Picture gallery: The weird and the wonderful at the London Wearable Technology Show 2017
Gadgets & Wearables is attending this year’s Wearable Technology Show (WTS) at London’s ExCel to try out gadgets we might all be using in the near future. Now in its fourth year, the WTS is the largest global event for wearables, smart technology and IoT.
Some 5,000 industry professionals and consumers are in attendance, along with around 100 exhibitors from 20 countries. More than 50 products are being launched exclusively to UK media. The two day event concludes today.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets for 2017
Early this morning, the organisers of the show announced the winners of the fourth annual Wearable Awards. Tech giants Google, Apple, Snapchat and Epson all received accolades, as well as innovative start-ups including Realwear, Petcube and Proximie. Apple Watch 2 was voted as the ‘Best Consumer Product’, with Fitbit Charge 2 following in second place.
Smart rings are making a strong showing this year. Indistinguishable from regular jewellery in looks, these are gadgets that house some serious smarts.
Kerv is showcasing Kerv Ring which dishes up all the features and benefits of NFC. You can use Kerv to make payments anywhere in the world that displays the contactless MasterCard payment symbol –think coffee shops, supermarkets and pub chains.
Helios smart ring wants to help you monitor the amount of sunlight you’re getting. There is a UV index sensor and an ambient light sensor onboard, that continuously track the strength of the sun and calculate your vitamin D absorption.
Nimb is a ring that puts personal security right into your hands. Press and hold the button on the underside — and a message with your GPS location is immediately and silently sent to friends and family, people nearby, police and emergency services or members of the Nimb community.
MyZone is previewing its latest innovation in wearable technology – a fully fledged subscription service for work-outs and classes that will soon be available on its app platform. These developments, including Instagram-style pictures to record workouts and WhatsApp-style group messaging, see MyZone moving further into the realm of becoming a fully functioning online community for exercise.
The Vybra air purifier also caught our eye. This is a portable device that sits around your neck and pumps out ions designed to clump together pollution and germs until they become too heavy for you to breathe them in. At least, that’s the theory. It should be very useful for those who use public transport often or work in polluted areas. The product is yet to be released.
AIQ demoed the latest in its smart clothing range. This is where electronics meet textiles to create fashionable, functional, comfortable solutions to meet your everyday needs; whether it’s in sports and fitness, outdoor and leisure, home and health care.
This one really caught our eye.
The Helo LX, which will be available later this month is not limited to monitoring and reporting physical data. The device has active sensors recording emotions, fatigue, sleep quality, exercise, blood pressure, heart rate and ECG. It even has built-in GPS with a panic button if you are in trouble. Plus, future add-ons will include monitoring blood-glucose levels, oxygen levels, blood-alcohol levels and more.
Fitbit, Garmin and Apple have not cracked blood pressure and glucose from the wrist, Helo claims they have. We were told the company would gladly send us a device to test out, so we will suspend judgement till then.
Other devices on display included: Petcube and its all-new pet camera lineup; Activbody with a portable handheld device that acts like a “personal trainer in your pocket”; Lechas with the world’s first GPS navigation and fitness tracking footwear; Alivecor with its Kardio Band; Tapdo – a wearable smart button that allows users to assign different functions to the different finger parts; and much much more.
Yes, in case you were wondering there was even space for a London bus. Because why not…
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