Love wearing it or hate it – it’s here to stay – so you may as well learn to embrace it! And as RFIDdirect’s trend spotters report – there is a lot of innovative and rather beautiful wearable technology around
The desire to develop and personalise our homes, objects and ourselves is an intrinsic part of the human condition; commonly quoted is British art & craft designer William Morris – although he quite clearly preferred the past to the present in many ways!
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
― William Morris
We could equally apply this notion today to our many choices of technological devices, including today’s wearable tech.
Electronic devices – a short but eventful history
Although we have worn watches, other accessories and attachments for centuries, it is over a relatively short time period (we could say, for our purpose, since 2007’s ‘genesis’). When a fairly portable PDA was wedded to a phone and became the cathartic ‘smart phone’. The wearable smart ‘watch’ inevitably followed and our life-style became super-‘connected’ through digital (wireless), sensor & NFC technology multi-devices. From the stand-alone PC, we have come a very long way through internet accessibility and software applications. More, we have become very familiar,and comfortable with personal items of tech – from access and payment to entertainment, information and health care.
Got the growth factor
These innovatory changes to our daily lives now transcend the primary objective of communication – it’s estimated more than two billion people globally use digital devices to share data with discrimination. They navigate, buy and sell, news update, stream films and music, play video games, monitor health, participate in social media, oh and use them in their work – we might even tell the time!
There’s no doubt that this sector is now big business – figures of $30+ Billion are quoted for this market’s growth!
What you and wearables can do together
To name all the things, wearable tech can do would be impossible – but making payments, monitoring and gaining access, health checks seem to be among the most common, everyday functions. This has meant the daily ‘wearing’ of a device is inevitable.
It looks like the versatility of these devices has made them popular and by, “Designing a wearable tech device with more personal individual interaction – makes the individual feel unique”. Michal Levin https://bit.ly/2IyNTqw
Create and manage your own data
As the nature of your own data capture is all together more personal – biometric data for example – it will be unique to the wearer. Augmented Reality, another example, through smart glasses could be formed entirely from a user’s point of view. This makes the user experience particularly important and successful. UX (user experience) design, that is the combination of quality in physical interaction fit, and appearance/style are the key to a product’s success.
Future fashions & Predictions : Wearable technology Show, London
The biggest event for wearables, digital health, smart devices and IOT – 10th & 11th March 2020
Competition in this market is now fierce. With the sector well and truly established, the future is all about increasing the quality of interaction between people and products, whilst keeping a sharp eye on trends and innovations.
Building in pleasing user interactions from the very beginning and making the product more satisfying to use. Positive word of mouth is essential to having long-lasting success in the market, and it isn’t achieved without a commitment to sweating the details on user experience.
Speaker:Stephen Mears, Analyst, Futuresource Wearables & IOT
The brand experience, for most users, goes beyond the marketing of new digital trends and user experience alone. Consumers are demonstrating their desire for more customised experiences and products – or rather designs that express individuality. Users find it hard to always ‘connect’ with a generic design of device or application; the desire for ‘something different’ is hard-wired into the human condition!
Tovi Sorga: Exclusive & Stylish Wearable Tech
Adding personality or style to wearable tech design gives more than a USP – it offers the pleasure factor that offers a much more attractive and enjoyable experience. Inevitably the luxury end of the market – high-end brands and ‘haute couture’ wearables often steal the show, but are unobtainable and extreme for most and many of them simply unwearable!
The more accessible and affordable wearable tech is currently on offer from Gloucestershire brand Tovi Sorga, whose current payment collection for British consumers is powered by the leading mobile payments app, Pingit. Tovi Sorga designs beautiful and highly imaginative leather jewellery and accessories – and their B2B offering also combines cashless payments with access, money management, donations and more – enabled by NFC (RFID) technology. Their wearables deploy bespoke contactless solutions that seamlessly integrate your payment, access, loyalty, and other customer interactions requirements in a smart, yet traditional combination. They can be adapted for multiple uses across multiple industries – from luxury VIP statements, to sustainable mass-market wearables for festivals, stadiums, events and banking customers.
Embellishment of gloriously rich colour and unique, exotic design features are everything to this dynamic design team’s ethos:
“We believe tech should never be disposable. We design and create take-home products that are not only responsibly made but that also leave memories – accessories so stylish. . . customers will want to tell the world about them!”
Agnes and Tovi
And where do they see the future for wearable tech jewellery and accessories?
“Wearable technology is a rapidly growing industry, and as people become increasingly comfortable with having convenient tech close at hand, they also want it to speak for their own personality and express their individual taste and style. We’ve been designing luxury tech accessories for over a decade at Tovi Sorga, and we know that there will always be a strong market for the best technology to be humanised with great aesthetics and on-trend fashion”.
NFC by RFIDdirect
The use of RFID technology improving data capture, making operations more efficient, is not new. Many know this technology from the hospitality world where contactless key-cards opening the hotel room is well established. Your swipe-by payment cards work on the same technical principles.
The name NFC given in the marketing promotions is an acronym for Near Field Communication, hence the readable distance is limited to a few centimetres. As many modern Smart Phones have this technology as a standard – embedded in the phone, it opens greater opportunities for new customer experience applications.
At RFIDdirect we have a long history of enabling applications working with this NFC ‘phenomena’. From access control, time management, parking control, pre-payment vendor machines and other applications. RFIDdirect designs the complete solution behind the NFC tag and can supply the chip-set itself, the full packaging such as ID-cards, and key-fobs.
Collaboration is key!
Recent RFIDdirect cooperation with Tovi Sorga is very promising;
“We no longer need to supply ‘made in China’ commodity wristbands and key-fobs, but we can point to a real exciting and luxury design, and even personalisation”.
For example, hotel access with a bespoke software system behind the wristband and key-fob, one single identifier can potentially be used:
- make an appointment with the spa,
- to open the parking barrier,
- register when entering the premises,
- store your performance data in the Gym,
- time registration at challenges,
- pay for your coffee at the bar,
- open the door of your hotel room,
- sign out when leaving the premises,
- and other all customer related services
This wearable tech solution creates comfort and real pleasure to use plus exclusive branding for your customer. “
“NFC technology is safe to use – despite all the negative press about security – NFC is always evolving with the highest standards; the future for this sector is safe and confident. RFID technology will continue to enable creative collaborations – as with Tovi Sorga – to ensure their show stopping wearable tech designs meet every expectation.
Frits van Calker Director of RFIDdirect
