Tag: wearable tech

Google finally gives Wear OS left-handed support

Jorge Gonzalez
Wear OS - Person looking at smartwatch on wrist

After dragging its heels for three and a half years, the wearable operating system will work on both wrists. Google had been losing its drive to move forward with its Wear OS wearable technology platform until Samsung came along to help. This assistance recharged the tech giant and encouraged it to take on a substantial user problem too. When Samsung came along, it helped Google to build the Wear OS 3. With that build, Google has finally opened itself to overcoming one of the major challenges its smartwatch wearers have…

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Meta VR glove prototype uses air pockets to feel virtual objects

Stephanie Beck
VR glove - Person using virtual reality gear

The wearable technology is bringing the metaverse experience one step closer to feeling like reality. Meta (the company formerly known as Facebook), has released images of its haptics VR glove prototype that will help to make the virtual reality experience feel slightly more real. It’s far from the real thing, but the wearable tech does provide the wearer with a sensory experience. The VR glove is still in its prototype stage at Meta’s Reality Labs research division. The haptics wearable is lined with about 15 ridged and inflatable actuators, which…

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DextrEMS wearable device controls fingers for sign language and music

Sam Lambert
Wearable device - sign language learning

The gadget uses electrical muscle stimulation and mechanical brakes for movement in each finger. A new wearable device called DextrEMS from the University of Chicago’s Human Computer Integration Laboratory uses electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) and mechanical breaks to control each finger on the hand. This design overcomes a range of hand control challenges particularly when fingers are used simultaneously. The team at the university was led by Assistant Professor Pedro Lopes. The haptic wearable device was invented and developed by the team in the Department of Computer Science. They included…

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Will you wear a Facebook smartwatch next summer?

Jesse Collins
Facebook smartwatch - person wearing smartwatch

The social network’s first wrist-worn gadget will reportedly launch midway through 2022. A Facebook smartwatch is slated to roll out in the summer of 2022, according to a recent report published on The Verge. This is not the first report that the company was working on the wearable tech, but it did add a timeline. Media reports in February had already hinted that at Facebook smartwatch was in the works and that over $1 billion had already been spent on the project. That said, this new report has added details…

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Google’s Fitbit acquisition draws criticism from advocacy groups worldwide

John Montgallo
Fitbit acquisition - Google - Fitbit

Twenty organizations from the US, Europe, Latin America and more have signed a warning statement. Google’s Fitbit acquisition was the topic of a signed statement from 20 advocacy groups from the United States, Europe, Latin America and other parts of the world. The statement called for regulators to take care in the tech giant’s $2.1 billion bid to purchase the popular fitness tracker company. The main concerns voiced by the advocacy groups have to do with privacy and competition. The 20 advocacy groups include Public Citizen from the United States,…

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