- The first item that could be realistically classed as wearable technology was a form of TV glasses designed by Hugo Gensbach, a science fiction publisher from Luxembourg.
- In 2014 it is expected that as many as 28 million wearable devices such as Fitbit, Jawbone or others will be sold around the world. That would represent an 80% growth on 2013.
- Penetration in the United States remains low at only 5%, making it an area where there is still a huge opportunity for growth.
- The flip side is that ‘brand experts’ say it does not engage people. Brandwatch conduct regular sentiment surveys about what people are talking about online. Wearable technology scored a low figure of 8% in terms of discussion though that was mainly positive.
- Fitbit, one of the market leaders has recently established two holding companies in Ireland, with the suggestion being they will establish part of their business here, possibly for tax reasons.
- Shimmer Sensing is already based here and making significant inroads into healthcare monitoring. It currently exports devices and technology to over 60 countries.
- The likely trend for wearable technology is to be led by sport and fitness but ultimately to achieve its main breakthrough potential via medical monitoring.
- In the US there is already a ‘babygro’ fitted with sensor technology that can feed data on the wellbeing of your child at all times. What that does for the mental wellbeing of the parent when a spike occurs is unrecorded.
- Samsung is the official technology partner of Leinster Rugby and works with the team to develop software that will lead to better preparation, less injury and greater performance.
- Northern Ireland is becoming a strong hub for wearable technology with StatSports working with multiple teams in the Premier League applying sensors that are worn on the body and in kits to provide real time data for management.
- Support2Perform is another company, based in Belfast, using sleep monitoring and wellbeing technology to provide insight to sporting bodies and increasingly to business looking to provide a better environment and education on performance for senior executives.
- Avenir Sports is the leading Republic of Ireland based company in the space providing technical monitoring equipment and analysis for a wide range of inter county and international teams.
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