technology
reseller.co.uk
WEARABLES
41
End eavesdropping
Hushme is a personal acoustic device
that protects speech privacy in open
space environments. A prototype of the
product, which is claimed to be the world’s
first voice mask for mobile phones, was
demonstrated at the show. Its wireless
in-ear headphones and microphone enable
hands-free calls, while the padded mask
covers the user’s mouth to suppress their
voice so that surrounding people (e.g. work
colleagues or fellow train passengers) can’t
hear private phone calls. Hushme connects
to a free app that enables you to further
mask your voice by playing a selection
of sounds through the mask’s built-in
speakers. Sounds include wind, rain, R2D2
and Darth Vader. CEO Roman Sakun said
they plan to start a crowdfunding campaign
on Kickstarter in May.
Digital key
Hideez Group introduced Hideez
Key 2, a second version of its
digital key. The universal RFID-key
manages passwords and allows
users to unlock their digital
devices, front door, locker and
more by carrying all of their RFID
credentials in one key. The new version is
thinner, rechargeable, water resistant and
can be worn on a keychain fob, a wristband,
a pendant or a clip.
Thinking cap
A prototype of the ORA-C, a wearable AR
safety cap for professional applications,
was on show at Optinvent’s stand. A
rigid baseball cap with an Android-
based computer, display, camera and
sensors, it is designed to provide
technicians, logistics workers and
factory professionals with hands-free
content so that they can do their jobs
more safely and efficiently.
Women of Wearables
Women of Wearables (WoW), the UK and
Europe’s first organisation to inspire,
support and connect women in the
wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT and VR/
AR industries, was also in attendance. Its
mission is to encourage more women to get
involved in building hardware and software
products as designers, product managers
and developers or as founders of their
own companies. WoW was co-founded by
Michelle Hua and Marija Butkovic who, after
working in the wearable tech industry for
the last three years and founding their own
startups, Made With Glove and Kisha Smart
Umbrella, decided to do something about
the lack of women in the industry.
Personal air purifier
Addressing the growing problem of
pollution, Vybra Solutions launched the
first wearable air purifier at the show. The
stylish and lightweight device destroys
particles and pollution right in front of your
face, ideal for commuters in busy cities like
London. The device comes in a choice of
three colours and has a 32-hour battery
life, rechargeable via USB.
Industrial wearable
Realwear showcased a fully rugged
wearable designed for industrial workers.
The Head-Mounted Tablet (HMT-1)
emulates a mini-tablet screen and provides
workers with glanceable information on the
job. The solution is hands-free, using voice
recognition; a 16MP camera enables photo
capture and real-time video chat. The
unit can be worn directly on the head or
clipped to a hard hat and flipped up when
not needed.
Make fitness fun
ActivBody introduced its portable fitness
device, Activ5, for the first time in the UK.
Activ5 coaches users through 5-minute,
low-impact, isometric training, enabling
people of all ages and fitness levels to
exercise anywhere, whenever they have a
spare few minutes. The device connects with
an app that can record strength, precision
and other data.
Gesture control
Flicktek lets you control devices with
simple finger movements. Its first product,
Clip, enables gesture
control for Android
Wear smartwatches.
The accessory is
placed under the
watchstrap and
detects finger
movements,
translating them into
commands to control
the smartwatch.
Instant note-taking
Sennstone is a wearable voice recorder
that takes notes and converts them into
text, syncing all audio and text notes to
the cloud. When offline, it can record for
up to two and a half hours and will sync
automatically when it is back online.
Sennstone can be clipped to a collar,
worn on the wrist or around the neck as
a pendant. The product was successfully
funded on Kickstarter, raising more than
four times its original goal.
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