Illuminate Your Independence

Ah the warmth of summer in America. The hot air brings a feeling of relaxation alongside a bit of spare time for reflecting on American cultures and traditions. What a long journey we have traveled from horse and wagon to wearable technology. In this article you will find some fun, quirky, and even practical wearables to purchase to celebrate your freedom to party on the 4^th of July.

Liber8 Tago Acr is a newly developed digital cuff. They spoke at our recent fashion tech WT| conference in Milan. Tago Arc is chic and futuristic. You can fade between customize designs with the click of a smartphone. Be silly with swirls, or patriotic with stars and stripes! Tago Arc comes with three different base colors, priced at $299.

If you enjoy spending your 4^th of July on the beach or lake, Spinali Design is created just for you. They have created a wearable waterproof UV sensor that you place on your bikini. You will get an alert on your phone when you should take a break from sun exposure, or apply more sunscreen. The sensor can also be attached to a towel.

LumiGram has been producing high tech fashion since 2011, however you still may have never heard of them. They create wearable technology with fiber optic fabric; a beautiful star-like shimmering material. This material is light weight, flexible, and washable!  LumiGram sews LED lights along the seams of the apparel, which sends photons through the fiber optics to create seamless light. They have designed a diverse portfolio from clothing, shoes, chairs, curtains, and even blankets. Summer of 2014, LumiGram partnered with British Airways to test the well-being of passengers on flight to New York. The gave each passenger a fiber optic blanket, with a head band that collected data on the persons neuro activity. This information is relayed VIA Bluetooth to the blanket. The color red equals anxiety, while blue equals relaxed and comfortable.

Unfortunately this blanket was only used for this experiment. However, LumiGram has clothing, pillows, tablecloths and materials for designers to purchase fiber optic fabric. Feel free to check it out on their website.

Are you the most popular party animal on your cities scene? Perhaps the Anti-paparazzi jacket is all you need to fulfill your July 4^th festivities. The jacket is designed by DJ Chris Holmes to reflect the flash from paparazzi cameras; however it works with iPhone flashes too. The jacket is made with glass nano-spheres to give the feeling of invisibility to the wearer. It is on pre-order sale for $205.20.

Fireworks and partyers don’t mix into a safe and secure celebration. Yet, with the successful Disco Dog Kickstarter campaign you can be sure to grab the entire parks attention. The vest is simple; you can control the pattern of lights with your smartphone. The vest is bright; therefore you’ll always have you eyes on your furry little friend.

Staying hydrated is important when drinking beer in the sun. Ozmo has created a portable cup that records how much coffee and water the user drinks in a day. The smart-cup is accompanied by a smartphone app which tracks your hydration and provides daily goals.  Ozmo smart-cup is rechargeable, BPA-free, leak proof, and can sync to your smart watch or Fitbit. Check out their 3 different styles to find the perfect one for your daily use.

WT | Wearable Technologies wishes you safety and relaxation. If you are traveling be sure to occupy the wait with the entertainment of electronics. Keep your foundation strong and your body illuminated with Red, White and Blue.

Near-smokeless, fan-assisted Homping Grill makes charcoal grilling easier

Grill aficionados seem to all agree that charcoal grills provide superior flavor over gas grills. The problem, particularly when it comes to portable grills, is that the charcoal grill is messier and more time-consuming. The Homping Grill makes charcoal grilling cleaner and easier, using a battery-powered fan to increase efficiency, cut down on the amount of charcoal needed to cook, and nearly eliminate smoke.

.. Continue Reading Near-smokeless, fan-assisted Homping Grill makes charcoal grilling easier

Section: Outdoors

Tags:

• Grilling
• Outdoor
• Camping

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Is Fitbit Really Outselling Apple?

Slice Intelligence, which measures tech sales by monitoring e-mails to a recruited user panel, tells Bloomberg that Fitbit’s sales are outpacing those of the Apple Watch — once you discount Apple’s initial sales surge.

The figures they present do appear to be compelling, but there may be less there than meets the eye. Fitbit apparently had a holiday surge, as did pretty much everyone else in the industry. Fitbit sales, Slice said, were alone in the industry by jumping again in late April, between the time the Apple Watch went on sale and when it was delivered.

Slice’s numbers, however, don’t take into account that Fitbit’s 2014 product line — the Charge, Charge HR, and Surge — didn’t reach distribution in any scale until April; those sales represented the same kind of pent-up demand that Apple Watch’s initial rush of 1.4 million units represented.

Note, too, that every other vendor is down in the noise. (Xiaomi, which by many accounts is challenging the wearables market in China, does not seem to appear in Slice’s panel.)

Is Fitbit really outselling the Apple Watch? Maybe, although these numbers don’t really show it. What they do show, unarguably, is that the smart band business is right now a two (or three) company race. And that although second-quarter numbers will certainly show that Apple shipped more units than anyone, the market has expanded and Apple will not be a walk-over winner.

Lotus rolls-out fastest road production car – the 180 mph 3-Eleven

Lotus has unveiled its latest track-burning car at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Billed as the company’s "quickest and most expensive series production car ever," the Lotus 3-Eleven launches from 0 to 60 mph in under 3 seconds and has already clocked a record 1 min 22 sec lap at Lotus's Hethel track.

.. Continue Reading Lotus rolls-out fastest road production car – the 180 mph 3-Eleven

Section: Automotive

Tags:

• Goodwood
• Lotus
• Cars

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Why Wearable Companies Need to be More Narrow-Minded

Another key issue that is addressed by Recon's specific use case is battery life. Recon claims to have six hours of battery life on its device. This would not be nearly enough for a general purpose device (think Apple Watch). Since Recon is specifically designed for training and sports though, consumers will mostly likely never exceed the six hour limit. This provides Recon with more flexibility when designing their hardware, which allows for additional features, lighter weight and less bulky design.

Nissan reawakens the sleeper with 600-hp Juke-R 2.0 super-CUV

Nissan has just reinvigorated the world's favorite limited production sleeper car. Just in time for this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed, it's giving its suped up small crossover a big update in the form of the Juke-R 2.0. The more powerful super-CUV seamlessly blends the latest Juke styling with the ultimate GT-R engine.

.. Continue Reading Nissan reawakens the sleeper with 600-hp Juke-R 2.0 super-CUV

Section: Automotive

Tags:

• juke
• Crossover
• Nissan

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Mistbox cools your air conditioner to cut energy consumption

Air conditioners are a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, they're most needed in the hottest weather, but on the other, the hottest days are when air conditioners are least efficient. Mistbox is an add-on technology for domestic air conditioners that uses a water mist to pre-cool the air conditioner, increasing its efficiency and lowering energy costs.

.. Continue Reading Mistbox cools your air conditioner to cut energy consumption

Section: Around The Home

Tags:

• Air Conditioners
• Cooling

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Official Pikes Peak Hill Climb app will use iBeacon tech to ID nearby drivers

The 99th anniversary of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) will see a dedicated mobile app for the event available for the first time. Developed by KS Technologies (KST) and available for mobile devices running Apple’s iOS 8.2 or later, the app will provide heaps of customizable information before, during and after the race.

.. Continue Reading Official Pikes Peak Hill Climb app will use iBeacon tech to ID nearby drivers

Section: Motorcycles

Tags:

• Pikes Peak
• Apple Watch
• iBeacon
• Apps

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Palm-sized 3DSimo Mini draws, cuts, solders and burns

The creators of the 3D-drawing pen known as the 3DSimo are back again, and this time they have a new device called the 3DSimo Mini. The device is smaller, of course, but the team is also expanding the functionality of it by adding a foam cutter, a burn tool, and a soldering iron. These functions go along with the return of the 3D drawing functionality from the previous model.

.. Continue Reading Palm-sized 3DSimo Mini draws, cuts, solders and burns

Section: Electronics

Tags:

• Kickstarter
• Drawing
• 3D Printing

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Madrid apartment "works like a Swiss Army knife"

Following its novel renovation of Madrid apartment Didomestic, architecture firm Elii took on a similarly quirky makeover of another flat in Spain's capital. Susaloon features flexible folding furniture installed throughout in a bid to maximize available space.

.. Continue Reading Madrid apartment "works like a Swiss Army knife"

Section: Architecture

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• Small Living
• Madrid
• House
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"Barnfind" 1925 Bugatti T13 fetches $950,000

Elite Paris-based auctioneer Artcurial staged the "barnfind" auction of the century earlier this year and has now pulled off another coup with the sale of a 1925 Bugatti Type 13 "Brescia", which had been hidden away in an abbey in Oigny, France since 1966. The T13 was Bugatti's first road car and began the marque's dominance of racing in spectacular fashion. History and full story.

.. Continue Reading "Barnfind" 1925 Bugatti T13 fetches $950,000

Section: Automotive

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• Bugatti
• Collectibles
• Artcurial
• Auction

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Android Wear Gets 17 New Branded Watch Faces

If you’re bored with the watch faces built into Android Wear, hang on: there are 17 more about to arrive that will let you express your individuality through large brands.

TechCrunch has the whole list and illustrations, but suffice to say that if you always wanted Angry Birds or Hello Kitty on your wrist, this is your day. In fairness, there are some much more elegant faces available, too.

We do, however, wonder about how the actual watchmakers feel about this. They’ve already ceded the personality of their hardware to Google and Android. To have their watches showing someone else’s logo on the face kind of kills the branding of the watch itself.

Apple, it should be noted isn’t entirely pure here; it has that annoying Mickey Mouse watch face. On the other hand, the hardware itself is distinctive in ways that most Android Wear watches aren’t.

Crowd Ownership is Now OK. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

If you really really really like a crowdfunded project, it is at last possible not only to buy a pre-release product, but to actually buy into the company.

Under terms of the 2012 “Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act” that went into effect last week, you no longer have to have an annual income of $200,000 or net worth (not including homes) of $1 million to invest in a startup. Starting in the Depression, the federal government had put into place protections that allowed only “qualified investors” to take certain types of financial risks. That kept small investors, the argument goes, from getting an early piece of the next IBM, Microsoft, or Apple.

It also keeps small investors — the ones who are least sophisticated, least diversified, and least able to afford failures — from getting fleeced.

When Kleiner Perkins takes a position in a startup, it’s a very thoroughly considered decision, and part of a portfolio — most of which will fail. That’s the way the venture business works. And it’s a pretty good bet that they’re going to have a seat on the board. If you or your neighbor put in a couple of thousand bucks from the college fund into some startup that sure sounds interesting, you won’t have any say in guiding the company and you probably aren’t spreading your bets around. What’s more, there is sure to be a new industry of sites bringing sketchy ideas to eager bettors, errrr, investors.

We congenitally root for startups, because that’s where innovation comes from. But we also see a lot of crowdfunding plans and hear about a lot of startups that really shouldn’t be starting up. We think this is an awful idea.

Jabra Launches Wireless Earbuds Geared Toward Cross Training

Jabra, one of the industry's leading audio manufacturers, announced the release of the Jabra Sport Coach, the first wireless headphones aimed specifically at users who want music and online coaching for cross training.

Windows 10 on the Surface Pro 3: Now the 2-in-1 makes perfect sense

The Surface Pro 3 is already one of our favorite mobile PCs, but if there's anything to criticize, it's its dual-natured Windows 8.1 software. But what happens when you replace that with the upcoming Windows 10? Based on our time with the latest previews, we think it could transform the Surface into the futuristic mobile productivity device that Microsoft has been trying to build for years.

.. Continue Reading Windows 10 on the Surface Pro 3: Now the 2-in-1 makes perfect sense

Section: Mobile Technology

Tags:

• 2-in-1
• Microsoft
• Microsoft Surface
• Windows 10

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Silk LED bulb emulates natural sunlight

Our well-being and mood throughout the day is largely influenced by the light we are exposed to. Following this principle, a start-up called Saffron has developed the prototype of a LED light that can sync our internal clock to the natural shifting color spectrum of the sun. The light is called Silk by Saffron, and the designers claim it can improve our humor and sleep patterns by giving us get the right kind of light for the each time of the day.

.. Continue Reading Silk LED bulb emulates natural sunlight

Section: Around The Home

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• Kickstarter
• LED
• Lightbulbs
• lights

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Olympus VP-10 promises to rid voice recordings of rustle

Take it from someone who knows, attending press conferences can sometimes be a bit of crush. Imagine the disappointment of finding enough room to finally sit down and type up some notes from a handheld audio recorder, only to find that the words are muffled behind sounds of rustling clothes or are not loud enough to register on the device. Olympus says that its pocket-friendly VP-10 audio recorder makes both issues a thing of the past.

.. Continue Reading Olympus VP-10 promises to rid voice recordings of rustle

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Clip and Flipper aim to make changing lenses easier

While most experienced photographers think nothing of changing the lens on their camera, others find it difficult to do on the fly while juggling their camera, lenses and lens caps. The Clip and Lens Flipper is a system which aims to take the stress out of changing lenses by making it easy to carry a second lens, and gives users a spare mount for the lens they are taking off the camera.

.. Continue Reading Clip and Flipper aim to make changing lenses easier

Section: Digital Cameras

Tags:

• Interchangeable lens
• Kickstarter
• Lenses
• Photography

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Roost battery aims to make your smoke detector smart

"Smart" smoke and CO2 detectors can do all sorts of clever things, such as notifying absent homeowners via their smartphone if the alarm goes off. However, what if you’ve already got a perfectly good "dumb" detector that you don’t want to replace? Well, you’ll soon be able to give it some brains, in the form of the Roost battery.

.. Continue Reading Roost battery aims to make your smoke detector smart

Section: Around The Home

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• CE Week 2015
• Smoke
• Safety
• Fire

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Walker Audio lowers price of entry for audiophile disc spinners

There are turntables and there are turntables. Living room decks by such manufacturers as Thorens, Music Hall, Project and Technics will likely be sufficient for the high quality audio needs of most mortal vinyl lovers. But for audiophiles with a fine-tuned ear and a bottomless wallet, names like the DaVinci, TechDAS, TriangleArt and Walker Audio will be more familiar. The latter's Proscenium turntables have been on the receiving end of numerous awards from industry experts and audio journalists since the release of the first version two decades ago. Now the premium audio equipment manufacturer has announced a new turntable named Procession that comes in at a fraction of the cost of the latest Proscenium – which essentially means US$45,000 instead of $110,000.

.. Continue Reading Walker Audio lowers price of entry for audiophile disc spinners

Section: Home Entertainment

Tags:

• Audiophile
• Hi-fi
• Turntables

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Viatom CheckMe measures six vital signs in 20 seconds

In a nod to Star Trek's Dr McCoy, Viatom has shown a device it bills as a "real medical tricorder" at this week's Consumer Electronics show in New York City. The handheld CheckMe is designed to provide fast readouts of several vital signs as well as tracking patient progress in both clinical and home settings.

.. Continue Reading Viatom CheckMe measures six vital signs in 20 seconds

Section: Health and Wellbeing

Tags:

• CE Week 2015
• Sleep monitors
• Heart Rate Monitor
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Best evidence of active lava flows spotted on Venus

ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has found the best evidence yet of active lava flows on Venus. Earlier missions to Venus have shown that the surface bears the unmistakable scarring of fierce, ancient volcanic activity. However, prior to Venus express, no mission had been successful in directly imaging clues to contemporary volcanism. This quirk has baffled scientists for years, as it has long been assumed that Venus hosts an internal heat source, and that heat has to escape somehow.

.. Continue Reading Best evidence of active lava flows spotted on Venus

Section: Space

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• ESA
• Venus Express

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Creating Wearable Devices in Public

Find out more about WT | Wearable Technologies Conference 2015 USA speaker Julio Terra from  Kickstarter in our interview with him below:

With the help of Kickstarter many wearables – that otherwise probably would have remained just ideas – became reality. Do you know how many wearable projects have been funded through your platform and how this relates to the overall number of project funded via Kickstarter?

There have been over 100 successfully funded wearables projects on Kickstarter that have raised over $35MM. These projects have brought to life smart watches, activity trackers, innovative interface devices, virtual reality gear, and other amazing products.

Why should startups seeking funding chose Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is the most well known and trusted funding platform, and we have the largest, most engaged community of design and technology enthusiasts. Over $600 million were pledged to technology and design projects on Kickstarter. Across our entire platforms backers have pledge over $1.7 billion. Check out our up-to-date stats here.

Our all or nothing funding model is the best for both creators and backers. It minimizes risk for all involved. By setting a minimum funding goal, creators can ensure that they have the resources they need to complete their project and backers have peace of mind that they won’t be charged unless there’s enough support for the creator to succeed. It also incentivizes backer to rally in support of a project.

Finally, our platform is optimized to help creators build communities around their projects. That’s why companies like Pebble, 3Doodler, Lomography, Moment, and Spark continue to use Kickstarter as a launch platform for their products.

We already look forward to your speech at our conference in San Francisco on July 9! Can you give us a sneak peek already?

You’ll have to be patient. No sneak peeks.

What is your favorite wearable at the moment? Are you wearing any?

I just go married so my favorite wearable at the moment is my wedding ring. Ok, joking aside, I am not currently sporting a wearable device. That said, I am excited about the Lumafit, which I will be receiving very soon. Also, there is a really awesome wearable project that is currently live on Kickstarter called Doppel. This wrist-worn device creates a rhythmic pulse to help you feel more alert or relaxed.

Interested in meeting Julio Terra in person? He will be joining us in San Francisco on July 9 for a keynote speech. You can register for the event here.

PodPlants: Modular, plug and play vertical gardens for indoor spaces

Motivated by the grim reality of agricultural vulnerabilities to climate change and the growing recognition of the health and productivity benefits of plants in the workplace, Chris Wilkins spent almost a decade developing a PodPlants – a portable, lightweight, modular vertical garden with a unique design and watering system.

.. Continue Reading PodPlants: Modular, plug and play vertical gardens for indoor spaces

Section: Architecture

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Wearable Tech Insider Podcast Posted for June 19

New podcast’s up. Coverage includes Fitbit IPO, Intel buys Recon, Hitachi’s happiness monitor (sort of), and Augmate’s enterprise management tool. Dan Rosenbaum, producer and host, with Health Tech Insider‘s Alfred Poor and music by Michael Roth.

Fitbit IPO Prices at $20, Opens at $30 (Last Update)

Here we go.

Fitbit was the first IPO of the Wearables Era, and it went pretty smoothly. The stock, priced at $20, hit the NYSE at a touch above $30, had a big trade at nearly $32 (making some friend of an underwriter about a $10 million profit for just existing), and then settled within a couple of pennies of $30 for the rest of the day. By 10:30 am, pretty much all the trading excitement was over.

The advance price of $20 was above even Fitbit’s revised projected range. The company raised $732 million at a valuation of $4.1 billion. When it filed its initial S-1, Fitbit said it hoped to raise $100 million. At $30, the company’s valuation is $6.15 billion, roughly that of aircraft maker Embraer, Domino’s, JetBlue, Trimble, and Madison Square Garden.

By all accounts, Fitbit is the leader in the smart band business; IDC has them far in front of everyone but the Chinese Xiaomi, which sells a $15 band, mostly in China, and Samsung. Those figures, however, run only through 1Q15, before the Apple Watch shipped.

Unlike many tech IPOs, Fitbit’s is for a profitable company; it made $131.8 million in 2014 on sales of $745.4 million. This was despite significant headwinds: the recall of its top-of-the-line tracker in 2014, and product delays that caused it to pretty much miss the last holiday season.

Note that the IPO will not affect management of the company. The Series A stock listed on the NYSE carries one vote per share; a Series B stock that’s not for sale carries 10 votes.

New research on Saturn's polar cyclones could allow for a better understanding of distant exoplanets

A team of scientists from MIT has put forward a theory that would explain the presence of enormous polar cyclones present on the gas giant Saturn. The cyclones, first discovered by the Cassini spacecraft in 2008, are so massive that they could swallow the Earth in their expanse. The research may even lead to better characterization of the atmosphere of distant exoplanets.

.. Continue Reading New research on Saturn's polar cyclones could allow for a better understanding of distant exoplanets

Section: Space

Tags:

• Polar
• Exoplanet
• Atmosphere
• Saturn
• MIT
• Cyclone

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E3 2015: Could peripherals define the current generation of console gaming?

While we've come to expect a host of new and exciting games from E3, this year saw focus shift a little. The big, glossy new games were still there, but certain companies, Microsoft in particular, offered a second focus – one of augmenting the gaming experience with meaningful peripherals.

.. Continue Reading E3 2015: Could peripherals define the current generation of console gaming?

Section: Games

Tags:

• Virtual Reality
• Augmented Reality
• Xbox One
• Nintendo
• Sony
• Microsoft
• VR
• PlayStation 4
• PS4

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BBC develops mind-controlled TV

Mind-controlled prosthetics, drones and exoskeletons are all very forward-thinking, but what about a more mundane use for the technology? The BBC's "Mind Control TV" prototype hints at a future where couch potatoes need not even lift the remote. Users can open an app and select a program to watch.

.. Continue Reading BBC develops mind-controlled TV

Section: Home Entertainment

Tags:

• Thought-control
• Television
• BBC
• Brain Machine Interface

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Intel's Recon Instruments grab: The chip-maker continues to hedge its bets on wearables

Intel, long the driving force of what we'd traditionally consider a computer, has made no secret of its aspirations in the wearable technology space. Its latest move to carve out a foothold across this area comes with the acquisition of Canadian smart eyewear-maker Recon Instruments, which it says will help them develop new and improved head-mounted displays.

.. Continue Reading Intel's Recon Instruments grab: The chip-maker continues to hedge its bets on wearables

Section: Wearable Electronics

Tags:

• Heads Up Display
• Eyewear
• Intel
• Recon Instruments
• HUD

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Koenigsegg smashes its own 0-300-0 km/h record

Koenigsegg set the current Guinness World Record time for a 0-300-0 km/h (0-186-0 mph) run in 2011 with an Agera R and a time of 21.19 seconds. The company's One:1 supercar has now bettered that in a practice run for a new record attempt, by an impressive 3.24 seconds.

.. Continue Reading Koenigsegg smashes its own 0-300-0 km/h record

Section: Automotive

Tags:

• Speed
• Koenigsegg
• Car
• World's Fastest
• Records

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Fitbit Prices at $20; IPO Today (Will Be Updated)

Here we go.

The first IPO of the Wearables Era is today. Fitbit hits the NYSE, priced at $20, above even its revised projected range. At $20, the company will raise $732 million at a valuation of $4.1 billion. When it filed its initial S-1, Fitbit said it hoped to raise $100 million.

By all accounts, Fitbit is the leader in the smart band business; IDC has them far in front of everyone but the Chinese Xiaomi, which sells a $15 band, mostly in China, and Samsung. Those figures, however, run only through 1Q15, before the Apple Watch shipped.

Unlike many tech IPOs, Fitbit’s is for a profitable company; it made $131.8 million in 2014 on sales of $745.4 million. This was despite significant headwinds: the recall of its top-of-the-line tracker in 2014, and product delays that caused it to pretty much miss the last holiday season.

Note that the IPO will not affect management of the company. The Series A stock listed on the NYSE carries one vote per share; a Series B stock that’s not for sale carries 10 votes.

Wearable Tech Becoming a Bigger Focus for the Enterprise

There is very little doubt that wearable tech is only getting more popular all over the world. What is a relatively new revelation is that the market is moving from something that is considered a consumer niche and is gaining more interest from the enterprise world.

Fitbit to Potentially Launch IPO at Value of $656 Million

Fitbit has been marketing its share sale to investors since the early part of June. Before its initial public offering (IPO) on the stock market, it has seen share offers as high as $16 each, but a prospectus filed this past Tuesday noted that the price has soared up to $19 each. This means that the company's IPO could reach as high as $656 million if it creates 34.5 million Class A shares upon release.

StarVR: The rising virtual reality star that caught E3 by surprise (hands-on)

Now that everyone and their uncle is making a VR headset, it's getting harder for newcomers to stand out. But there's always room for new products that push boundaries, and Starbreeze's PC-based StarVR headset is trying to do just that. Read on, for Gizmag's impressions from E3.

.. Continue Reading StarVR: The rising virtual reality star that caught E3 by surprise (hands-on)

Section: Wearable Electronics

Tags:

• Virtual Reality
• Wearable
• StarVR
• VR

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