CATEGORIES
CATEGORIESThe very idea of wearable technology has gotten under Active Junky’s skin. Not literally, yet, but companies like BeBop Sensors are coming close. Founder Keith McMillen gave us a few nanoseconds recently to respond to our questions. Almost like he sensed them coming.
Today a wearable is an electronic device worn on the wrist, ankle, arm or clipped to shoes and/or clothing. These devices track user activity and provide information such as miles walked, calories burned, heart-rate, etc. The use cases vary from useful to frivolous. Wearables should integrate seamlessly into one’s daily lifestyle. We believe the definition will not change significantly, but their effectiveness and imperceptibility will change drastically. Improvements to AI and the continued reduction in size and price of hardware will improve the devices for current use cases and open up new use cases that the world hasn't even thought of yet.
Overuse or strain on certain areas or sides of the body; Force or impact of human-to-thing (foot to shoe), human-to-human (combat sports), and thing-to-thing (ball to glove) interactions; real-time feedback on repeatability of motion, movement, or presence.
A little of all three really--successful sensor design requires an extremely nimble, cross-functional team. Of all of them, gathering is almost always the hardest as it involves sensing the things you want to sense and not sensing those you don't. In so many cases, these things are so deeply linked during a given input that it takes a thorough understanding of the behavior or interaction you are trying to characterize to be able to effectively design the right sensor.
Keith McMillen, Founder & CEO, BeBop Sensors
Keith McMillen is the Founder of BeBop Sensors www.bebopsensors.com, the leader in smart fabric sensor wearable technology. McMillen has started and sold two companies in his 30+ years innovating in the sensor and audio market. Zeta Music revolutionized stringed instruments and was sold to Gibson Guitars in 1992. Octiv, started in 2000, received funding from 3i and Intel Capital and was sold to Plantronics (NYSE:PLT) in 2005. McMillen is the inventor on numerous patents; has released hundreds of profitable products; published dozens of scholarly papers, and was winner of a Guthman Award in 2010. He received a B.S. in Acoustics from University of Illinois at Urbana.
Images via BeBop
