Bluetooth Special I Front End
Latest and ‘coolest’ Bluetooth devices go on show in London
From medical to tracking devices, high fidelity sound and audio equipment members of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group took the opportunity to show off some of the latest devices at an event held in London
Some of the very latest high tech gadgets, products and devices using Bluetooth technology were on display at an event held in central London at the end of February. Using the latest Bluetooth technology all the producers of the devices are members of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG), a group of companies that work together to develop and guide the technology worldwide. There are around 17,000 manufacturers and developers of Bluetooth enabled devices who are now members of Bluetooth (SIG). According to Suke
Jawanda, the Bluetooth (SIG) Chief Marketing Office, “there has been a quantum leap in the development of products in the past year, driven by unprecedented growth in traditional Bluetooth applications like wireless audio. What we are going to see in the next few years is virtually anything we use being able to connect to applications that reside on Bluetooth Smart Ready devices or in the cloud.”
Among the companies demonstrating devices for this ‘brave new world’ was Spanish company, Weartech. Based in Valencia it uses Smart Fabrics and Intelligent Textiles to support semi- professional and professional athletes and has now developed a four component system - GOW - that is able to capture
technology and microelectronic sensors built in to a t-shirt to monitor an athlete’s performance and make the most of their workout - and it’s all connected using Bluetooth Smart low power wireless technology.”
At its heart the GOW Running t-shirt acts as a ‘second skin’ for athletes using
and monitor physical activity through wireless technology.
“GOW is the first system to provide an easy-to-use, complete package,” says Javier Guillén, operations manager, Weartech. “It uses the latest smart textile
conductive textile sensors to read and measure the physiological performance during exercise. This information is then relayed using Bluetooth through an extremely light electronic sensor to the GOW Mobile application and dedicated website that stores, monitors and analyses an athlete’s performance.
But not only does the device monitor an athlete’s performance the user can also receive encouragement during a training session through “live visualization”. Messages can be sent through the application or website to an athlete’s Smartphone, all while the action is taking place.
Orbitsound, the British audio technology brand, used the event to unveil the new ‘M’ series of wireless soundbars. The series comes with a wireless subwoofer, Bluetooth streaming and a new control panel. The company has replaced an integrated docking station with Bluetooth streaming which enables the ‘M’ series to be connected to phones, tablets and computers with built in Bluetooth technology to the soundbar. With Bluetooth buttons on both the remote control and soundbar and a ‘grab’ function which automatically plays the most recent media on a previously paired device at the touch of a button, the ‘M’ series integrates users’ media through the soundbar. The Bluetooth streaming allows users to pause and skip tracks with either the remote control or their connected Bluetooth device. The company’s MD Peter Eckhardt said:
“Talking with customers at consumer shows and hearing what they have said on the shop floor, we realised that it was time to replace the incorporated dock with Bluetooth streaming, so that users can experience a sound experience across all their devices.” FiveFive, a French company that is developing next generation smart products for the home used the event to demonstrate Holi. Unveiled at CES in January it is the first iPhone-iPad
controlled lamp that has been designed to project multiple lighting effects. By using the device you can choose your own colour palette or create your own and by using a timer the lamp can be programmed to fade to black at the end of the day or wake you with an array of more gentle light.
The lamp uses 18 individually
controlled light sources making it the world’s first multidimensional lamp. Security products were also on display. NioBlue demonstrated the nio product range that works by running software on a mobile and communicates via Bluetooth with one or more tags that can be secured to almost any item you want to protect. The device forms a kind of security zone between the tagged item and a user’s mobile phone. If the tag or your mobile move outside of the security zone an alarm or alert is triggered. The hipKey device from hippih helps keep track of phones, keys or misplaced of stolen iPads. An advanced wireless proximity and movement alarm this small Bluetooth device can be attached to any valuable and will alert you if the object is moved. All the features are controlled via an app and it has a maximum range of 50 metres.
It has been estimated that there are at least nine billion Bluetooth enabled devices that have been made to date with a further 2.5bn coming on to the market this year alone. ■
www.cieonline.co.uk
Components in Electronics
April 2013 5
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