wearables News - Page 15 of 27 - CNX Software

March 1, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

IMM-NRF52832-NANO is an Ultra Small nRF52832 Module with Bluetooth 5, ANT+, 30 I/Os

If you have a project requiring a programmable Bluetooth 4.x/5 module that’s as small as possible, Canada based I-Syst may have what you need with their IMM-NRF52832-NANO module measuring just 10 x 7 x 1.6 mm. The module is based on Nordic Semi nRF52832 Arm Cortex-M4F SoC with Bluetooth 5 LE (no long range support) and ANT+ connectivity, and exposes up to 30 I/Os for your project. Specifications: SoC – Nordic Semi nRF52832 32 bits Arm Cortex-M4F @ 64MHz with 512KB Flash, 64KB SRAM, 2.4GHz multi-protocol transceiver Connectivity – Bluetooth 5 LE, ANT+, Type 2 NFC -A Tag with wakeup on field Up to 30x I/Os: 3x SPI Master/Slave 2x 2-wire Master (I2C compatible) UART (CTS/RTS) 3x 4 channel PWM 8x configurable 12 bits, 200 ksps ADC Digital microphone interface Quadrature decoder input Sensors – Temperature sensor Security – AES HW encryption Misc – 32MHz & 32.768KHz crystals, low power […]

February 9, 2018February 9, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Ticwatch S / E Android Wear Smartwatches are Powered by Mediatek MT2601 SoC

Android Wear is normally used in products from larger companies such as Huawei, LG, or ASUS. In the past, some smaller companies claimed to have designed their own Android Wear smastrwatch with approval from Google, but eventually their products went nowhere, even though one was listed on some sellers as a pre-order. But last summer, Mobvoi launched a Kickstarter campaign for their Ticwatch S & E smartwatches powered by Android Wear, and they managed to raise over $3 millions dollars from close to 20,000 backers with pledges starting at $99. The watches can now be purchased online for $127.99 and up from sites like Amazon, GeekBuying, GearBest, or directly from Mobvoi store. Ticwatch S (Sport) and E (Express) share many of the same features, but Ticwatch E is a bit lighter and more elegant, while Ticwatch S comes with a breathable band design with an integrated GPS antenna. Specifications: SoC […]

January 9, 2018October 21, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

SKIIN Smart Underwears Support Energous’ WattUp Near, Mid, and Far-Field Wireless Charging

Near-field wireless charging has been around for several years, but for wireless charging to become really disruptive it needs to work at a distance, and Energous has been working on mid and far-field technology with their WattUp transmissive to charge devices respectively on the desk (mid-field) or in the room (far-field). You need to have compatible devices to work with the technology, and wearables are a prime target, but I was expecting fitness trackers or smartwatches to embed the technology at first, but instead one of the first WattUp compatible wearables are smart underwears from SKIIN. The module found in SKIIN underwears and bras have many of the same features as your typical fitness tracker and some extras: Sensors ECG sensors for Heart Rate Monitoring (HRM) Accelerometer and Gyroscope to measure motion & posture BIA (Bioelectrical impedance analysis) to monitor water intake levels and how your sweat affects your hydration, […]

January 5, 2018January 5, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

OKW Body Case is an IP65/IP67 Enclosure for Wearables & IoT Projects

You may have worked on a battery powered wearable or IoT projects, and the hardware and software are mostly ready, but you’ve yet to find a good way to package it to make it easily wearable, and protect it from the elements. OKW body case could be one way, as it can be used around your arm like a wrist watch, as a key ring attachment, clipped to your trousers or T-shirt, carried around your neck. The case has been moulded in ASA plastic with a high UV protection, includes a TPV sealing ring to ensure IP65/IP67 water & dust proofness, and is assembled with four stainless stell screws using a Torx drive. The company provides two sizes (Large: 55 x 46 x 17 mm, or Medium: 50 x 41 x 16 mm) and claims easy operation with the help of push buttons or touchscreens, although I’d assume water / dust resistance […]

December 28, 2017December 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Garmin Launches Vivofit 4 Activity Tracker with One Year Battery Life

I have not spent much time covering wearables like smartwatches and fitness trackers this year, mostly because I find they have too many flaws at this stage. Back in 2016, I found many had a short life time, they would just stop working after a few weeks or months, even the fairly popular Xiaomi Mi Band 2 only lasted 2 months after an ill-fated firmware upgrade. In my case, I also found activity / fitness trackers did not have the motivating factor I thought they’d have, so I don’t think I exercise more or less with one. Finally, another annoyance is that most need to be charged every couple of days or weeks, and I’m frequently leaving the one I’m still using (SH09) run out of battery, losing recent data. The best solution to address the latter issue would be some type of energy harvesting, so that we would never […]

December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

TDK CeraCharge Solid State Battery-in-a-Chip is Designed for IoT & Wearables

We’ve recently seen solid state batteries are prone to dislodge current Lithium Ion battery technology as they are safer, support higher energy density, and faster charging. Such batteries are expected to be seen in car in the first part of the next decade, in smartphones starting possibly in 2019, but TDK has just announced their own CeraCharge rechargeable solid state SMD battery with mass production scheduled to start in April 2018. TDK CeraCharge battery-in-a-chip will come in compact EIA 1812 package (4.5 x 3.2 x 1.1 mm), offer a capacity of 100 µAh at a rated voltage of 1.4 V, and can be recharged up to 1000 times. Potential applications include IoT devices, real-time clocks, Bluetooth beacons, and systems for energy harvesting. The battery – which will look very similar to an SMD capacitor – does not include liquid electrolyte, and instead uses a solid ceramic element as electrolyte which rules out any risk of fire, explosion, […]

November 16, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

STMicro Introduces Ultra-efficient STM32L4+ Series MCUs with Better Performance, Chrom-GRC Graphics Controller

STMicroelectronics has announced an upgrade to their STM32L4 series Cortex-M4 micro-controllers with STM32L4+ series upping the maximum frequency from 80 MHz to 120 MHz delivering up to 150 DMIPS (233 ULPMark-CP) , and ultra low power consumption as long as 33 nA in shutdown mode without RTC. The new family also adds Chrom-GRC graphics controller (GFXMMU) that can handle both circular and square TFT LCD displays together with a MIPI DSI interface and displayer controller, making it ideal for wearables, Chrom-ART 2D accelerator for better graphics performance, two Octo SPI interfaces, and more memory (640KB max) and storage (up to 2MB flash). If you want to know all differences between STM32L4 and STM32L4+, and/or learn how to use peripherals, STMicro has setup a nice free STM32L4+ online training page, which allow you to do just that either by downloading PDF documents, or following e-Presentations with slides and audio. STM32L4+ appears […]

November 2, 2017November 2, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Panasonic Showcases Flexible Batteries with Wireless Charging System

Flexible batteries such as PowerStream lithium polymer batteries can be integrated into new application such as smartcards, and could help wearables have longer battery life by adding batteries into clothes, wristbands or chestbands for example. You’d still need to charge them however, and in some cases adding a USB port (micro USB or type C) may negate the benefit of having a thin flexible battery, but Panasonic has a solution as the company added wireless charging capability to their flexible batteries. The solutions showcased at Ceatec Japan 2017 on October 3-6, 2017 were flexible lithium-ion rechargeable batteries with 0.45mm thickness, and 18, 42 and 65mAh capacity. Battery voltage is 3.8V, charging voltage 4.35V, and the batteries can be bend up to a radius of 25 mm, and twisted by up 25°. Such batteries are meant to be attached to human body and clothes for medical and health management applications, or […]