1:1 interview with Jean Anne Booth of UnaliWear

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“What really makes the Kanega Watch different is that it goes where you go, both inside your home and away. It is discreetly styled, so there’s no stigma from wearing an assistive device, and it speaks to you in words.” 

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In this interview, we feature Jean Anne Booth, a serial entrepreneur with a successful track record in hardware innovation, having previously launched and sold two large and notable companies. Her current project is UnaliWear, a wearable health technology startup that has recently made its Kickstarter debut. She comes with a wealth of experience, and her timing could’t be better as the wearable digital health market continues to unfold. What’s more, Kanega Watch — which we recently featured on Bits & Pieces — is looking to bring a much-needed vision for practical usage to that space.

Tom Vu: What’s the main driver to going about this once again? Well, considering you did this before as the first person to launch the ARM Cortex-M3 at Luminary Micro?

Jean Anne Booth: Great question! I actually retired for a couple of years after I sold my last company to Texas Instruments. During this period, my mom turned 80, and she had a couple of incidents that made me start looking for a personal emergency response system for her. Many of the assistive devices available are flawed in one aspect of another. Most importantly, there are three reasons, which make them quite hard for seniors to desire to integrate into their lives. First, they are ugly. Secondly, if they have connectivity, the devices usually require some complicated installation of a tethered smart phone or access point. And one of the most overlooked objections, there is a big “HELP” button. This big button is quite visually disturbing. When you see the big “HELP” button made large for usability and functionality, it is so socially stigmatizing. I wanted my mom to live safely while being independent and not being socially stigmatized.

TV: How is the UnaliWear Kanega Watch different from other wearable tech?

JAB: Focus groups have called Kanega Watch a ‘wearable OnStar for seniors’ because we provide discreet support for falls, medication reminders, and a guard against wandering in a classically styled watch that uses an easy speech interface rather than buttons. What really makes the Kanega Watch different is that it goes where you go, both inside your home and away. It is discreetly styled, so there is no stigma from wearing an assistive device, and it speaks to you in words. The watch brand name “Kanega” is from Cherokee for “speak”.

TV: Is what you’re creating really going to make our lives better?

JAB: Yes, it’s about being there when it counts. You can wear Kanega Watch on 24×7 basis, so you don’t forget to put it back on, and therefore you’re wearing when you need it. There is a very long battery life, unlike an Apple Watch, Android, or Samsung smartwatch. There is no need for an additional device, either an access point or a smartphone. For seniors, or those who are independent but vulnerable, it can help with issues at night like trips to the bathroom. It’s waterproof, not just water resistant, so you can wear it in the shower/bath (this is where a majority of falls happen), and also in your pool exercises. It works anywhere you go, and those who are vulnerable are not trapped at home. Importantly, there is a convenience to this as you’re wearing everything you need to stay safe.

For instance, here is one of the fundamental characteristics of how the watch works, and why our tagline is “Extending Independence with Dignity.” If the Kanega Watch wants to speak, it will ask permission first. It requests permission to speak by buzzing on the wearer’s wrist like a cellphone on silent, so there’s no visual or audible stigma of wearing an assistive device when socially inappropriate — like at church.

If it detects a potential fall, it will ask if you will need help, because two out of three falls do not require help. In fact, Kanega Watch will continuously monitor you – a kind of continuous welfare check. In a suspected fall, if you don’t respond to the request for permission to speak (for example, if you’re unconscious, unable to move, or unable to speak), then it will begin to escalate and then notify emergency and your contacts for help. There’s practical and smart logic built into the wearable.

TV: How has your experience in this industry going to help in fulfilling the practical/adoptable use of moving wearable tech toward broader acceptance/use?

JAB: To me, it’s not about advancing a category of technology. It’s about harnessing technology to solve real problems, and in this case, about allowing people to live independently, safely, for as long as possible. It’s been an interesting experience transitioning from semiconductors to healthcare, and has proven to be very rewarding building products that directly make people’s lives better. It’s a fantastic feeling!

TV: What hardware startups do you think are actually doing some really interesting things right now?

JAB: That’s a hard question for me because I’m biased toward products that make a difference and are directly useful. Often what is the most cool and interesting is not at all useful! One thing that our Kickstarter campaign has taught us is that the average person buying things that are cool is not quite in the same category as the people who would buy our wearable for seniors.

TV: How would you describe your team?

JAB: Today, our team consists of a cadre of three founders. Our CTO Marc DeVinney does all the hardware. Brian Kircher, who I’ve worked with for 14 years, does all the software for the Kanega Watch. I do everything else.

TV: Who do you look up to as a mentor now?

JAB: Jimmy Treybig, founder of Tandem Computers, has been a close friend for years and has always been helpful. Jimmy has been a source of a lot of wisdom. For this particular company, another extremely important mentor is my mother, Joan, who is also our Senior User Experience Advisor. She’s put together a number of focus groups, and has also been a lot of help in detailing the use cases.

TV: What improvements will your product provide society? Perhaps even help the movement of IoT, connected things and wearables?

JAB: The Internet of Things promises to transform daily life, making it easier to work, shop, merchandise, exercise, travel and stay healthy. Really, thanks to billions of connected devices — from smart toothbrushes and thermostats to commercial drones and robotic companions for the elderly. It also will end up gathering vast amounts of data that could provide insights about our habits, religious beliefs, political leanings, sentiments, consumer interest, sports, and even as far as go to other highly personal aspects of our lives. I think the maturation of IoT and wearables is intertwined together. In some respects, what we are building at UnaliWear is also helping cement together the more meaningful adoption of wearables. In our particular case with the Kanega Watch, we couldn’t solve our user problem unless we could provide a better wearable device that is constantly connected all the time. Ultra-low power is very challenging fundamental backstop for every wearable device, and for most IoT devices as well. Our wearable includes cellular, GPS, and Wi-Fi built into one seamlessly integrated non-obtrusive wearable.

Our design goal for the Kanega Watch is that it must be wearable 24×7. It cannot be in a pocket or have requirements of being tucked into a purse. It also must have enough communications capability so that a senior is not stuck in their home all the time. To meet this goal, we have a unique patent-pending quick swap battery system enabling a user to not have to take the watch off to charge. The wearable can last 2 days for most users, and it comes with four batteries. It’s designed to have two batteries available on the charger and two batteries on the watch at all times. The device eliminates the need to be near a base station or smartphone.

Today, simply using built-in smartphone or app presents a couple of problems. Most seniors today don’t have nor operate a smart phone. Less than 5% of seniors over 80 years in age have a smart phone today. For the few seniors who do have smart phones, there are still problems using a smart phone for falls and reminders, because today’s smart phones still have only about 10 hours of real usage time per day.

TV: By 2050, what are some of your predictions for consumers or users interacting with technology on a day-to-day basis?

JAB: I do think that speech will definitely play a larger part in our interaction paradigm. Remember that popular Star Trek movie scene where they come back in time to save the whales and Scotty goes with Checkov to analyze the strength of the materials being used to make a housing for the whales, and the computer he is given is the original Macintosh. Scotty speaks to the Mac, Checkov reminds him that’s not the interface, and then Scotty picks up the mouse and speaks to the mouse. This seems to show a natural interface into the future as Scotty mistakes the old computer for one he can easily and naturally talk to. Now looking at where we are today – the senior population is the fastest growing population segment in the US, and by 2030 will be 20% of our total population. Today, there are 17 million seniors above the age of 75 who are living independently, yet only 2.2 million of those independent seniors have any kind of monitoring system to get help. Today’s 17 million seniors will burgeon to 27 million seniors by 2030. Natural speech interfaces and connectivity will be control what we’re able to build in the future.

TV: What question might you pose to someone in the middle of making a choice to purchase or carry something that is connected and electronically enabling for a senior in their lives?

JAB: I think the message is simple. We show over and over again that if you want to extend the time and quality of someone’s life, then extend their independence. That means you need products that a senior is willing to wear, and that fits into their active lifestyle. At its core, the wearable is based on an Atmel | SMART SAM4L Cortex-M4 MCU running FreeRTOS as the real time operating system and also includes the ATWINC1500 SmartConnect device for Wi-Fi. The Kanega Watch includes both Wi-Fi and cellular communications; when you’re at home, it uses your Wi-Fi. When you’re away, it transitions seamlessly to cellular.

TV: Does the Kanega Watch have initial roots from the Maker Movement?

JAB: Yes, the roots are definitely Maker Movement – and also a lot of rapid prototyping (hardware’s version of the Lean Startup). We built our first industrial design prototypes at the TechShop in Austin, and our very first alpha design used a 3D-printed “box” as the “watch”. We make a lot of prototypes with rapid turn 3D-printing and CNC-machined aluminum. Before we built our own first prototypes, we created a software prototype on the Omate TrueSmart smart watch, which has dual 1.3 GHz ARM Cortex-A8’s running Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich.” Our only challenge with this prototype is that the battery life was an unsatisfying 5 hours – which meant that I had a battery pocket in my pocket and kept the watch plugged in with a cord hidden under my shirt when I needed to demonstrate over a long period, such as at a conference like SxSW. I like our current prototypes better!

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Interested in learning more or have an elderly family member who could benefit from the Kanega Watch? Head over to UnaliWear’s current Kickstarter campaign here.

Atmel unveils a cloud-ready Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo platform for IoT apps

Atmel has expanded its SmartConnect wireless portfolio with a wireless combo system-on-chip (SoC) for the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT) market.

The new fully-integrated WILC3000 wireless link controller combines Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth Smart-ready technologies in an ultra-small 4.1mm x 4.1mm Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP) with lower power consumption, along with Atmel’s patented adaptive co-existence engine, making it the ideal solution for IoT and wearable applications. Atmel’s WILC3000 Wi-Fi solution offers multiple peripheral interfaces including UART, SPI, I2C, and SDIO, along with the associated cloud-ready connectivity software, making it the perfect wireless connectivity companion to any microprocessor (MPU) running Android or Linux MPUs.

Atmel is also introducing the WINC3400 network controller featuring embedded flash memory which allows the device to host network services stack, Wi-Fi stack, and Bluetooth Smart profiles for rapid design development with no wireless expertise required from the designer. The WINC3400 can be paired with any Atmel AVR® or Atmel | SMART MCUs.

“IoT requires a diverse portfolio of wireless MPUs and MCUs with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities that will enable cloud access,” said Kaivan Karimi, Atmel Vice President and General Manager of Wireless MCUs. “Adding cloud connectivity to devices in the industrial, medical, wearable, fitness and other consumer markets will require a combination of embedded Wi-Fi with Bluetooth optimized for low battery consumption, and support for out-of-the-box, cloud ready software. Atmel’s SmartConnect WILC3000 and WINC3400 address these requirements by delivering a compact cloud-ready Wi-Fi/Bluetooth-certified platform that helps bring customer products faster to market.”

The latest cloudy-ready Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo platform is optimized for low-power applications, supporting single-stream 802.11n mode providing up to 72 Mbps throughput, enabling a broad range of use cases. Both devices integrate a power amplifier, LNA, switch and power management unit providing developers with the highest level of integration together with the best link budget for maximum range. The WILC3000 and WINC3400 provide the highest integration for a lower bill of material. The only external clock sources required is a high-speed crystal or oscillator with a wide range of reference clock frequencies supported (14-40 MHz) and a 32.768 kHz clock for sleep operation.

The WINC 3400 network controller offers an On-Chip Network Stack to minimize host CPU requirements. The Network features include TCP, UDP, DHCP, ARP, HTTP, SSL, and DNS. Additionally, the WINC3400 SiP includes Bluetooth Smart profiles allowing connection to advanced low energy application such as smart energy, consumer wellness, home automation, security, proximity detection, entertainment, sports and fitness and automotive. This solution also supports Atmel’s cloud-ready software for simple cloud connectivity.

Ready to add some connectivity to your next design? Explore the entire SmartConnect wireless family here.

Atmel unveils an ultra-low power Bluetooth Smart solution for the IoT

Evident by the sheer volume of connected objects infiltrating our homes, offices, cars and nearly every facet of our life, the Internet of Things (IoT) market is set for explosive growth. With billions of devices expected to become network-enabled, designers of all levels will require a very low-power platform that allows them to develop these smart gadgets in space-constrained applications. Luckily now, there’s the BTLC1000.

The new ultra-low power Bluetooth Smart solution is capable of achieving sub-1µA in standby mode, while delivering the industry’s best dynamic power consumption and increasing battery life by as much as one year for certain applications. The BTLC1000 pushes the limits of space constrained areas with its unprecedented 2.1mm X 2.1mm Wafer Level Chipscale Package (WLCSP), making it ideal for the rapidly growing IoT and wearables spaces, including portable medical, activity trackers, human Interface devices, gaming controllers, beacons and much more.

Expanding upon the Atmel SmartConnect wireless portfolio, the BTLC1000 is a Bluetooth Smart link controller integrated circuit that connects as a companion to any Atmel AVR or Atmel | SMART MCU through a UART or SPI API requiring minimal resource on the host side. The standalone Atmel | SMART SAMB11 Bluetooth Smart Flash MCU leverages the embedded ARM Cortex-M0 core combined with the integrated analog and communication peripherals to implement application-specific functionalities and is available as a system-in-package or a certified module. Both devices are fully integrated with a self-contained Bluetooth Smart controller and stack enabling wireless connectivity for a variety of applications to be quickly implemented without the wireless expertise typically required.

“One of the primary challenges of the IoT market is system integration—connecting one or multiple devices to the gateway and cloud,” explained Reza Kazerounian, Atmel Senior Vice President and General Manager, MCU Business Unit. “Atmel’s new Bluetooth Smart solutions solve these integration issues by enabling IoT designers of all levels the ability to connect their devices to the gateway and cloud with an easy-to-use, low-power Bluetooth connectivity solution. We are excited to enable more designers to bring their connected devices to the IoT market without comprising design time.”

Bluetooth Smart devices are a new breed of Bluetooth 4.1 peripherals with only a single Bluetooth 4.1 radio connecting only to Bluetooth Smart Ready devices. For those unfamiliar with the technology, Bluetooth Smart is the intelligent, power-friendly version of Bluetooth wireless connectivity that works with an application on the smartphone or tablet you already own. In fact, Bluetooth Smart solutions set new low-power standards with at least 30% power savings compared to existing solutions on the market in dynamic mode.

The cost-effective Bluetooth Smart technology can easily provide developers and OEMs the flexibility to create solutions that will work with the billions of Bluetooth-enabled products already in the market today, not to mention is supported by every major operating system. The technology brings every day devices such as toothbrushes, heart-rate monitors, fitness devices and more to be connected, communicating through applications that reside in Bluetooth Smart compatible smartphones, tablets or other similar devices already owned by consumers.

Interested? General samples will be available in March.

Libelium extends wireless connectivity to Waspmote IoT sensors

Internet of Things (IoT) platform provider Libelium has added long-range wireless coverage to its Waspmote and Plug and Sense! sensor nodes, by integrating Semtech’s LoRa RF technology in a new module-on-a-chip embedded radio design for smart cities and IoT deployments.

Powered by Atmel’s ATmega1281 MCU, Waspmote sensor nodes are designed to deploy by the thousands, connecting any sensor using any communication protocol to any cloud system. The LoRa communication protocol extends wireless connectivity, thereby enabling Waspmote sensors to transmit data at distances of several miles, over 20 miles in open spaces, and even through buildings. With LoRa’s high sensitivity of 138dBm, the Waspmote long-range module can receive data packets transmitted through difficult conditions and long links, thus reducing infrastructure costs for city uses.

“We’ve worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Semtech engineers to shrink the module form factor to integrate within our Waspmote sensor platform,” said David Gascón, Libelium CTO. “With LoRa we are offering new connectivity features and we have achieved a price reduction of 10-25% per node compared to our current product line. Our goal is to help customers select the wireless radio options that best suit their needs, in any environment.”

Aside from the ATmega1281 MCU, key Waspmote specs include 8KB SRAM, 4KB EEPROM, 128KB Flash, -10ºC, +65ºC temperature range and an RTC (32KHz) clock.

“The Libelium Waspmote solution, combined with LoRa, reduces the infrastructure cost to deploy smart city applications and improving the return on investment will accelerate more deployments,” explained Hardy Schmidbauer, Director of Wireless and IoT products at Semtech. “The flexibility and availability of more than 80 sensors in Waspmote, paired with the LoRa benefits of long range and extended battery lifetime create a very compelling solution.”

Interested in learning more? Read the entire announcement from Libelium here. Meanwhile, you can also check out how Atmel is powering the company’s Waspmote Mote Runner IPv6 development platform.

 

5 things coming to the smart home in 2015

With adoption and ownership of smart in-home devices on the rise, the future of an entirely connected house is not too far off. With major backing from corporations like Apple and Google to the emergence of [Atmel based] startups on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, it is clearer than ever that the market is ready to grow at a rapid pace. From home automation to smart metering, a new generation of intelligent products are set to increasingly power and connect our daily lives.

Writing for Gigaom, Stacey Higginbotham highlights five key trends that she expects will continue to evolve over the next couple of months and finally come to fruition in 2015. Here’s what she had to say…

1. Bluetooth-controlled lights

“At long last, products are coming on the market that will let you use Bluetooth to control light bulbs, outlets and more. These products are using mesh networking to make installing a connected light switch as easy as sticking a new plate to the wall using double-sided tape. Products from Avi-on (which is building bluetooth switches for GE’s Jasco brand), Oort, and Seed will change the way we use lighting in the home and at work. Even Peep, a company showing off a camera that snaps a picture when someone knocks on your door is looking at using Bluetooth as a faster way to get an image to people inside the home, since using Wi-Fi means it would go from the connected camera to the cloud and then to people’s phones.”

Our recent acquisition of NMI immediately expanded the 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities of the company’s offerings, thereby accelerating our introduction of low-energy Bluetooth products such as these.

2. Voice-controlled homes

“To talk to your home, you’ll talk to your phone: This isn’t a trend I’m excited about, but it’s obviously where we are heading in the relative near term. Since our phones are equipped with awesome natural language processing already, big companies such as Nest and Apple and small ones like Nucleus will use them to let people control their homes via voice. For example, Nest will integrate with Google Now’s speech recognition while Apple’s HomeKit is sure to have a Siri component. On the startup side, the Nucleus intercom system showed off a way to not only message people in your house, but to speak into the phone to control your lights. Ubi is building similar functionality into it’s app.”

Surely enough, it’s not that uncommon to find yourself spewing to an malfunctioning appliance or sharing your displeasure with a gadget; however, in the near future, when you talk to these devices, they may actually listen. Envision yourself calling out commands to complete tasks such as raising the heat on the thermostat or closing the blinds at night. Thanks to startups like Ubi and Wit.ai, custom voice controls may be coming to a neighborhood near you.

3. Low-power Wi-Fi 

“Two companies, Homeboy and Roost were offering different products that took advantage of low-power Wi-Fi. The benefits of such a set up are pretty obvious — you don’t need a fancy hub to control a device and it can work for almost everyone.”

It’s no surprise to find Wi-Fi as one of the integral technologies enabling devices to connect directly to one another, to wide area networks, or simply to the Internet in order to provide remote monitoring and control of a home system. As such, it is becoming a major driver of the explosion of the ever-evolving Internet of Things, particularly the connected home market. Atmel’s SmartConnect family is comprised of self-contained, low-power, and certified modules that are enabling wireless connectivity in such embedded designs, ranging from battery-operated devices to smart home appliances.

4. No more hubs for automation

“This year’s hot device, the home hub that combines a bunch of radios with a software platform to let people control multiple connected devices is going away. Even SmartThings CEO Alex Hawkinson is ready to build software that is independent of the company’s hub, although he admits it may take some time and won’t include all the devices out there. I also saw a startup, showing off an Android-based controller called the Reach app that lets people pause videos, play songs over their Sonos and control a few other devices like Hue lights. The app is in alpha right now, but I’m eager to see it once it hits beta.”

5. Show me the money!

“The business models that have been lacking in several popular services are beginning to crystalize. From Linden Tibbets. the CEO of If This Then That disclosing that he plans to have consumers pay for premium IFTTT services, to an in-depth discussion from IControl’s CEO on business models for the smart home, it’s clear that while companies have been focused on the user experience, the revenue models aren’t far behind.”

While we may not know exactly what the future holds, it appears that 2015 and beyond are looking much SMARTER.

Atmel teams with ARM on IoT Development Platform

Atmel is joining forces with ARM on the mbed device platform for the ever-growing Internet of Things (IoT).

This partnership broadens the ecosystem support for developers using Atmel’s portfolio of secure, low-power and cost-effective wireless connectivity solutions, specifically the Atmel SmartConnect Wi-Fi and 802.15.4-compliant solutions. Additionally, IoT developers for smart wearables, connected appliances, home automation systems and more can now bring their products faster to market.

Built around open standards, the mbed platform combines Internet protocols, security and standards-based manageability into one integrated system, and gathers silicon, cloud and device partners in one community. Atmel | SMART SAMR21 and WINC1500 customers now gain access to the mbed OS software platform, which includes command-line tools, a low-power HAL, as well as advanced networking protocols like 6LoWPAN and Thread to significantly accelerate IoT development.

“The ARM mbed IoT Device Platform simplifies the development and deployment of next-generation IoT devices and cloud services,” said Krisztian Flautner, ARM General Manager, IoT Business. “The integration of Atmel’s wireless technology with the mbed platform allows IoT developers to rapidly create devices that communicate across a mesh network with cloud services. This will drive the acceleration of the IoT in consumers and industrial markets.”

“As a leader in the IoT market, Atmel is committed to enabling developers of all levels the opportunity to bring their IoT devices quickly to market,” explained Steve Pancoast, Atmel Vice President of Software Applications, Tools and Development. “In this fragmented market place, we are leading the charge to bring easy-to-use hardware, software, development tools and platform solutions to market and enabling our IoT developers more time to focus on critical features in their design. By partnering with ARM on their mbed platform, we’ve taken another step towards making the 50 billion devices for the IoT market a reality.”

Those interested in learning more about the ARM mbed platform can head over to its official page here.

ArduIMU V4 is an Atmel based integrated measurement unit

Back in 2007, the original ArduIMU launched with the capability of being a fully-functional inertial measurement unit based on Arduino. Seven years later, Ahmad Byagowi’s team has brought the ArduIMU V4 to life with countless added abilities.

The V4 — which recently launched on Kickstarter — is described as “a beefed up successor to the original ArduIMU project and a fully capable wireless Integrated Measurement Unit (IMU).” Based on Atmel’s ATmega128RFA1, the 100% Arduino-compatible ArduIMU’s wireless functionality allows the device to monitor 9-axis motion and use sensors to analyze temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and even visible light.

While these are the listed functions of the V4, the team aspires that Makers and hackers will work within the community to expand the device’s capabilities. “The ArduIMU V4 is not just useful to applications which require inertial measurement, but has evolved into a powerful and versatile hardware framework for hobbyists, Makers and hackers,” a company rep writes.

The new ArduIMU offers users access to SPI, I2C, UART (0 & 1), analog input and PWM output, therefore enabling developers to take their own ideas and design custom shields for the V4. Additionally, the team was able to compile the Contiki OS on the ArduIMU V4 and use it for various projects, including implementing 6LoWPAN for a network of multiple units. Hello, IoT!

So what exactly could you use a machine like this for in your daily life? The team suggests implementations ranging from using it to sense humidity or tracking regional weather changes to monitoring a plant’s health or helping to fly your quadcopter.

According to its creators, the ArduIMU V4 is equipped with a built-in Micro-USB port for charging and communication with a host computer. “Since we used a standard FTDI USB-Serial chip, you don’t have to worry about finding finicky drivers to make it work. To communicate wirelessly, you simply use two ArduIMU V4 units and set up wireless communication between them,” the team explains. “Of course, the ArduIMU V4 can do both at the same time, so you could have one ArduIMU V4 out sampling data and sending it wirelessly to a second ArduIMU V4 that is plugged into your computer’s USB port to do some heavy number-crunching.”

While existing ZigBee devices can be used to communicate with the ArduIMU V4, the team is still actively working on an easy to use Arduino-style framework to make this feature more accessible to those with minimal MCU development experience.

With the help of the Kickstarter campaign, the team is looking to manufacture their first 500 ArduIMU V4 units. With all materials already sourced, “All required schematic files and parts lists are fully completed and ready, reducing and hopefully eliminating most of the problems and delays you may find with many other Kickstarter campaigns.”

To read more about the campaign which runs until October 9^th, head over to the ArduIMU V4 page!

Moving beyond the wearable future hype

On March 8th, the Chinese American Semiconductor Professionals Association (CASPA) held a symposium titled “The Wearable Future: Moving Beyond the Hype; the Search for the Holy Grail and Practical Use Cases.”

As SemiWiki’s Daniel Nenni notes in a recent blog post, the symposium, hosted at the Intel HQ Auditorium in Santa Clara, was standing room only. Dr. Reza Kazerounian, SVP & GM, Microcontroller Business Unit of Atmel, delivered a keynote speech at the event. 

According to Dr. Kazerounian, the Internet of Things (IoT) is opening up fresh horizons for a new generation of intelligent systems that leverage contextual computing and sensing platforms, effectively creating new markets.

“One of these platforms is the wearable category of devices, where the combination of sensors using low-power sensor fusion platforms, and short-range wireless connectivity, are giving rise to a variety of exciting end markets. From self-quantification to a variety of location-based applications, to remote health monitoring, wearables are becoming the harbinger for a whole host of services,” he explained.

“With the right set of biometric sensors combined with local fast data analytics, wearables have the potential to revolutionize the health care industry. These devices can provide real-time data and contextual information along with all the health care requirements, improving the quality of care and lowering the overall cost of care.”

Indeed, as we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, sports and healthcare functionality currently dominates shipments and is expected to drive future wearable device adoption. 

According to analysts at ABI Research, the most popular device functionality is heart rate monitoring – with close to 12 million devices shipped in 2013. These single function devices are designed to communicate with nearby hubs such as smartphones or activity sports watches. 
Pedometers and activity trackers were the next two most popular devices, accounting for around 16 million devices combined in 2013.

“The market for wearable computing devices is driven by a growing range of wireless connected wearable sports, fitness and wellbeing devices,” confirmed Jonathan Collins, principal analyst at ABI Research.

The Atmel-powered (SAM4L) Amulyte Pendant

“Heart rate and activity monitors will outpace shipments of smart watches and glasses for some years to come, and they will provide the essential foundation for the development of the broader wearable market.”

Collins also noted that wearable devices will increasingly move into healthcare services over the next five years.

“Sports, fitness and wellness devices will increasingly be augmented by connectivity to the emerging number of smart watches and glasses devices that become available over the next five years,” he said. “Likewise, general use wearable devices will increasingly support aspects of health monitoring. The interplay between health monitoring and wearable devices will be crucial in the development of both these markets.”

Canalys analyst Daniel Matte expressed similar sentiments about a related space in late 2013 when he confirmed that wearable bands represented a massive opportunity in the medical and wellness segment.

“The wearable band market is really about the consumerization of health… There will be exciting innovations that disrupt the medical industry this year. With the increased awareness about personal well-being they will bring to users, having a computer on your wrist will become increasingly common,” he added.

Reza Kazerounian talks IoT and Makers (Part 1)

Reza Kazerounian, Senior VP and GM of the Microcontroller Business Unit at Atmel, recently sat down with the folks at EEWeb to discuss a wide range of topics including the Maker Movement, the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) and the future of Atmel’s MCU business.

As Kazerounian notes, the IoT is a combination of multiple market segments, tens of thousands of OEMs and hundreds of thousands of products.

“It is seen by many as the next wave of dramatic market growth for semiconductors. If you look at the different estimates made by market analysts, the IoT market will be worth trillions of dollars to a variety of industries from the consumer to financial, industrial, white goods and other market segments,” he explained.

“Companies that provide cloud-based services, service providers and semiconductor companies will also benefit from this market. The number of small or new companies that are showcasing connective devices has increased – there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. These nodes will have characteristics such as low-power embedded processing, a human-machine interface and connectivity.”

That is precisely why Atmel has consolidated the most complete portfolio of IoT technologies: ultra-low power microcontrollers, wireless connectivity, touch controllers, touch materials (XSense), sensor management and security.

“These key IoT ingredients combined with Atmel’s development environment, culture and global support infrastructure will enable us to offer the broadest and most comprehensive IoT solutions in the industry,” he said.

“Atmel is a leading supplier in embedded processing. We compete in the low-power technology market segment because many of the near-home devices have been around for many years and have the ability to be connected wirelessly. These devices include gateways such as routers, access points and more.”

Kazerounian also discussed Atmel’s relationship with the burgeoning DIY Maker Movement which espouses an open hardware philosophy.

“More designers are initially starting with [Atmel-based] Arduino boards for their prototypes, and these designers will eventually become our customers. The Maker community is continuing to grow and is influencing how designers jump-start their first design to accelerate their prototype development,” Kazerounian continued.

“This trend will potentially increase ROI. Atmel is seeing an increase in professional engineers relying on [Atmel-based] Arduino boards to create initial models for their prototypes. The net impact of the Maker movement is the accelerated development of products which contribute to the overall IoT market growth and will ultimately benefit Atmel.”



Note: This is part one of a two-part series. The second installment can be read here.

The future of embedded automotive technology

Rob Valiton, senior VP and general manager, Automotive, Aerospace and Memory Business Units, Atmel Corporation, recently participated in an EE Catalog panel discussion about the future of embedded automotive technology.

According to Valiton, there is a wide variety of of technology that will continue to find its way into in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems – with capacitive touchscreens projected to be one of the fastest-growing spaces.

“The current dominant touchscreen technology in automotive is resistive. However, resistive technology does not allow consumers to interact with their car the way they interact with their smartphone, tablet and Ultrabook. The superior user interface, including common gesture recognition utilizing pinch/zoom and swiping motions is enabled by the adoption of capacitive technology,” he explained.

“Some newer features such as hover and proximity may also have the potential to create a less-distracted user environment than what exists today. Hover and proximity can be used in combination to ensure that the drivers’ eyes stay on the road for as long as possible and changing basic setting does not require several menu changes.”

In addition, Valiton noted that there are a number of standards which should be (further) unified to accelerate the IVI experience between on-board systems and connectable consumer products, with standards ranging from security and software considerations, to technology such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

“Standards identified by technology standards bodies, such as the Bluetooth SIG or Wi-Fi Alliance, are required in order to unify the IVI experience on-board, specifically in relation to consumer products. These are required to ensure a smooth and seamless connection, as well as a positive experience for the end user,” he said.

“Firmware specifications are identified within a car to ensure connectivity is established flawlessly. [Plus], continued development of standards such as those being developed by the Connected Car Consortium will ensure that drivers can continue to control their devices using existing in-vehicle equipment. Of course, software considerations are also important. Since the infotainment lifecycle of an automobile is typically much longer than in the home, future cars must consider software standards along with the ability to upgrade.”

Valiton also pointed out that there are a number of technologies required to connect a car to the roadway and municipal infrastructure, along with vehicle-to-vehicle communications.

“[Such technology] requires a microcontroller (MCU), numerous sensors, a connectivity solution which can range from Wi-Fi such as 802.11p, GPS and 3G or 4G networks and security. The combination allows cars to connect to roadway and municipal infrastructures such as Fastrak, toll payment or Onstar security systems—all of which are connected to terrestrial and/or wireless connectivity,” he said.

“Clearly, security in automobiles is very important. Remember, we are all used to having virus protection readily available on our PCs, but are unlikely to think that much about how secure our software is in the modern automobile. Until now, the software has been part of a closed system and not subject to hacking. With the new V2V and V2X systems, we will need technology to ensure secure firmware updates and prevent hackers from communicating with unsuspecting drivers and their vehicles.”

Last, but certainly not least, Valiton commented on the future of self-driving cars, citing a recent ORC International survey that claimed only 18 percent of consumers would consider buying a self-driving car.

“Despite this survey, we believe consumers do not have a full understanding of self-driving cars. There are a number of technologies today that are baby steps towards a self-driving car (think automatic braking),” he explained. “One example is the safe park, where the vehicle parks itself. Another example is autopilot, a system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a person, developed in 1912. Autopilots are used in aircraft, boats (known as self-steering gear), spacecraft, missiles and other vehicles.”

Similarly, an aircraft autopilot still requires human intervention—a pilot and a co-pilot—to ensure that if anything is amiss, they can be sure to steer the plane to safety.

“With self-driving cars, drivers will have the option to set the car in drive and not worry about a long trip or traffic. Similar to cruise control, the self-driving car can be turned off or if there is an emergency, the driver can still have full control of the car,” he added.

The car-to-x system warns of road works, congestion, obstacles and dangerous weather (courtesy Daimler).

“However, with strict automotive standards currently in place, to make this idea a reality, hardware and software must work closely together to achieve a safe and reliable self-driving car and one that is not hackable. Embedded technologies such as microcontrollers, sensors and touch solutions, encryption and even technologies such as 3D scanning are already in place to enable an autonomous vehicle. We are ready for self-driving cars; the real question is whether both manufacturers and drivers are ready to embrace it.”

Interested in learning more about Atmel’s comprehensive automotive lineup? You can check out our full automotive portfolio here.