IoT & Wearables: Events

Despite being talked about heavily for the last few years, wearables haven't yet taken off.

2015 was predicted to be the breakthrough year for wearable technology. Wearables were the most common talk topic of technology-, advertising- and fashion-focused conferences. The market for wearable tech, especially that which is focused on fitness, is indeed exploding. But while cute and increasingly ubiquitous -- on the wrists, necks, or clipped to the body of all your friends -- many wearables are still single-purpose, redundant, or just plain useless, raising concerns about privacy and even etiquette. No wonder, there is a high return and product abandonment rate. Yet, the wearable future is coming faster than most futurologists thought.

On November 21st our all-star panel of experts moderated by Irene Gabashvili will answer your questions on various aspects of this emerging field.

To be usable and desirable, wearable technology should be fashionable and nearly invisible. Bill Liu, the founder of Royole Corporation, a “unicorn” company that developed the world’s thinnest full-color bendable and rollable touch-enabled display, the world’s first foldable smart mobile theater with highest resolution mobile displays (3300ppi) and noise-canceling headphones, leads innovation in flexible electronics and information displays. He will bring his perspective on how to make wearable electronics increasingly invisible and stylish.

Smart watches and activity trackers are just beginning to become popular, but next generation technology integrating computing power into textile applications is already starting to appear. Professor Connie Ulasewicz, a thought leader in millennial consumer behavior and sustainable fashion, is the best person to ask about “smart clothing” and what the next generation of apparel product developers thinks about it.

Many industries are now adapting wearables to improve productivity, performance and individual health. Their main challenges? Cost, power, and connectivity. Who knows about it more than Felix Zhao, the founder of Cassia Networks that developed world’s first Bluetooth router, focusing on home safety and senior health?

Objects worn on the body are a personal thing and need personalization to be truly usable. Misfit Wearables is one of the market leaders employing a personalized approach to wearable tech. Wallace Wu, who leads the software product teams at Misfit, will share the challenges of bringing style and elegance to the world, how tailor-made software can support maximum performance and battery life, and why we need to engineer chips and software specifically for wearables.

The race to win wearable market share is top priority among top global companies. What are they up to and how can entrepreneurs and small startups compete in the space? Who could tell us more about it than Sridhar Solur, General Manager of wearables at HP, serial intrapreneur and business leader with a razor sharp focus on user experience?

We look forward to your active participation in the Wearables Panel and hope that you will find it interesting and enjoyable.