish wrist band
• Body feature uses new computer vision technology to give an accurate body fat percentage measurement from the comfort and privacy of home—as accurately as methods a doctor would use
• Tone feature uses machine learning to help customers get a more complete view of their health and wellness by understanding how they sound to others
• Use Amazon Halo to monitor Activity and Sleep; plus, discover new tips with Labs—guided programs that help customers discover healthier habits with content from Headspace, Orangetheory Fitness, SWEAT, WW, and more.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) today introduced Amazon Halo, a new service dedicated to helping customers improve their individual health and wellness. Amazon Halo combines a suite of AI-powered health features that provide actionable insights into overall wellness via the new Amazon Halo app with the Amazon Halo Band, which uses multiple advanced sensors to provide the highly accurate information necessary to power Halo insights. Customers in the U.S. can request early access to Amazon Halo starting today, with the Amazon Halo Band and 6 months of Halo membership available for a special price of $64.99. Learn more at www.amazon.com/haloband.

“Despite the rise in digital health services and devices over the last decade, we have not seen a corresponding improvement in population health in the U.S. We are using Amazon’s deep expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer customers a new way to discover, adopt, and maintain personalized wellness habits,” said Dr. Maulik Majmudar, Principal Medical Officer, Amazon Halo. “Health is much more than just the number of steps you take in a day or how many hours you sleep. Amazon Halo combines the latest medical science, highly accurate data via the Halo Band sensors, and cutting-edge artificial intelligence to offer a more comprehensive approach to improving your health and wellness.”

Amazon Halo Band—Comfortable, Stylish, and Distraction-Free

Amazon Halo Band is purpose-built to focus on your health and wellness—unlike smartwatches and fitness trackers, it doesn’t have a screen or constant notifications. The small sensor capsule delivers highly accurate data, and includes an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart rate monitor, two microphones, an LED indicator light, and a button to turn the microphones on or off, among other functions. Amazon Halo Band is water resistant for all-day wear and the comfortable fit means it won’t snag or irritate at night. Plus, the battery lasts up to seven days and fully charges in under 90 minutes. Customers can choose from three fabric band colors at purchase, with fabric and silicone sport accessory bands available in 15 additional colors.

A More Comprehensive Approach to Health and Wellness

The Amazon Halo app is a suite of five core features designed to give customers a comprehensive understanding of their health and wellness—and the tools to take action to make measurable improvements:

• Activity: Informed by American Heart Association physical activity guidelines and the latest medical research, Amazon Halo awards points based on the intensity and duration of movement, not just the number of steps taken. For example, customers will earn points for walking, but will earn more points for running. Medical guidelines also advise that a sedentary lifestyle can negatively impact health, so Amazon Halo deducts one activity point for every hour over eight hours of sedentary time in a day, outside of sleep. A baseline goal of 150 activity points is set and measured weekly.
• Sleep: The health benefits of consistently good, sufficient sleep are well documented—as are the potential negative health impacts of not enough or consistently poor sleep. Amazon Halo uses motion, heart rate, and temperature to measure time asleep and time awake; time spent in the various phases of sleep including deep, light, and REM; and skin temperature while sleeping. The sensors in the band allow for continuous sleep monitoring, so customers get rich, detailed information without having to charge the band every day. In the morning, Amazon Halo delivers a sleep score out of 100, any deviation from baseline sleep temperature, and a hypnogram showing time spent in each sleep phase.
• Body: Medical research has shown for years that body fat percentage is a better measure of overall health than just weight or body mass index (BMI) alone, but the tools that measure body fat percentage can be expensive or difficult to access. Using new innovations in computer vision and machine learning, Amazon Halo lets customers measure their body fat percentage from the comfort and privacy of their own home, making this important information easily accessible. The Amazon Halo body fat measurement is as accurate as methods a doctor would use—and nearly twice as accurate as leading at-home smart scales. Learn more about the Body feature.
• Tone: The globally accepted definition of health includes not just physical but also social and emotional well-being. The innovative Tone feature uses machine learning to analyze energy and positivity in a customer’s voice so they can better understand how they may sound to others, helping improve their communication and relationships. For example, Tone results may reveal that a difficult work call leads to less positivity in communication with a customer’s family, an indication of the impact of stress on emotional well-being. Learn more about the Tone feature.
• Labs: AmazonHalo Labs are science-backed challenges, experiments, and workouts that allow customers to discover what works best for them specifically, so they can build healthier habits—for example, some customers might discover that cutting out afternoon caffeine improves their sleep quality, or that a certain type of at-home workout is more effective than others. Customers can choose from labs created by Amazon Halo experts, as well as brands and personalities they already know, including 8fit, Aaptiv, American Heart Association, Exhale On Demand, Harvard Health Publishing, Headspace, Julian Treasure, Lifesum, Mayo Clinic, Openfit, Orangetheory Fitness, P.volve, Russell Wilson, Relax Melodies, SWEAT, and WW. Additional content from more providers will be added to Labs regularly.

“The American Heart Association is excited about technology that focuses on new and interesting ways for people to improve their cardiovascular health, quality of life, and healthy life years. We’re thrilled to see companies like Amazon innovating in this space,” said Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., MPH, Chief Medical Officer for Prevention, American Heart Association. “The Association is committed to helping people live longer, healthier lives—both physically and mentally. The first step is knowing your current status, and features like Body composition are important advances. Through our Center for Health Technology and Innovation, we are pleased to provide our evidence-based science as part of this solution, which we believe has the potential to drive behavior change towards healthier lives.”

Privacy by Design

Privacy is foundational to Amazon Halo, and multiple layers of privacy and security are built into the service to keep data safe and in customers’ control. Health data is encrypted in transit and in the cloud, and customers can download or delete their data at any time directly from the app. Body scan images are automatically deleted from the cloud after processing, so only the customer sees them. Tone is enabled by creating a personal voice profile, after which it begins capturing short samples of speech and providing insights and daily recaps. Speech samples are always analyzed locally on the customer’s phone and automatically deleted after processing—nobody, not even the customer, ever hears them. Learn more about Amazon Halo privacy features.

Get More with Third Party Program Integrations

Amazon has collaborated with leading health and wellness companies to enable customers to connect their Amazon Halo account to third party programs for even more ways to enhance their health journey. Account linking occurs via the explicit opt-in of the Amazon Halo customer and they can opt back out any time directly from the Halo app.

Members of both WW (formerly Weight Watchers) and Amazon Halo can choose to link their accounts to share Halo Activity information, which the WW app translates to FitPoints. Amazon Halo members also have access to all of WW’s labs any time in the Halo app. WW will offer a variety of promotions, including the ability to get a free Amazon Halo Band and 6 months of membership as part of signing up for a new WW membership. Learn more. “WW is committed to inspiring healthy habits for real life and we are continuously looking for ways to enhance the WW ecosystem. The Amazon Halo Body composition tool is an important complement to weight measurement, and we are thrilled our members will have access to this information on a regular basis from the comfort and privacy of their own homes,” said Mindy Grossman, CEO, WW. “WW members who previewed the Body feature said it was highly motivating in their journey and we are excited to offer WW members a more comprehensive understanding of their wellness through Amazon Halo."

Amazon Halo will be the featured complimentary wearable for the John Hancock Vitality wellness program, including three years of Halo membership. Vitality members can choose to link their Amazon Halo Band to their account to earn Vitality Points for the things they do to try to live longer, healthier lives. Learn more. “At John Hancock, we are committed to helping our customers live longer, healthier lives. We know Amazon shares this goal and are excited to integrate with Amazon Halo and continue to transform the role our industry plays in our customers’ lives,” said Brooks Tingle, President and CEO, John Hancock Insurance. “This strategic endeavor allows us to offer our customers the latest in insights-driven personal health technology that can help them improve their overall wellness. We believe these enhancements will have a positive impact for our customers.”

Amazon Halo is now integrated into Cerner solutions to enable consumers to easily share health information with their care teams and directly into their electronic health record (EHR). Amazon Halo members will be able to share their body fat percentage with participating care providers as well as activity and sleep data with Cerner Consumer Well-being programs. Sharp HealthCare is the first Cerner client to benefit from this collaboration. “For more than 40 years, Cerner has ushered in health care’s digital age by moving medical data from paper to electronic health records. Now we are seeking breakthrough innovation focused on making the health care experience more seamless and insightful,” said Brent Shafer, Chairman and CEO, Cerner. “Integrating the revolutionary body fat percentage measurement from Amazon Halo directly into the EHR provides physicians an actionable and previously hard to obtain health metric without the need for a doctor’s visit or costly technology. We believe our collaboration with Amazon Halo has the potential to improve the health of individuals and populations, reduce health care costs, and increase satisfaction for consumers and clinicians alike.”

Pricing, Availability, and Colors

Customers in the U.S. can request early access to Amazon Halo starting today. Through the early access period, Amazon Halo will be available for a special price of $64.99 including 6 months of Halo membership (regular price: $99.99). The membership automatically renews for $3.99 per month after the initial 6 months. The membership unlocks access to all Amazon Halo features; non-members will have access to the basics, including steps, sleep time, and heart rate.

Customers can choose from three color combinations for their Amazon Halo Band: a Black fabric band with an Onyx sensor capsule, a Blush fabric band with a Rose Gold sensor capsule, or a Winter fabric band with a Silver sensor capsule. Customers can purchase fabric accessory bands for the special early access price of $19.99 each. Six additional fabric color options include: Denim, Hummingbird, Mint Edge, Olive, Unicorn, and Volcano. Customers can purchase sport accessory bands for the special early access price of $15.99 each, with nine color options available: Ash, Black, Dark Mint, Domino, Lavender, Pink Slate, Seafoam, Sunset, and White.

The Amazon Halo app is available on iOS and Android.

SOURCE - Press.AboutAmazon.com

How Are Smartwatches Leading the Smart Wearables Revolution Around the Globe

Technology has evolved leaps and bounds to engulf our lives for the better. Lively innovations in the smart wearable segment have made it into one of the biggest industries in the world. The demand for smart wearable technology is on an upward trend as these devices are steadily becoming a necessity for the general public.

Studies conducted by Stastica are a testament to the increasing numbers of smart wearable users. These numbers will continue to rise as new modifications improve our smart wearable experience.

Advancements in research have been leading to increased innovation in the recent years and have been instrumental in driving the demand for the wearable market and led to new product categories like the smart fabrics and hearable, among others.

Investments by the likes of ICT Fund to propel Asian smart wearable brands like KaHa have come as a huge boost for the industry in Asia.

Smartwatches constitute a major portion of smart wearable sales and are crucial to the growth of this industry. Before getting in depth about the smartwatch analysis, let's talk about some other smart wearables in the market that have been making waves.

Different types of smart wearables in the market in 2019:

• WEARABLES FOR ASSAULT PROTECTION:

With a spike in the numbers of rape cases and assaults across the nation, it was only logical for manufacturers to come up with wearables that protect you against such untoward incidents.  Such a wearable is simply a gadget that is camouflaged as an attachment to the garment and made to detect falls and force. These wearables connect with your smartphones via Bluetooth and are capable of sending emergency texts or alarms as distress communications to your loved ones. Some of these are even capable of recording evidence for further legal actions against the accused.

• SMART RINGS:

Smart rings might seem like devices straight out of a sci-fi movie of the 20th century. These tiny wearables went viral for all the right reasons when they were first launched. These are especially popular among businessmen and individuals who spend most of their time in meetings and want to get notifications without attracting much attention. Smart rings are perfect for people who like to keep their wrists free.

• FITNESS TRACKERS:

A must for every fitness enthusiast in the modern era, fitness trackers are the second most popular and widely sold smart wearable devices behind smartwatches. Rising health issues due to sedentary lifestyle have attributed to the popularity of these devices. Another great selling factor of fitness trackers is their low cost and capability of capturing health data on a wider scope than big medical equipment.

• MEDICAL WEARABLES:

There is an increasing demand in the use of medical wearables owing to its affordability and convenience as opposed to routine check-ups that not only comes at a cost but also expensive. The latest advancement has seen these devices now capable of collecting highly accurate health data and connect remotely to the personal physician who will then be able to monitor your health progress and also check if you are correctly using your medications. Medical wearables include the likes of Google smart lenses, health patch MD, Cloud DX vitality and iTBra.

Why are smartwatches leading the bandwagon?

Not all of us like to have a screen strapped on our wrists, but who does not like the convenience of tracking workouts and responding to notifications without reaching for a phone?

Smartwatches are fantastic tools to enhance our comfort and elevate our interactivity with technology.

Owing to the increasing penetration rates of urbanization, the demand for aesthetically appealing advanced featured products with the ability to better serve the consumers' daily requirements, such as time schedules, has driven the market for smartwatches, globally.

In addition, the ongoing technological advancements by the companies are the primary factors stimulating the growth of smartwatches, as it is a completely technical product that requires constant research and development for differentiated features. Today the smartwatches supports various types of gaming, you can even play casino in india, don’t be surprised if James Bond makes a few bets at online roulette from his wrist...

Smartwatches are multi-functional as they do so much more than just check the time. Smartwatches can work as fitness tracking devices, enable you to attend to calls, make payments through NFC, etc.

Great smartwatches to opt for:

There are tons of smartwatches from different manufacturers in the market right now. This could make it tricky for a layman to choose the best of the lot. To ease your burden, we have compiled a few smartwatches that tick most, if not all the right boxes.

• SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ACTIVE:

The latest wearable from Samsung's stable, the galaxy watch active is a much lighter and compact improvement over its predecessors. Samsung has already established itself as a leading smartphone manufacturer and compliments its phones well with its smartwatch line up. The galaxy watch active boasts of a 1.1-inch circular Super AMOLED screen, an Exynos 9110 processor, 4GB of internal storage, and a 230mAh battery. It houses plenty of sensors and wireless features, including Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, NFC for Samsung Pay, GPS, a heart rate sensor, and an ambient light sensor. It is also fairly inexpensive than many major direct competitors.

• APPLE WATCH SERIES 4:

The Apple watch series has an iconic status in the smartwatch segment. Although limited to iOS devices only, this line up of watches by Apple has seen sales in millions over the world. The Series 4 promises an unmatched seamless experience with iPhones and packs in two size options with a variety of colour options. It features a square1.78″ LTPO OLED display, Apple S4 chipset and 16 GB storage. It also has all the bells and whistles that you would expect from a high-end smartwatch but takes it up a notch with its ECG rated best in class heart monitor.

• TICWATCH PRO

Although a lesser-known name in the smartwatch market, the Ticwatch pro is the smartwatch for you if you want the best of both worlds - Android and iOS. This smartwatch comes with the WearOS and has two displays, one layered on top of the other. On the top is a transparent LCD display that can display the time, your heart rate and more when the battery is low.

Below that is a bright and bold OLED that will give you all of the benefits of Wear OS.

Conclusion/ CTA:

The Asian markets are especially flooded with competitively priced smart wearables spanning many platforms.

Smart wearables are not just mere luxury accessories anymore. They have taken a much more important role of supplementing our smartphones for a better, more intuitive connectivity.

As technology advances leaps and bounds, the smart wearable industry will see tremendous growth led by smartwatches.

Bad News: Wearable Devices Have High Drop-out Rate, Says Gartner Report

A recent Gartner survey has found out a rather shocking fact. According to it, the current drop-out rate of smartwatches comes out at a high 29 percent, and the abandonment rate among fitness trackers is even higher at 30 percent.

The survey by Gartner's personal technologies study was taken online by a total of 9,592 respondents from the UK, the US and Australia between the period of June to August this year. The survey aimed to track the respondents true feelings/attitudes towards wearable tech, especially know about their buying behaviours when it comes to spending on fitness trackers, virtual reality glasses, and smartwatches.

According to the research firm's survey results, the drop-out rate in smartwatches stood at 29 per cent, and 30 per cent for fitness trackers because people do not find these wearables useful after buying, or they get bored of them too soon or they break in a short interval of time.

The results showed that there is an urgent need for a more a compelling value proposition of these wearables in order to drive in greater adoption.

Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, termed the survey results as a "serious problem" for the industry as the abandonment rate turned out be quite high relative to the usage rate.

According to McIntyre, the wearable makers can offer users a more compelling value proposition by ensuring that the uses of the wearable devices are more distinct from what smartphones typically provide. They can engage people with gamification and incentives.

The survey showed that at 10 percent, smartwatch adoption is still in its early adopter stage, while fitness trackers have managed to reach early mainstream with 19 percent adoption rate. Further, only 8 percent of the 9,592 respondents surveyed had used VR glasses/head-mounted displays.

Gartner survey results showed that that people typically bought smartwatches and fitness trackers for their own use, with 34 percent of fitness trackers and 26 percent of smartwatches were bought to be given as gifts.

The survey found that with a 12 percent usage, the US is the leading smartwatch user, the UK comes second at 9 percent and Australia stands third at 7 percent. The US also stood first at fitness tracker usage with 23 percent usage, with the UK at 15 per cent and Australia at 19 per cent.

The survey respondents felt that the wearable devices are priced too high, in comparison to their usefulness. This ends up giving wearable device providers with not so popular brand name an opportunity to provide the users with wearables that are good quality but priced significantly lower than the top brands products.

India's MadRat Games Launches World’s 1st Wearable Gaming Platform for Kids at CES 2016

Bengaluru-based MadRat Games today announced the prototype launch of SuperSuit, world’s first wearable gaming platform for kids & families at CES 2016 in Vegas. SuperSuit is a wearable gaming platform that reduces screen time, increases social interaction, physical activities and takes kids & families outdoors to play with each other.

SuperSuit is a wearable gaming platform which can be used to play various types of games. It takes kids & families outdoors and interact with one another. It supports exciting but non-violent games. Above all, it is the coolest thing to play on! SuperSuit is designed for the new play space of the 21st century - the emerging ‘Third Space’, a space between the screen-dominated indoors & the vanishing outdoors. It’s the backyards, frontyards, parking lots, basements, terraces, corridors, streets in the neighborhood where the majority of play is happening today.



SuperSuit, as the company describe, is designed for the new play space of the 21st century - the emerging 'Third Space', a space between the screen-dominated indoors & the vanishing outdoors. It's the backyards, front yards, parking lots, basements, terraces, corridors, streets in the neighbourhood where the majority of play is happening today.

Commenting on the launch Rajat Dhariwal, Founder MadRat Games said, "We are excited to announce the launch of SuperSuit today at CES. SuperSuit aims to take away kids from screen dominated games. I feel SuperSuit is the future of gaming."

Rajat further added, "For children, outdoor play is already the favourite mode – they are unable to do that due to shrinking outdoors in cities & urban spaces and restrictions on them due to safety concerns in suburbs. There is a growing feeling of restraint & lack of freedom, and kids can claim that freedom back with SuperSuit."



SuperSuit has two units – Vest and Glove. The Vest records hits & displays scores (in form of lights, audio and haptic feedback). The Glove enables the interactivity between players with triggers to send beams. It incorporates a proprietary gesture engine which allows a wide range of gestures which trigger special powers, creating the charm of telekinesis!

Additionally, the system supports external 'Bots' (from RC cars to the new age connected toys) to be connected to & controlled by it. SuperSuit’s SDK allows developers to create new games for it. SuperSuit’s companion smartphone app allows the parents to monitor children’s fitness data & track their location for safety purpose. It does so via Bluetooth – which is also used for downloading new titles, upgrade firmware and maintain player profile and data.

You can pre-order your SuperSuit by registering here at- http://www.wearsupersuit.com/#!pre-order/u2cqn

For demo of SuperSuit at CES 2016, one may swing at the company's booth no -74669, Sands Expo, Level 2

India's MadRat Games Launches World’s 1st Wearable Gaming Platform for Kids at CES 2016

Bengaluru-based MadRat Games today announced the prototype launch of SuperSuit, world’s first wearable gaming platform for kids & families at CES 2016 in Vegas. SuperSuit is a wearable gaming platform that reduces screen time, increases social interaction, physical activities and takes kids & families outdoors to play with each other.

SuperSuit is a wearable gaming platform which can be used to play various types of games. It takes kids & families outdoors and interact with one another. It supports exciting but non-violent games. Above all, it is the coolest thing to play on! SuperSuit is designed for the new play space of the 21st century - the emerging ‘Third Space’, a space between the screen-dominated indoors & the vanishing outdoors. It’s the backyards, frontyards, parking lots, basements, terraces, corridors, streets in the neighborhood where the majority of play is happening today.



SuperSuit, as the company describe, is designed for the new play space of the 21st century - the emerging 'Third Space', a space between the screen-dominated indoors & the vanishing outdoors. It's the backyards, front yards, parking lots, basements, terraces, corridors, streets in the neighbourhood where the majority of play is happening today.

Commenting on the launch Rajat Dhariwal, Founder MadRat Games said, "We are excited to announce the launch of SuperSuit today at CES. SuperSuit aims to take away kids from screen dominated games. I feel SuperSuit is the future of gaming."

Rajat further added, "For children, outdoor play is already the favourite mode – they are unable to do that due to shrinking outdoors in cities & urban spaces and restrictions on them due to safety concerns in suburbs. There is a growing feeling of restraint & lack of freedom, and kids can claim that freedom back with SuperSuit."



SuperSuit has two units – Vest and Glove. The Vest records hits & displays scores (in form of lights, audio and haptic feedback). The Glove enables the interactivity between players with triggers to send beams. It incorporates a proprietary gesture engine which allows a wide range of gestures which trigger special powers, creating the charm of telekinesis!

Additionally, the system supports external 'Bots' (from RC cars to the new age connected toys) to be connected to & controlled by it. SuperSuit’s SDK allows developers to create new games for it. SuperSuit’s companion smartphone app allows the parents to monitor children’s fitness data & track their location for safety purpose. It does so via Bluetooth – which is also used for downloading new titles, upgrade firmware and maintain player profile and data.

You can pre-order your SuperSuit by registering here at- http://www.wearsupersuit.com/#!pre-order/u2cqn

For demo of SuperSuit at CES 2016, one may swing at the company's booth no -74669, Sands Expo, Level 2

Google Unveils 'Project Soli', A Radar-Based Wearable To Control Anything

Are wearables your thing? Then, this particular thing is surely going to blow your gizmo crazy brains off.

When we normally talk about a wearable, most of us automatically think that it’s another watch wearable in town. Well, this time, thing again. Because this time, the wearable isn’t a watch, it’s you. Yes, YOU. Sounds crazy and unbelievable, right? Read on.

Google ATAP- the technology giant’s skunkworks division which creates all the cool things that we actually use nowadays, is ready with another wonderful offering for its tech crazy customers. The division recently teased everyone with talks of a new wearable that had the potential to “literally” blow everyone socks off at its session held at Google I/O.

Google ATAP believes that one’s hands are the best way to interact with a device, but, unfortunately, not everything is a device. Known as Project Solis, the wearable plans to make your fingers and hands the only interface you would ever require. It's essentially a tiny radar-based sensor that lets you control devices with your fingers as the interface – no touchscreen required.

In order to make this thing come true; the wearable is actually a radar that is so tiny that it fits easily into a wearable like smartwatch for example. The tiny radar will be able to pick one’s movements in real-time and use those movements to alter its signals.

When at rest, the hand actually moves slightly, which ends up as a baseline response on the tiny radar. Moving your hand from one side to another in relation to the tiny radar will also end up changing the amplitude and signal. Crossing your finger or folding it into a fist also affects the signal and changes it.

In order to make sense and use of the signal to a service or an application, ATAP plans to make use of APIs that will enter into the deep machine learning of the wearable.

Though it’s still in its early stages but this new wearable has surely given something to the tech crazy people to wait for and look forward to. A device that changes your hands into a User-Interface is surely a big invention. You go, Google!

Gurgaon's Internet Of Things Startup Developing Personal Safety Jewellery Line For Women & Senior Citizen

Wearable devices are a hot topic these days, and are now at the heart of just about every discussion related to the Internet of Things (IoT).The wearable devices' question on many minds these days is "Are wearable devices going to just be peripherals for a smart phone, or is there a more important role for them as part of the Internet of Things?" If we are really moving towards a more pervasive deployment of intelligence into just about everything in our environment, shouldn't this apply to wearable devices too?

One of the paramount functions that wearable devices are already delivering are related to security. And this is exactly where Whistle-SOS app, a product of Majhe, one of the first Internet of Wearable Things Company in India, has stepped into the market, bringing up a personal safety jewellery line for women and senior citizen available for pre-order starting with price tag of Rs.1680.

Sidharth Madan, the co-founder and the CEO at the firm, says "Whistle wishes to be the kind of a 'Bat-signal' to the entire world. Whistle SOS is a mobile application that aims to provide security to its user with the help of hardware device that can be integrated with app. It will send your location to your emergency contacts whenever you are in problem just by triggering the button on your hardware device. It works with your smartphone, smart watches, Google Glass and with keychain, necklace pendant made by us." Sidharth, who was previously working with HSBC, Hong Kong, went to HKUST in Hong Kong to study computer science and business."

Nilang Parikh, the co-founder and the CTO, met Sidharth online through the Stanford Entrepreneurship course. He says "One of the features apart from sending your location to your emergency contacts is that this app will also show you the locations of any nearby police stations and hospitals. Also, it will sound off a loud alarm through your smartphone speakers which will scare away the culprit and alert nearby people." Based out of New Delhi and New york, Nilang worked for Intel for 7 years before stepping into this entrepreneurial world.

The start-up is located in Gurgaon is bootstrapped and as of now funded by family and friends of the founding members.



Mohit Arora, who is the Chief Product Officer, is a NIFT-Delhi alumnus. He reflects upon the accessibility of the app saying "We are currently available for the android users on Google play store. Once you download the app from Google Play store, you can create your profile and login with your Google account."

If you’re passionate about building reliable and professional Android/iOS applications and have strong experience with related technologies, the company might be interested to hire you. Get in touch.

Whistle Hardware Device is available for pre-order at Rs.1680 only. Sign up on their website www.whistleapp.co to get details.

This Intel's Wearable Device For Your Baby Let You Know Why Your Baby Is Crying

In order to make the lives of new parents easier, Rest Devices has come up with a device called the Mimo Baby. Reading a baby’s comfort or discomfort is the most difficult part of being a new parent but this latest invention from Intel will make it a child’s play. Being called as the new baby monitor of the future, Mimo Baby will help parents monitor real data of their infants other than movement of blankets or cooing with the help from first generation microphone based monitors or baby cams.

Wearable Technology seems to be the flavor of the season. Majority of vendors showcasing their products at the CES 2014 made one thing very clear: the wearable technology is a technology of the future.

The "smart baby onesie" displayed at the Intel's CES 2014 booth drew maximum crowd. The most surprising fact was that the smart baby onesie was not just like any other concept in the pipeline but rather a final product ready to be launched in the market.



The Mimo Baby has two green strips on the front, across the chest of the baby which acts as respiratory sensors. The sensors keep the parents informed about any changes in the baby’s respiratory rate. The sensors could come as great respite for patients with asthma or croup. Additionally, a removable turtle shaped device with sensors is clipped on front that allows the monitoring of baby’s heart rate, body temperature and activity level. Data from the Mimo Baby can be accessed by parents in real time using a smartphone iOS/ Android mobile app.

The Mimo Baby is run by an Intel chip microprocessor from inside. The chip is built into a dual core Edison PC, which is the size of a SD card. While the Edison version of the Mimo Baby won’t be available until the summer this year, a non-Edison version has already hit the markets last month. The three onesies and the turtle clip are being sold at $199.00 as a starter kit and a two pack of onesies are available for $29 for babies with sizes from 0-12 months.

Mimobaby - How It Works

This Intel's Wearable Device For Your Baby Let You Know Why Your Baby Is Crying

In order to make the lives of new parents easier, Rest Devices has come up with a device called the Mimo Baby. Reading a baby’s comfort or discomfort is the most difficult part of being a new parent but this latest invention from Intel will make it a child’s play. Being called as the new baby monitor of the future, Mimo Baby will help parents monitor real data of their infants other than movement of blankets or cooing with the help from first generation microphone based monitors or baby cams.

Wearable Technology seems to be the flavor of the season. Majority of vendors showcasing their products at the CES 2014 made one thing very clear: the wearable technology is a technology of the future.

The "smart baby onesie" displayed at the Intel's CES 2014 booth drew maximum crowd. The most surprising fact was that the smart baby onesie was not just like any other concept in the pipeline but rather a final product ready to be launched in the market.



The Mimo Baby has two green strips on the front, across the chest of the baby which acts as respiratory sensors. The sensors keep the parents informed about any changes in the baby’s respiratory rate. The sensors could come as great respite for patients with asthma or croup. Additionally, a removable turtle shaped device with sensors is clipped on front that allows the monitoring of baby’s heart rate, body temperature and activity level. Data from the Mimo Baby can be accessed by parents in real time using a smartphone iOS/ Android mobile app.

The Mimo Baby is run by an Intel chip microprocessor from inside. The chip is built into a dual core Edison PC, which is the size of a SD card. While the Edison version of the Mimo Baby won’t be available until the summer this year, a non-Edison version has already hit the markets last month. The three onesies and the turtle clip are being sold at $199.00 as a starter kit and a two pack of onesies are available for $29 for babies with sizes from 0-12 months.

Mimobaby - How It Works

Jumpy, An Open-Platform Smartwatch Just For Kids

We are now a part of the Alpha generation, where having a virtual presence is considered more important than having a physical presence. No doubt that the coming up all these hi-tech gadgets and technology has had a huge positive influence on our work and professional life but somewhere our personal life and relationships have gone for a toss.  The technology which was invented to lend a helping hand to the humankind has now turned into a serious addiction. The worst affected are the kids. The time which they should spend playing outdoor games is now being spent laying on the couch staring at a screen. Is your kid also one of them? Worry no more because Joyray tech has come up with a smartwatch designed exclusively for kids which not only educate, entertain them but also encourage parent-child interaction. Sounds interesting? Read on.

Jumpy from Joyray tech is a smartwatch exclusively designed for kids of age 5-8. The watch is compatible with iOS and Android devices and has Bluetooth connectivity and motion sensing technology which allows it to interact with other Jumpys, iPads, iPhones and Bluetooth smart toys.



What makes Jumpy different from all the other kids Smartwatches in the market is the fact that unlike them Jumpy not only help the parents keep a tab on their kids activities but also acts as a daily activity reminder, wrist controller for Bluetooth toys and a messaging tool. Jumpy combines the best of education and entertainment as it comes with some very interesting pre-loaded educational gaming applications which allows Jumpy to interact with other Jumpys and compatible applications on iOS devices. Jumpy promotes creative thinking and a healthy lifestyle among kids.

Jumpy's core unit is similar to the ARK Reactor of Iron Man. It is a detachable and stand alone smart module which acts as the heart and soul of the watch. By removing it from the wristband, kids will be able to play compatible interactive apps and games with their parents on iPads.

Jumpy also acts as your kid's best friend. It creates a friendly, virtual dog for them which talks to them and makes funny gestures just like a normal dog. The watch also allows you to monitor your kid’s daily activities. If the watch senses a prolonged period of inactivity, its virtual dog will remind the kid about it and encourage him or her to get active.



In order to attract the attention of the kids, Jumpy has been launched in a variety of fun colors like Capitan Blue, TMNT green, Clobberin’ Orange and Barbie Pink.  On the top of it, the watch band is interchangeable and can be changed accordingly to suit your kids’ mood or style. The watch has an oversized 1.6 inch touchscreen.

Jerry Chang, Founder and CEO, Joyray, believes that the key to creating a kids’ smartwatch with enduring appeal is to provide an open SDK and release new apps by Joyray and third party developers every month.

Jumpy is currently on Kickstarter, where it has raised around $64,000 till now, of the $100,000 it wants to reach by December 18. Jumpy’s Kickstarter price is $99 and it is scheduled to ship in March next year.

Jumpy, An Open-Platform Smartwatch Just For Kids

We are now a part of the Alpha generation, where having a virtual presence is considered more important than having a physical presence. No doubt that the coming up all these hi-tech gadgets and technology has had a huge positive influence on our work and professional life but somewhere our personal life and relationships have gone for a toss.  The technology which was invented to lend a helping hand to the humankind has now turned into a serious addiction. The worst affected are the kids. The time which they should spend playing outdoor games is now being spent laying on the couch staring at a screen. Is your kid also one of them? Worry no more because Joyray tech has come up with a smartwatch designed exclusively for kids which not only educate, entertain them but also encourage parent-child interaction. Sounds interesting? Read on.

Jumpy from Joyray tech is a smartwatch exclusively designed for kids of age 5-8. The watch is compatible with iOS and Android devices and has Bluetooth connectivity and motion sensing technology which allows it to interact with other Jumpys, iPads, iPhones and Bluetooth smart toys.



What makes Jumpy different from all the other kids Smartwatches in the market is the fact that unlike them Jumpy not only help the parents keep a tab on their kids activities but also acts as a daily activity reminder, wrist controller for Bluetooth toys and a messaging tool. Jumpy combines the best of education and entertainment as it comes with some very interesting pre-loaded educational gaming applications which allows Jumpy to interact with other Jumpys and compatible applications on iOS devices. Jumpy promotes creative thinking and a healthy lifestyle among kids.

Jumpy's core unit is similar to the ARK Reactor of Iron Man. It is a detachable and stand alone smart module which acts as the heart and soul of the watch. By removing it from the wristband, kids will be able to play compatible interactive apps and games with their parents on iPads.

Jumpy also acts as your kid's best friend. It creates a friendly, virtual dog for them which talks to them and makes funny gestures just like a normal dog. The watch also allows you to monitor your kid’s daily activities. If the watch senses a prolonged period of inactivity, its virtual dog will remind the kid about it and encourage him or her to get active.



In order to attract the attention of the kids, Jumpy has been launched in a variety of fun colors like Capitan Blue, TMNT green, Clobberin’ Orange and Barbie Pink.  On the top of it, the watch band is interchangeable and can be changed accordingly to suit your kids’ mood or style. The watch has an oversized 1.6 inch touchscreen.

Jerry Chang, Founder and CEO, Joyray, believes that the key to creating a kids’ smartwatch with enduring appeal is to provide an open SDK and release new apps by Joyray and third party developers every month.

Jumpy is currently on Kickstarter, where it has raised around $64,000 till now, of the $100,000 it wants to reach by December 18. Jumpy’s Kickstarter price is $99 and it is scheduled to ship in March next year.

Tech Mahindra Developing World's 1st 'Goggles For Blind'

Goggles for the blind. Sounds impossible? Well, Kunal Bhat, an employee with Tech Mahindra, has made this impossible thing possible.  He got the idea for the goggles when he bumped straight into a wall while climbing down a dimly lit staircase lost in his thoughts. This experience of his got him thinking about all the hardships the visually impaired people might have to face on a daily basis because of their condition. He decided not just to think and forget but to do something productive for these people and this is how he came up with the goggles.

The goggles have been incubated by Bhat's employer, Tech Mahindra. The goggles are the company's first innovation product. They have also filed a patent for the goggles and have no immediate plans of putting them on sale. Further, the company has plans of making the goggles a part of its corporate social responsibility over the next one year.

The company is currently running a pilot along with two involuntary organisations in Bangalore. Around six visually impaired people from non-governmental organizations have also volunteered to be a part of the user trials.

How Goggles Work -

The phone camera scans the user's environment and analysis the potential object of collision using algorithm. It calculates their distance and position from the user and passed on this information wirelessly to the smart glass.

The google's glasses are equipped with haptic feedback. So if there's a chair to the user's left and another to the right, the feedback mechanism will give the user a "feel" of how the world in a radius of 5ft is organized around him or her through a vibration.

The user can get a continuous "feel" of things in his or her path and thus form a 3D mental image of surroundings. He or she will also be able to anticipate obstacles much earlier than the white cane.

The next version of the goggles is expected to have features like audio feedback, context-sensitive analysis, location and direction feedback, cloudbased analysis, collective intelligence and inter-device communication.

The goggles recently made Bhat win a contest for the best innovative design concept. The goggles will help the visually impaired as by wearing them, they will be able to sense things in their path and then form a three dimensional mental image of the surroundings while anticipating obstacles much earlier than they could with the white cane.

The goggles have been paired with a smartphone which has a specialized smart glass. The Smartphone’s camera has the task to scan the user’s environment and then analyze it for any potential objects of collision by making use of algorithms. It then calculates the object’s position from the user and conveys the information to the smart glass wirelessly.

Tech Mahindra sees a great potential in the product and is looking at it as an investment. “Any big company will look at next leap in technology or rather, at spaces where the next billion dollars will come from,” said Sirisha Voruganti, Global head-innovation, Tech Mahindra in a statement to the Economic Times.

Tech Mahindra Developing World's 1st 'Goggles For Blind'

Goggles for the blind. Sounds impossible? Well, Kunal Bhat, an employee with Tech Mahindra, has made this impossible thing possible.  He got the idea for the goggles when he bumped straight into a wall while climbing down a dimly lit staircase lost in his thoughts. This experience of his got him thinking about all the hardships the visually impaired people might have to face on a daily basis because of their condition. He decided not just to think and forget but to do something productive for these people and this is how he came up with the goggles.

The goggles have been incubated by Bhat's employer, Tech Mahindra. The goggles are the company's first innovation product. They have also filed a patent for the goggles and have no immediate plans of putting them on sale. Further, the company has plans of making the goggles a part of its corporate social responsibility over the next one year.

The company is currently running a pilot along with two involuntary organisations in Bangalore. Around six visually impaired people from non-governmental organizations have also volunteered to be a part of the user trials.

How Goggles Work -

The phone camera scans the user's environment and analysis the potential object of collision using algorithm. It calculates their distance and position from the user and passed on this information wirelessly to the smart glass.

The google's glasses are equipped with haptic feedback. So if there's a chair to the user's left and another to the right, the feedback mechanism will give the user a "feel" of how the world in a radius of 5ft is organized around him or her through a vibration.

The user can get a continuous "feel" of things in his or her path and thus form a 3D mental image of surroundings. He or she will also be able to anticipate obstacles much earlier than the white cane.

The next version of the goggles is expected to have features like audio feedback, context-sensitive analysis, location and direction feedback, cloudbased analysis, collective intelligence and inter-device communication.

The goggles recently made Bhat win a contest for the best innovative design concept. The goggles will help the visually impaired as by wearing them, they will be able to sense things in their path and then form a three dimensional mental image of the surroundings while anticipating obstacles much earlier than they could with the white cane.

The goggles have been paired with a smartphone which has a specialized smart glass. The Smartphone’s camera has the task to scan the user’s environment and then analyze it for any potential objects of collision by making use of algorithms. It then calculates the object’s position from the user and conveys the information to the smart glass wirelessly.

Tech Mahindra sees a great potential in the product and is looking at it as an investment. “Any big company will look at next leap in technology or rather, at spaces where the next billion dollars will come from,” said Sirisha Voruganti, Global head-innovation, Tech Mahindra in a statement to the Economic Times.

Toshiba Glass Is Another Google Glass-Like Wearable But More Affordable

Toshiba is all set to enter the smart glasses market. Owning a smart glass that lets you interact with your phone has been almost everyone’s secret dream but the only thing holding us back in fulfilling our dream has been its humongous price. Toshiba, it seems, has taken a note of this problem and come up with Toshiba glass, which is rumored to be much cheaper than the market leader Google glass.

The $1500 Google glass which is currently leading the wearable face computer space works by putting the guts of your Android Smartphone on your head so that it can project pictures, graphics, texts and videos etc. on a small prism just above the users eye.

Toshiba has showcased a prototype of the Toshiba Glass at the Ceatec trade show that was held in Japan in October this year. The Toshiba glass will have a tiny lightweight projector clipped onto one of its arms near the lens. The projector is central to the working of the glass as it displays an image that reflects off the inside of the lens to provide an augmented real type display. Toshiba glasses can be expected to hit the markets anytime in 2015.

Toshiba glass might not able to edge Google glass out of the market but it will surely give it a run for its money. The Toshiba glass works on almost the same principle as the Google glass, as both of them have in-built projectors but unlike the Google glass, the Smart glass by Toshiba don’t come with a prism over the lens to reflect the image into the eye. Instead, the glasses lens in Toshiba glass itself comprises of a series of narrow, vertical prisms. They are not at all visible when one looks straight through the lens of the device, but an image from an angle gets reflected back into the eye.



The Toshiba glass is impressive but it is still a several miles away from its competitor Google glass.  First of all, the glasses are not wireless and needs to be connected to your Smartphone in order to function. According to Toshiba, this is because a separate battery for the projector would have made the glasses very heavy. Wearing a device with a cable connected to it 24/7 can act as a huge deal breaker for the Toshiba product. The second reason where Toshiba glass fails is that it isn’t a full blown computer. It works just as a display system that connects to your Android phone.

The glasses let the user interact with smartphone apps in a way that they might have only imagined but never thought would be possible. For example, you could get directions while driving, view health data while using fitness apps and view instructions while working in the field.

The Toshiba Glass will offer three types of frames-sporty, standard and industrial. The industrial frames will be like the goggles that one wears in a laboratory.

Toshiba Glass Is Another Google Glass-Like Wearable But More Affordable

Toshiba is all set to enter the smart glasses market. Owning a smart glass that lets you interact with your phone has been almost everyone’s secret dream but the only thing holding us back in fulfilling our dream has been its humongous price. Toshiba, it seems, has taken a note of this problem and come up with Toshiba glass, which is rumored to be much cheaper than the market leader Google glass.

The $1500 Google glass which is currently leading the wearable face computer space works by putting the guts of your Android Smartphone on your head so that it can project pictures, graphics, texts and videos etc. on a small prism just above the users eye.

Toshiba has showcased a prototype of the Toshiba Glass at the Ceatec trade show that was held in Japan in October this year. The Toshiba glass will have a tiny lightweight projector clipped onto one of its arms near the lens. The projector is central to the working of the glass as it displays an image that reflects off the inside of the lens to provide an augmented real type display. Toshiba glasses can be expected to hit the markets anytime in 2015.

Toshiba glass might not able to edge Google glass out of the market but it will surely give it a run for its money. The Toshiba glass works on almost the same principle as the Google glass, as both of them have in-built projectors but unlike the Google glass, the Smart glass by Toshiba don’t come with a prism over the lens to reflect the image into the eye. Instead, the glasses lens in Toshiba glass itself comprises of a series of narrow, vertical prisms. They are not at all visible when one looks straight through the lens of the device, but an image from an angle gets reflected back into the eye.



The Toshiba glass is impressive but it is still a several miles away from its competitor Google glass.  First of all, the glasses are not wireless and needs to be connected to your Smartphone in order to function. According to Toshiba, this is because a separate battery for the projector would have made the glasses very heavy. Wearing a device with a cable connected to it 24/7 can act as a huge deal breaker for the Toshiba product. The second reason where Toshiba glass fails is that it isn’t a full blown computer. It works just as a display system that connects to your Android phone.

The glasses let the user interact with smartphone apps in a way that they might have only imagined but never thought would be possible. For example, you could get directions while driving, view health data while using fitness apps and view instructions while working in the field.

The Toshiba Glass will offer three types of frames-sporty, standard and industrial. The industrial frames will be like the goggles that one wears in a laboratory.

How Will Wearables Help Prevent A Lot Of Road Accidents?

1.3 million deaths, this is what the annual ballpark figure of road accidents is. That accounts for 3287 deaths a day. Moreover, 20-25 million are left crippled and injured. Nothing could impede the perils of such mishaps, be it acts, laws, training, slogans, etc. The ascending graph needs to be shepherded to downward slope. Playing with own and others' life now has to get its stop button. And what else can be this stop button? Yes, none other than technology! The latest entered android wears is believed to be the lives savior. Android wears already exhibit varied pragmatic applications in our day-to-day life, but its aid to culminate the life threatening accidents was not yet brought into the picture.

Never before connection between car and driver

One out of five accidents takes place when the driver unintentionally lands himself in a sleeping mode. Get your eyes off and you invite an accident. Smart watches when worn around your wrist bounce back the signing in a nap, thus averting the car crash. The built in sensors, by its algorithm detects the movement frequency and velocity, analyzing the driver’s frame of mind. And before the sleep dissolves in wearer's eyes, perpetual vibrations on the wrist throw it out of the eyes. Consciousness therefore remains intact throughout, especially when the journey is longsome. Nissan, the mammoth car manufacturer, is all set to unveil its smart watch. "Never before connection between car and driver" is what this giant claims. The watch would constantly feed drivers with essentials like fuel consumption, average speed and vehicle function data.

Must be expecting more, after all, Nissan is being talked about? A plethora of services can be monitored via your watch, from oil change to tires rotated to refill your windshield wiper fluid and so on. Now from cars, shifting to you, Nissan also has a lot to get to keep a check on you. Heart rate, brainwave activity, etc is what watch scans, immediately sweeping away the approaching distractions (dizziness, sleep, etc), allowing you to halt the car sideways and rest a little.

Keeping pedestrians safe!

Bike and car clash are no more destined to happen. A gadget, Rider Alert when hooked to your car, with Bluetooth and specific app ID, would alert the driver about the nearby bikers. Thus, lurking danger would never reach both the car and the biker. That day is not away when your hand held phone would ditto the traffic signals. Every day, there are thousands who cross over while crossing crosswalks carelessly. Thus, the need of formula to deal with it tactically. The pedestrian posts would be set up with Bluetooth to alert the pedestrians when close by crosswalks. How would be the signal like? Screens on your device flashing red light, instructing walkers to look up and halt until the green reappears.

In this pace battle, we tend to forget about the importance of life. These technical inventions are the means that would neutralize our negligence. It might not eradicate accidents but it is definitely a positive step forward. Substantial mitigation in accidents is assured. Something with the potential to save lives, really a positive attribute towards technology.

About the author:

Rishabh Bhandari is the Co-Founder at Yoda Learning, a start-up focused on teaching in-demand technologies using projects to people across the world to make them employable. Prior to this he was part of the Investment Team at an Education-focused fund. Rishabh is an avid traveler and a music enthusiast. You can reach him at rishabh(at)yodalearning.com

Microsoft To Launch SmartWatch Within Few Weeks

Microsoft, the technology giant, is soon going to make its debut in the wearable device market in the coming weeks, according to some reports. Whether the wearable device is a fitness watch with limited smartwatch capabilities or a smartwatch with fitness band capabilities is not clear yet.

According to the reports, the wearable device is all set to have a screen but maybe not a big one. The device will be able to support cross platform notifications from Windows, iOS and Android Phones. It will further be able to monitor your heart rate even when you’re sleeping. The device’s battery will be able to withstand two days of regular usage.

The wearable marvel from Microsoft is expected to compete with the Apple Smartwatch that was launched last month. The Apple Smartwatch which combines the best of fitness and health tracking with basic communications is expected to hit the markets in the early part of next year. The Microsoft device will also compete with Samsung's Galaxy Gear which was unveiled long back in 2013.

Microsoft Smartwatch will not be confined only to Windows ecosystem. As CEO of Microsoft Nadella believes that Microsoft services and products must compliment all platforms, Microsoft Smartwatch will work with both Android smartphones and iPhone, besides Windows Phone OS.

The upcoming Microsoft smartwatch will draw on optical engineering expertise from Microsoft's Xbox Kinect division to continuously measure heart rate through the day and night, moreover the battery will last for two days, roughly on par with Samsung's Gear Fit.

The watch will look similar to Samsung's Galaxy Fit, sources have confirmed, but offers many more intuitive features than a smart fitness tracker or band.

The timeline for the watch's release date is unclear but Microsoft could be gunning for as soon as December this year.

Microsoft To Launch SmartWatch Within Few Weeks

Microsoft, the technology giant, is soon going to make its debut in the wearable device market in the coming weeks, according to some reports. Whether the wearable device is a fitness watch with limited smartwatch capabilities or a smartwatch with fitness band capabilities is not clear yet.

According to the reports, the wearable device is all set to have a screen but maybe not a big one. The device will be able to support cross platform notifications from Windows, iOS and Android Phones. It will further be able to monitor your heart rate even when you’re sleeping. The device’s battery will be able to withstand two days of regular usage.

The wearable marvel from Microsoft is expected to compete with the Apple Smartwatch that was launched last month. The Apple Smartwatch which combines the best of fitness and health tracking with basic communications is expected to hit the markets in the early part of next year. The Microsoft device will also compete with Samsung's Galaxy Gear which was unveiled long back in 2013.

Microsoft Smartwatch will not be confined only to Windows ecosystem. As CEO of Microsoft Nadella believes that Microsoft services and products must compliment all platforms, Microsoft Smartwatch will work with both Android smartphones and iPhone, besides Windows Phone OS.

The upcoming Microsoft smartwatch will draw on optical engineering expertise from Microsoft's Xbox Kinect division to continuously measure heart rate through the day and night, moreover the battery will last for two days, roughly on par with Samsung's Gear Fit.

The watch will look similar to Samsung's Galaxy Fit, sources have confirmed, but offers many more intuitive features than a smart fitness tracker or band.

The timeline for the watch's release date is unclear but Microsoft could be gunning for as soon as December this year.

will.i.am Announces i.amPULS, World’s First Untethered Smartband Wearable Device

Musician, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and Founder of i.am+ will.i.am tonight unveiled his new smartband wearable device, i.amPULS, at the i.am+ keynote presentation during Dreamforce 2014.

The industry-first PULS wearable is untethered and has the ability to make/receive calls and operates independently of any smartphone, whereas most wearables use Bluetooth and require close proximity to a smartphone. This mean no smartphone is necessary to use the i.amPULS and this was done very deliberately.

The device has 1 GB of memory, 16 GB of storage, 780 mA of power, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a pedometer and accelerometer and will run untethered on a 3G cellular network provided exclusively through AT&T.



PULS features an intelligent personal assistant "AneedA" powered by Nuance Communications. Developed with a "voice first, touch second" functionality, AneedA is an intuitive personal assistant that takes dictation for texts and emails, plays music, posts to social media, queues maps and a fitness app, schedules appointments, make calls, and more.

The device will launch in stores across US by the end of the year for a price of $499, a little high for our taste but some people will surely hand over their money for this product without blinking. Although, when the device will be launched in rest of countries like India is still unclear.

In an interactive showcase that featured music, video, imagery, poetry, and a fashion runway show, will.i.am demonstrated the i.amPULS smartband is truly the industry’s first standalone communications device.

"i.amPULS represents digital freedom, individuality, intelligence and the intersection where fashion and technical innovation meet," said will.i.am. "I'm honored to share my vision for the PULS with this global audience."

Founded by musician and entrepreneur will.i.am, i.am+ is a entrepreneurial entity nurturing powerful and developing technology into products and ideas driven by innovation. i.am+ is positioned at the intersection of pop-tech and fashionology. i.am+ is a way of life, a culture that empowers and inspires.

Bangalore's IoT Based Startup to Launch Wearable To Predict Sports Injuries

Injuries and athletes go hand in hand and sometimes these injuries can prove to be a dead end for their careers. Currently, many athletes in India depend on their own experience and coach’s knowledge while overcoming these injuries. In order to keep these injuries in check and help the athletes increase their career duration, two youngsters Shuvadeep Sarkar, 34 and Anshuman Singh, 36 have come together and opened a company called ReTiSense.

ReTiSense implies Real Time Sensing- meaning providing relevant feedback and guidance to the person concerned. The company believes in the principles of building technology and solution with the sole intention and purpose of providing people with actionable guidance. The company further thinks that technology needs to be easy to use and understand and just fade away in the background, but it should at the same time able to add real value into the user’s life.

The startup based in Bangalore started functioning in June this year. It is being considered as one of the fastest growing Internet of Things (IoT) startups and is soon planning to launch its first wearable product in the market. The wearable is called Stridalyzer and is a sensor fitted insole like thing which can be easily fitted into any footwear and used to predict and detect foot and knee injuries and inform the user about the percentage of risk involved.

The product is still in its prototype phase and will most probably be used with an application on Android and iOS platforms. It may also offer various performance improvement measures to its users. IoT is a hot trend in the technology world nowadays as it allows gadgets to be connected and be co-dependent on each other.

ReTiSense has been successful in raising an angel seed of about $45,000 from undisclosed US based strategic partners. Stridalyzer will be the first such product in India but it will have to face tough competition at the international level from GOQii, Belgaumbased SenseGiz and Connovate Technology etc. who have already established a name for themselves.

The company will also offer a premium paid service which will include a fitness or health expert who will be connected to the device or app. The service will be launched in the latter part of next year.