Tag: wearables

Over the past year, health has become the focal point of our lives in a way that few of us could have predicted, nor ignored. Just like consumer culture transformed our societies two centuries ago, health and health-related issues now shape our identity, our lifestyle, our perspectives and importantly  our aspirations for the future.

In this article, Emma Dickinson – Consultant, Research Recruitment at PDD, explores people’s evolving attitudes in healthcare and how healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers can make the most of that opportunity to deliver a compelling, engaging experience for all. 

In recent years, wearables have started to play a pivotal role in the lives of patients. From the management of chronic conditions to making sure that we drink enough water, wearable and mobile devices are revolutionising the way that healthcare occurs.

Mobile phone software applications are a ubiquitous part of society. In 2018, there were estimated to be 205.4 billion smartphone health app downloads (worldwide). In 2021 this figure is expected to rise to over 352.9 billion.

A few PDDers and I attended the Wearables 2015 conference in London, which was a great chance to see the latest trends in the wearable tech field. A range of exhibitors from startups to industry giants were displaying impressive devices such as Open Bionic’s 3D-printed Prosthetic Limbs and Samsung’s Oculus Rift-based VR headset.

Are you happy? Although happiness is something we all strive for, achieving it is actually quite difficult. Could we use design to help make our lives happier?

2014 seems to have become the ‘Year of the Wearable’ with an ever increasing range of new devices that compete for some of the high value real estate that is your body. Will there be space under the Christmas tree this year for all the Fitbits, GoPros, Withings, Tiles and Ups?

After attending CEF electronics show in Shanghai, Emily Lai investigates how local Chinese brands can survive and thrive if they want to expand in a global market place. What will set these Chinese brands apart from other players within their own highly competitive and fast moving marketplace?

Wearables have once more caused a stir in the studio; with always more potential but also unexpected (and sometimes questionable) applications being revealed every day. Wearables still need to come of age, but one thing is certain: they make technology ever more personal. Take Google’s ‘smart lens’ technology, released earlier this year, which could make wearables less about you interacting with a worn device and more about the worn device serving you, seamlessly blending with your life.

Catching up on my LinkedIn newsfeed, I see a link to a video entitled, “Smartwatches could be a perfect home for augmented reality.” As there are few really good applications for AR, and even fewer for smartwatches, I thought I’d see how the designers envisioned combining two questionable technologies.