A visit to the Wearable Tech Show

As we head into the developing world of IOT, I popped into the Wearable Technology Show to see if I could spot some innovations that might impact marketing or possibly our customers at a personal level.

Since the demise of Google Glass there’s been a lot of discussion about how or when a device capable of providing the wearer with useful augmented reality would appear in a form users might feel comfortable wearing. Tom Enrich, partner at Super Ventures, hosted a debate that left us little the wiser. One thing that all of the panel agreed upon however was that whilst a myriad of great opportunities were presenting themselves to enterprise, there was little on the horizon that might persuade a consumer to head down the high street with any face up tech. The major concern remains that technology like this is viewed with suspicion by a public that naturally assumes they’re being observed and recorded.

All of that said, one piece of kit that gained lots of interest (and seemed less likely to cause problems on the street) was the HD video recording sports eyeware from Sunnycam. Their impressive technology fits neatly inside a slim and stylish frame. Perfect for just about any sport and I thought they looked pretty good. Although I’ve never been regarded as style guru.

If you thought tapping your card to make payments was too much like hard work, a solution is literally at hand. The company KERV have come up with a ceramic ring about the size of a male wedding band, that’s fully chipped and can be configured to your bank account, all for only £99.99. As someone that took a while to get used to contactless, this will take me a little longer still. If you’re interested check out kerv.com but you may have to wait to get your hands on one as they’re all hand made in the UK.

Inevitably the biggest areas on display were healthcare and performance sports. Wrist monitors, stretch clothing, head bands, footwear and more are being embedded with an incredible amount of monitoring technology for personal and professional sports use, but for me it was the Touch Surgery system that really stood out. The application will allow surgeons to practice virtual surgery on virtual patients in a virtual operating room with the aim to improve high quality surgical care globally. This and other impressive tech in the healthcare arena will continue to revolutionise patient care in just about every area.

As the market matures, it’ll be interesting to see which concepts move from ‘fad’ to usable innovations that permeate our daily lives. As marketers, the jury’s still out on which tools will be adopted and how, if at all, it’ll create more opportunities to engage audiences….