AUSTIN, Texas – Wearable technology was a major focus at CES 2014, and since then buzz has only continued to grow as multiple panels at South by Southwest 2014 addressed the rising trend. Several of the world’s largest brands, including Coca-Cola and Visa, spoke on their experiences with wearable technology and where their brands fit in with the trend.
Probably the most direct and impressive wearable technology application was from PGA Tour’s Sloane Kelley, who explained how they’ve implemented Google Glass into their program to give golf fans an unprecedented view into the life of a pro. While training, they would wear Google Glass and record video of the practice so fans could see exactly what they see. They also use this footage to study the player’s technique to identify areas that could be improved. Smart club technology was also discussed, where chips were put into golf clubs to measure swings and compile stats, but that it was in the early stages of testing.
Bachir Zeroual, rirector of marketing ventures for Coca-Cola, described how his company has always thrived on partnerships, such as the well-known ventures with the Olympics and FIFA, but more and more they’ve been partnering with software companies like Spotify and independent game developers. With their space in the technology field established, Zeroual then described a wearable fitness/activity tracker Coke helped fund called the Misfit Shine. This device works in tandem with an application installed on the user’s phone to track steps with a pedometer as well as monitor your progress over time to help set goals. While an elegant looking device, it wasn’t necessarily pushing the boundaries of technology.
Shiv Singh, SVP of brand and marketing transformation for Visa, opened his spiel with a joke that since Visa is in your wallet and pocket constantly, they were one of the original “wearable technologies,” which got a nice rise out of the crowd. With over 2.1 billion cards in the market, it makes sense their tagline is “Everwhere you want to be.” Playing off of this was what Singh called their foray into wearable technology, the “everywhere cam,” a mobile app featured by Apple during the Winter Olympics. Using this app, users could move their phone around in different directions to simulate the poit-of-view of an Olympic athlete during an event, surveying the winter landscape as they skied down a slope. Singh claims there’s never been this type of app immersion, saying it was a real step forward for getting users inside the head of athletes.
However, he did point to a promising, unrealized as of yet future for mobile payments. He pointed out that at the Mobile World Congress 2014 event, AT&T changed the way payments were coupled to a phone, allowing for payment information to be saved via the cloud. He asked the crowd to imagine when an end-to-end purchase could be made with a series of eye gestures using a device like Google Glass.
But how do we get to this future of wearable technology? All three panelists agreed that what the industry needs is an open API – a standard that everyone could freely use. Only then would the technology move past the confines of simple fitness trackers.
