News

The oort “Internet of Everything” Hub puts Bluetooth Front and Center

2014-06-15

oort’s “Internet of Everything” Hub is using Bluetooth Low Energy as its choice of wireless signal to control and monitor all of your smart devices. They make a strong case that Bluetooth Low Energy, also known as BLE or Bluetooth Smart, should be your choice as well.

Just recently launching its entry into the smart home controller market on Kickstarter, this Poland based company is staking its success on using Bluetooth Smart for communicating between its hub and all of the devices on its network. With Bluetooth being the protocol with the highest level of adoption among wireless device manufacturers, and with the advent of CSR making their Bluetooth Mesh open source, this seems like a very wise choice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVXo6px-NgM

Claiming to be “the first complete universal wireless Internet of Things BTLE iBeacon system”, oort is named for the cloud of icy objects that form the boundary of our solar system. Although it is true that there are quite a few choices for wireless home automation, it does seem that oort is the first to dedicate itself to Bluetooth Smart and is focusing its entire ecosystem of compatible products on that choice. Most of oort’s immediate competitors, like Revolv, Mi Casa Verde and SmartThings, are using other wireless formats like ZigBee, Z-Wave, Insteon and WiFi. Although oort uses WiFi to connect and communicate with the internet, all of the communication between the hub, your favorite smart device like a phone or tablet, and all of the sensors and switches on the network are done through Bluetooth.

Even though oort is releasing their system with a very impressive array of companion devices with a near infinite amount of applications, they are going one step further by making their inner workings available so that third party developers can create their own add-ons. That is a smart move that will hopefully guarantee them, and their users, greater choice and the ability to grow as the Internet of Things truly becomes the Internet of Everything.

As outlined in the video above, here are a few of the applications that oort should be capable of right away:

There is even a soil humidity sensor in the works that will send you an alert when your plants need to be watered (not pictured). oort hopes to make the entire selection of their products available by September 2014.

They are claiming that there are no hidden fees or costs to their product, but we have to admit that both their Kickstarter campaign and their website is rather vague about how much their cloud service is going to cost… or if it will be free. Most of companies that offer similar services charge a monthly fee, while with one or two competitors the purchase of their device gives the buyer lifetime access. If QTOOTH finds out for sure one way or the other we will post an update here. (UPDATE!! We have heard back from oort concerning their cloud service. According to CEO Radek Tadajewski, “We don’t want to charge customers for cloud services.” We’ll take that as meaning it will be free. Seems like another smart move on their part. Anything that increases the rate of people adopting your technology increases the chances that they will treat it like the standard in its industry.)

There is a lot that this series of products can do. Products like this are just the tip of the iceberg. According to Gartner Research, there are a “mere” 2.5 billion connected devices today but that number should balloon to over 30 billion in the next six years. For complete details check out the oort website, or better yet, their Kickstarter campaign which actually has more details. Either way, we wish them luck on their campaign and hope to see it on the market this fall.

Wearable Technology LIVE Seeks to Unite Fragmented Industry

2014-06-09

One of the primary goals of the Wearable Technology LIVE Conference, coming to Santa Clara California for November 19-20, is to unify the wearable electronics Industry. According to analysts at IDTechEx, it is very fragmented, especially when it comes to manufacturers. Even mature sub-sectors have no clear leaders in what is projected to be a $70 billion plus business in 2024 with as many as 12,000 developers and manufacturers. For example: there are literally thousands of companies making basic earphones and electronic watches, with nearly all of them in China. There is very little to differentiate them, particularly in the eyes of consumers. Of course there are some leaders In the premium versions on the market, but that is still the exception and remains a very crowded arena. In the newer wearable electronics there are no clear leaders at all, certainly nothing equivalent to the dominance of Samsung and Apple despite some wearable electronics being intimately linked to mobile phones.

Wearable electronics is already a large business and it will be a exponentially larger ten years from now. The new IDTechEx report, Wearable Technology 2014-2024: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts, notes why so many of the famous names in apparel, electronics and infotainment are involved in an energetic struggle to win in wearable electronics before the sectors mature. Only a few will become winners and stand to generate large amounts of revenue. Thousands of others are competing with them and a shakeout will occur. It’s just a matter of time. Because new sectors will offer genuine volume, for many manufacturers the choice will be to focus on niche or volume. At stake will be huge investment costs often of billions of dollars, just as happened with mobile phones, LCD and OLED displays, and lithium-ion batteries. Brand power and strong routes to market are effective but not necessarily enough on their own.

So where is this all headed? Will there be a clash between the current titans of the electronics industry? Or will it be some upstart that brings a new approach to a new market? There are even companies from many other industries involved. This includes component suppliers such as Qualcomm’s smart watch that puts them in direct competition with their own customers. Meanwhile other component manufacturers are directly investing in startups to make sure that their chipsets will be the choice of platform for these new devices.

Wearable Tech Live is being produced by IDTechEx . They are known for organizing the leading show for Printed Electronics with over 2500 attendees, 150 presenters and 200 exhibitors. They are co-locating a Wearable Technology Live conference alongside their Santa Clara event which takes place on 19 & 20 November 2014.The session on wearable technologies will focus on their applications and commercialization progress. Presentations will cover diverse end-uses and end-user requirements, as well as the latest progress on critical technologies that will shape the future of wearable technology. These include thin, flexible and/or printed electronics, energy harvesting, wireless power transfer, and the Internet of Things.Each of these is a leading event in its own right, attracting high-level decision-makers from across the value chain. Click on the logos below for more info:

For a look at the complete agenda click here. To register and attend this event and take advantage of their early bird pricing, click here. QTOOTH is excited to be a media a sponsor for this event and we look forward to reporting on what takes place. Check back here in November for the lowdown on the Wearable Technology Live conference.

See the Future at Wireless Charging World in Amsterdam June 24-25

2014-04-29

Wireless technology is soon to be everywhere in our lives, so why not wireless charging? The Wireless Charging World conference that is set to be held in Amsterdam on June 24 – 25th. It is set to explore where this fascinating aspect of wireless technology is headed.

As devices grow ever more portable, wearable technology more widely adopted, and the Internet of Things a part of daily life, wireless charging is becoming not only more desirable but an achievable reality. This highly interactive event will showcase the latest developments in wireless charging technologies from around the world. The industry is set to go through a period of exponential growth over the next 18 months, there will be no better place to see these concepts come to life.

The speakers that are on the agenda for Wireless Charging World is made up from experts from a range of fields that are currently using this technology. Case studies from Samsung, Panasonic, Nokia and Verizon Wireless speakers will demonstrate how mobile devices are increasingly adopting easy to use charging methods driven by consumer demand. The automotive industry has been particularly keen in the equipment being adopted quickly and have made great progress in design. The Formula-E Drayson Racing Team will demonstrate how they have used the method to power their safety cars with an eye on full roll out on all racing cars next season. Arup will present their work on buses currently being used in the UK and Japan.

One of the most challenging things the industry will face is whether or not it will be able to reach a consensus on a single, standardized approach to delivering wireless charging to the consumer. With the news of the Power Matters Alliance and the A4WP consortium’s joining together to challenge the remaining WPC Qi standard, there should be an extremely interesting panel discussion between the three, with individual updates from each side giving you the complete outline of plans for 2014/15.

So, if you are a developer, an entrepreneur or just curious, QTOOTH would like to invite you to join us at the inaugural Wireless Charging World conference, taking place in June at the Amsterdam RAI, where we are Official Media Partners. Don’t get left behind, be the first to find out about the exciting developments taking place in this industry, and join the debate!

REGISTER BEFORE 9TH MAY TO SAVE €300, enter the priority code ‘I866V/QTEB’

This highly interactive event will showcase the latest real-life deployments in wireless charging and promote the dialogue needed to accelerate time-to-market of new rollouts, overcome future challenges and increase success stories.

Supported by the Wireless Power Consortium, Power Matters Alliance and A4WP, and co-located with the well established LTE World Summit and Connected Cars events, this is the only Wireless Charging event to bring together the entire ecosystem for focused discussion.

For more information you can download the event brochure, or register here using your unique priority code ‘I866V/QTEB’.

Smart Fabrics and Wearable Technology Conference is Next Week! April 23-25th

2014-04-18

The Smart Fabrics and Wearable Technology Conference is coming to San Francisco next week, April 23-25th. It’s not too late attend. If you are an entrepreneur, developer, hacker or just a fan who is interested in where one of the fastest growing sectors in the tech world is going… you should go!

The conference will bring together over 250 of the world’s top professionals in the smart fabrics and wearable technology industry for three days of networking, hands on experiences, and a chance to listen to the latest developments from a panel of renowned speakers. Here are a few of the previous speakers at this event:

To get the full experience of the Smart Fabrics & Wearable Technology 2014 conference you really owe it to yourself to attend the E-Textiles Hack-A-Thon workshop, hosted by Dia Campbell and Pearce Melcher of Sparkfun Electronics. Spend the morning of April 23rd building, making, and experimenting with DIY e-textiles products. SparkFun will provide an expansive selection of products you are familiar with and introduce you to quite a few more. Collaboration is strongly encouraged, so be prepared to share your artistic and technical talents with your cohorts while you create your own designs. For more information on the hackathon click here.

There will also be a Shark Tank style Panel: Four pre-selected startups presenting a project to venture capitalists, crowd-funding and angel Investors.

You can check out the full agenda here.

This is your opportunity be able to meet face-to-face with smart fabric and wearable technology industry professionals from a variety of industrial disciplines, including textiles, technology, fashion, investment and military. Gain strategic insights from speakers that are changing the industry like Paul Litchfield of Reebok and Paul Brody of IBM.

QTOOTH.COM will be reporting on the event and will post as much as possible here. For better live coverage, follow us on Twitter and search for the hashtags #SmartFabrics or #WearableTech.

Bluefingers Labs Introduces Smart Headband on Indiegogo

2014-04-16

Billing itself as “The Worlds First Wireless Sports Headband”, England’s Manchester-based Bluefingers Labs have launched a new campaign on Indiegogo in order to raise funds to produce their new Smart Headband™. As you may recall, QTOOTH was a really big fan of their first product, the Smart Beanie. The beanie was simple, easy to use and good looking. It’s great to see them branching out into other products.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmCk4JtmbLY

The Smart Headband™ uses Bluetooth wireless to control integrated dynamic-stereo speakers and a discretely hidden microphone. This piece of wearable technology has been specifically designed for active use and it is Bluefingers Labs hope that users find it great for both sports and leisure activities. It should also make a great fit under a helmet, whether it’s for cycling or other sports.

Smart Headband™ will sync to your Bluetooth device and in few seconds your phone calls and tunes are available straight from your head gear. They’ve kept the design and layout very logical to make operating the controls as user-friendly as possible. The headband as features a technical sport fabric that is not only breathable, wind-proof and water and sweat resistant, but is fully washable to stay fresh after extreme workouts. Easily rechargeable using a USB cable, the Bluefingers Smart Headband has 60-hours of standby time and up to 6-hours of talk time.

We’ve seen other “smart” headbands on the market, but they were mostly just variations on a traditional wireless headset. It’s great that Bluefingers has seen fit to incorporate the microphone and the ability to make phone calls. We do hope that they’ll start to make these products truly “smart” by adding other sensors that could track things like heart rate and other biometrics. Maybe in some of their future versions, but these are a great start.

Speaking of smart, it’s great news that their products will soon be distributed in the US. This should help Bluefingers find a much larger market. In the meantime, give’em a go and check out their campaign on Indiegogo.

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‘The Next Black’: Documentary Film Explores Future of Clothing & Technology

2014-04-14

This May will see the release of “The Next Black”, a documentary film focused on the designers, innovators and leaders that are shaping the future of what we will be wearing. This is not a film about what’s new, it’s about what’s next.

Watch as the filmmakers meet with some of the most innovative companies on the planet to get their opinion on clothing and its future, including: heroes of sustainability, Patagonia; tech-clothing giants, StudioXO; sportswear icon, Adidas; and BioCouture, a company that uses cellulose-producing microbes to literally grow clothing.

Below is a a trailer from the “The Next Black”. QTOOTH is all about wearable technology, otherwise known as wearables. We look forward to checking it out!

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