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West London’s Olympia centre played host to the first ever Wearable Technology Show, which offered visitors the chance to get hands-on with the latest headsets, smartwatches and technology.
Here’s our favourite up and coming tech featured at this year’s show:
Samsung Gear 2
It may be obvious to start with the headline-stealing Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches, but the Samsung stand was one of the busiest and boldest at the relatively small show.
One of the better looking smartwatches at the event, The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo are the first wearable devices to run Tizen OS, so it was great that attendees got the chance to play around with the UI as well as see the Gear 2 working in conjunction with Samsung’s smartphones.
GoPro Hero
The biggest and brightest stand by far was GoPro’s and its Hero range was the centre of attention.
Aimed at sports enthusiasts and outdoorsy types, the range features an array of wearable and gear-mounted cameras as well as a host of accessories to help people capture the moments around them.
Intelligent Headset
Stepping in to the field of wearable technology for the first time, GN showcased the Intelligent Headset at the show.
The headset features motion sensor technology, meaning it can detect which direction a user is facing while they’re wearing the cans.
Using a specific app, the wearer can rotate their head to hear different musical instruments playing from different areas of the ‘virtual’ room, giving the user the feeling that they are in the middle of a band and can walk around each member.
Nanotechnology
We visited two stands at the show displaying nanotechnology, and both provided some interesting demonstrations.
P2i’s liquid repellent nano-coating technology was established in 2004 and was developed by the UK’s Ministry of Defence. We got to dunk a perfectly normal looking tissue into a tub of water and see it come out bone dry.
HZO went a step further and plonked a Raspberry Pi in a fish tank and boot it up. With its coating applied at component level, it creates a physical battier between the vital circuitry of a device and any kind of liquid.
Click the picture below to check out photos of all the products featured in this article.
SnapWatch
While still only a prototype, the SnapWatch has taken the popular 90s slap bands and is planning to bring them back into fashion – with smartwatch technology packed into them.
The firm has several patents on form and functionality of the device and is currently looking for partners licensing or buying the idea so maybe at next year’s show we’ll be able to try out the final product.
Burg smartwatch
The only real competitor to the Gear 2 was Burg’s range of smartwatches.
While some of the Burg watches featured a Gear 2-esque touch screen, there was also a wide range of device designed to look like classic wristwatches, but with discrete buttons featured around the edge of the watch face.
Both ranges have the ability to make and receive calls and feature Bluetooth connectivity.
SunnyCam
These sunglasses have a built-in camera which can take HD video or still images. It also has a discrete mic to pic up sound.
Featuring polarised lenses, the SunnyCam seems suited to bike riders, snowboards and those interested in capturing sporting moments. The representative at the show also explained that they would be ideal for security purposes. So a security guard could wear them and have a exact account of what they have seen.
Lupo
This was one of the many kickstarter projects at the show. The Lupo is a ‘lost & found’ device for your smartphone. There are a number of other products like this on kickstarter and already in retail but this one is a little different.
As well as tracking where your device is and acting as an alarm if it goes missing, the Lupo can be used as a control for clicking and flicking through presentations and locking your computer screen when you walk away from it.
Misfit Shine
Described as ‘the world’s most stylish activity tracker’ the Shine is waterproof, so not only can you track your fitness while running, walking and sleeping, you can keep it on while you swim too.
As well as being a fitness tracker, wearers can buy a watch strap to use it as a watch and a necklace to keep it under their clothes. Misfit also claims that it is built to last a lifetime.
Kiroco
Another world’s first comes from Kiroco, this time its interactive jewellery that delivers messages to your NFC smartphone.
By downloading the free app, users can send messages, video and photos to each other’s jewellery, which then needs to be tapped on their smartphone to make the message appear.
