The new Flex device from Fitbit released in January
by Joy History joyhistoryWearable
devices and the future of our homes
The new Flex device from Fitbit
released in January, the new Pulse device from the French Withings announced
this month, and rumored revamp of the current Nike+ FuelBand later this year
make the self tracking devices a hot market right now.
So far, these
companies have been working hard to add more input variables into their devices,
to expand the possibilities of their ecosystems. Withings started as a smart
scale and now is a full-fledged health monitoring system with weight, body fat
measurements, outdoor activities, sleep, heart rate, blood pressure and indoor
air quality.
The consumer market for self-tracking devices rides on the
quantified self trend that is growing fast in Europe. Products like Google Glass
and smart watches like the Pebble will only push this trend further, and the
quality of the ecosystem of each of these companies can determine their success.
What if these devices could understand how I feel, what I need, what I
did during the day, and what I will most likely want to do that evening? And
what if this information could be passed to my home, a digital automated home?
Individual tracking has the power to harness the potential of the automated
home. We ve seen attempts to connect all of our appliances at home, and the
Internet of things can make this a reality, but without consumer-oriented
integration this will only add a layer of complexity to our already crowded tech
day-to-day activities.
Could it be that the automated home hasn t yet
taken off because of the lack of integration with our lifestyle? Is it possible
that smart user insights can make the automated home make sense? I don t see
digital homes becoming mainstream for the sheer purpose of digitifying our
lives, they need to add value for the user without complexity. If my kitchen
knows I m low on Vitamin C, it can adjust my daily food plan, or if my living
room knows I fell asleep on the sofa, it can dim the lights and turn off the
television.
What s interesting is that what started as fitness tracking
devices have developed into a powerful ecosystem of user s body information,
their databases evolved into a valuable asset to feed our home s digital brain,
and it might as well be the needed trigger to shift towards a true integrated
home! Most of these ecosystems are opening their huge data sets to developers
like the RunKeeper Health Graph they need to become the de facto platform for
the personal tracking experience. Nike on the other hand has a walled garden
ecosystem a la Apple (is that why Tim Cook wears a Nike FuelBand?). If a closed
platform in this arena can survive in the long run is for time to tell.
What do we need to see happening next? For one we need these tracking
devices to get more input variables like continuous heart rate monitoring
(without the awkward bands), to integrate the function of different devices into
one like having the function of the Sanofi iBG Star into a tracking wristband,
and also to have more devices feeding into this ecosystem, with more complex
body variables could toilets measure our body waste composition and infer on
our health?
If these ecosystems are open, the potential for creating a
truly intelligent and connected home is huge! The connected home needs to react
to my emotions, to my lifestyle, and to my health. And the winner in the battle
for self tracking devices will come from the one with the most complete
ecosystem, with intelligent insights delivered to third party developers. The
device itself will mean nothing: all of the current devices will merge in our
smart watches anyway!
When Google released the futuristic prototype of
its much heralded Google Glass in April, many called the hands-free device
revolutionary and speculated on how they could change the travel game as we know
it for tourists.
Think of it: Now you can have your GPS right in front
of your eyes without using your hands, or take pictures or video with a simple
voice command. There's also the possibility of, say, getting real-time flight
information as you walk to your gate or ditching those guide books completely
and using it as a built-in tour guide when visiting museums or historic sites.
In fact, many of the icons on the current prototype's modified screen already
have functions used frequently by travels, such as camera, location, search,
chat and maps.
Living in New York City, there are plenty of towns a
stone s throw from the city. I decided to head north to Sleepy Hollow in Hudson
Valley, N.Y.-- a picturesque town filled with cafes, shops and historic sites,
made famous by Washington Irving and his tales of the Headless Horseman.
As of now, Google Glass can do things like record video, send text
messages, provide translations, and give directions. It doesn't yet have its own
cellular radio, so it has to sync up with mobile phones via Bluetooth to access
Wi-Fi and 3G or 4G data connections.
The trip was about 45 minutes door
to door. Before I headed out, I powered up and connected Google Glass to get
directions. The GPS function doesn t work with an iPhone yet, so I had to use
an Android phone.When paired to a smart phone, using voice activation, Google
Glass can provide maps and turn-by-turn directions that you can see through a
tiny lens that s attached to the device.
When I arrived in Sleepy
Hollow, I followed the signs to the center of town and figured I d give Google
Glass another try. This time, instead of asking for directions, I used the voice
command to find nearby restaurants. Jackpot! I was actually surprised at how
well the voice recognition software worked. I didn t have to repeat myself and
Glass gave me a list of choices within a few miles from where I was standing.
Glass voice recognition can be used for just about anything: to ask a
general question, get a phrase translated, find flight information, speak and
send an email or text, take a picture or record a video, and share them with
friends, and the list goes on. At this point, I needed to use voice recognition
to find an ATM. And once again, it worked perfectly, listing several banks in
the area.
While I was on a roll, I decided to try to book a hotel. Three
for three.It enables washer
extractor to communicate with chemical pumping machines. Google Glass gave
me plenty of options to choose from. I would have liked to see them separated by
price, even ranked, but the ones listed fit my criteria of being nearby." So,
after using the track pad to swipe through my choices, I picked one of them by
tapping the track pad. Glass gave me the address, and the options to get
directions or call the hotel. I tested Glass once more by tapping call, so I
could to make a reservation. That worked too.
welcome
really useful parking
guidance web, parking management
system thanks !
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