While fitness trackers and bio monitors remain popular, mental health has become a new wearables focus.
Until now, physical activity has been leading the way in the wearable technology ecosystem, as many people use health and fitness trackers to be able to measure their activity and their progress on that level.
Now, a new product is changing the direction of wearables by looking into tracking stress levels every day.
The goal is not only to allow people to be able to see how their stress levels are occurring with each passing day, but also to provide them with a wearable technology based tool that will let them better manage those daily stresses. The device in question is called Spire. It consists of a small clip-on device that can be attached to a bra strap or to the waist of a wearer’s pants. This allows the device to track breathing patterns in order to determine whether the wearer is tense, focused, or calm.
If the wearable technology detects too much stress, it sends an alert to the user’s smartphone.
Moreover, if the wearer’s breathing speeds up too much, the Spire wearables, themselves, will buzz. The alert sent to the smartphone reminds the wearer to take a deep breath. According to the co-founder of the wearable device, Neema Moraveji, “That simplicity of the feedback is what makes it so applicable and what makes it so actionable in daily life.” Moraveji also added that it is something that is very easy to work into a busy schedule. It is realistic and practical because “You can take a deep breath without stopping what you’re doing, without distracting from what you’re doing.”
Moraveji explained that while tech as a whole may help to contribute to the typical stress levels, these days, wearables may help to provide a solution as there really isn’t any practical escape from technology as a whole. She said that this is one of the driving concepts that helped to develop Spire, as they asked themselves “how could technology change and improve our state of mind?”
The app to which the wearable technology is linked allows a user to track and compare their stress levels and activity levels from one day to the next as well as overall.
With a large number of different wearables on the market, it was the Sensoria Smart Socks that took the prize.
Though the majority of people picture fitness trackers and smartwatches when they think about wearable technology, it was a type of footwear that managed to take home the top title in the category from IDTechEx Printed Electronics USA 2015.
The event was the largest printed electronics and sensor event that has happened anywhere on the globe.
Though the competition was fierce, the “Best New Wearable Technology Device” that was named at the event was the Sensoria Smart Socks. They Printed Electronics Award was given to the footwear that was infused with textile sensors. The award itself was a recognition of the innovation, development and success of the company behind the wearable device.
Among the judges that determined that the smart socks should be the winner were several well known names, such as the U.S. Olympic Committee Senior Sports Technologist, Dr. Mounir Zok, PhD, as well as the London College of Fashion’s Head of Fashion Innovation Agency, Matthew Drinkwater. The award was presented to Sensoria by Henri Richard, the senior vice president of Sandisk Corporation.
This title is a highly coveted one by newcomers to the wearable technology industry that have released their first product.
According to the Sensoria CEO, Davide Vigano, “It’s such an incredible honor to be chosen for this award and especially by such an esteemed group of industry leaders.” He went on to explain that the team at Sensoria spent four years in research and development for the creation of their wearables in the form of smart socks. They had several challenges to overcome in order to ensure that they would be not only practical and functional but also comfortable for the wearer.
The final version of the wearable technology socks was created in order to ensure there would be a number of different potential applications throughout several industries, such as in fitness, sports, and even medicine. The smart socks have three soft, thin textile pressure sensors embedded within them. Any data collected from the socks is transmitted by a magnetic Bluetooth smart anklet that snaps onto the socks and wirelessly sends the info to the Sensoria mobile app.
Moreover, if the wearer’s breathing speeds up too much, the Spire wearables, themselves, will buzz. The alert sent to the smartphone reminds the wearer to take a deep breath. According to the co-founder of the wearable device, Neema Moraveji, “That simplicity of the feedback is what makes it so applicable and what makes it so actionable in daily life.” Moraveji also added that it is something that is very easy to work into a busy schedule. It is realistic and practical because “You can take a deep breath without stopping what you’re doing, without distracting from what you’re doing.”