STORES 2017 BIG Show Daily - January 16, 2017 - 13

2017 MONDAY

13

Wearables
Continued from page 12

market, in January 2016, Under Armour
joined with IBM Watson "to ensure that UA
Record software users receive notifications
that help them optimize their daily fitness,
wellness and sleep rhythms."
Weinswig anticipates the emergence
of the next wave of wearables, which
"will shift the category from stand-alone
devices to lifestyle-enhancing systems
tying together multiple connected devices
Athos uses sensors on clothing to measure
muscle effort in real time.

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and cloud services."
Currently, most wearables "include
technology that is easily copied, and they
have limited functionality and normally
require a connection via a smartphone,"
Weinswig says. "The second generation
of wearables will consist of smart devices
that act in conjunction and integrate with
the Internet of Things autonomously."
One example of this type of product
is Sony's Experia system, which combines
wearables and the IoT "in order to function
as a personal assistant," she says. Another
is connected garments from SensorKit,
which rely on multiple sensors to detect the
wearer's activities. "The sensors then communicate the data to a software platform
that interprets and measures the wearer's
movements."
Under Armour entered that market
this year with the release of its Connected

"Over time, all pieces
of clothing will evolve
into fulfilling a purpose
beyond providing
coverage, comfort or
displaying your sense
of style."
- Dhananja
Jayalath, Athos
Fitness line, which integrates a band, heart
monitor and scale with smart shoes that
store running data, including distance and
duration. The products are all powered by
UA Record, Under Armour's health and fitness platform. In early 2015, Under Armour
opened a digital headquarters in Austin,
Texas, employing 100 engineers, data scientists, designers and innovators to develop
and enhance its Connected Fitness portfolio.
Athos' Jayalath expects the field to
become even more crowded. "We will
definitely see more clothing becoming
smarter," he says. "It will start off with
functional clothing, clothing that serves a
specific purpose, and these clothes will be
enhanced to provide more value as we learn
more about the needs of consumers and
what provides the most value. Over time,
all pieces of clothing will evolve into fulfilling a purpose beyond providing coverage,
comfort or displaying your sense of style."

Next source of big data

Wearable technology also will generate
a plethora of new data, Martin says. "On the
consumer side, the benefit for retailers and
manufacturers is to not only provide additional functionality to end users, but also
to collect information on garment usage,
consumer buying behavior and patterns of
that nature." And with occupation-specific
equipment - think nurses' scrubs or safety
glasses for manufacturing workers - "there
is no reason why those garments and tools
can't be connected. It provides an additional
layer of functionality."
See "Wearables" on page 14
STORES 2017 BIG Show Daily - January 16, 2017

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