<div><strong>Tom Foldesi, </strong>Senior Director of Product, New Devices Group at Intel explains the chip maker's push into wearables<br /><br /><strong>Honestly, aren't wearables a solution in search of a problem?<br /></strong>Consumers will always want their electronics to be more compact, portable, lighter, and at the same time less obtrusive. In many ways, it is the perpetual problem statement in computing. It is that same problem statement that gave birth to notebooks, smartphones, and now wearables. In fact, wearables introduce a new level of convenience in how we interact with information. To use a mundane example, imagine a world where you just glance at your watch and do not need to retrieve you phone dozens of times a day. In the wearables space, Intel’s product philosophy is to bring smart, connected features to the items that individuals already wear. So your wearable is not just another gadget. Rather, it’s something that you have always worn that now also offers convenient computing functionality.<br /><br /><strong>Would you say wearables are set to be as big an evolution as the mobile phone has been?<br /></strong>It is still very early days for the industry, but wearables are already revolutionising the way we collect and consume data. The more features we integrate into wearable devices, the more compelling they will become. There is no doubt that this is the next frontier in computing. However, we do not yet know with certainty what dominant usage models and devices will emerge and when.<br /><br /><strong>Do you see any specific industries as being particularly ripe for wearables? Or is it all just a lot of experimentation?</strong><br /> </div><table width="300" border="0" align="right" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"><tbody><tr><td><img width="300" vspace="3" hspace="3" height="200" align="right" src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=95d6ebb3-9658-44ae-a4c9-36bd5c8321e5&groupId=36166&t=1405927371104" alt="" /></td></tr><tr><td><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><strong>Tom Feldosi</strong></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div>We believe that lifestyle brands, including fashion houses and sports/fitness companies are going to be very powerful drivers of wearable technology. You can put a smartphone in your pocket, but wearables are actually worn on your body, easily visible. This makes them a very personal product - an expression of users’ personality and style. The aforementioned industries are best positioned to be able to address personal style on a very broad scale and will be instrumental in the deployment of mainstream wearable devices. To foster innovation in this field, Intel has already announced partnerships with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), premium retailer Barney’s of New York, and international design house Opening Ceremony. <br /><br /><strong>It seems like wearables are sprouting up in too many different fields. There's a lot of fitness trackers, health tracking devices, notifiers, etc. Do you see something that would unify these? </strong><br />There has not yet been one single usage model or device that has emerged as the broad standard. People have different tastes and preferences and the market is growing very rapidly, so there is more than enough room for numerous devices/usages to coexist. Over the medium to long run, ongoing form factor miniaturisation will drive device convergence, as it did in mobile. Ten to fifteen years ago, you may have had a cell phone, a PDA, pocket camera, and a Blackberry. Today, you have a smartphone that can perform all of those functions. Wearable devices of the future will be able to integrate fitness/health tracking, notifications, etc. in one single device. That device could come in a variety of form factors: watch, bracelet, glasses, earpiece, etc. Intel has always been and continues to be a global leader in driving ever smaller form factors in technology. We are currently engaged with our customers on various devices/usage models and we are determined to help our partners shape this emerging landscape.<br /><strong><br />What kind of developers have been taking up work with Intel Edison so far? Can you give me some idea of the work in progress? (Edison is Intel's tiny computer that fits into an SD card).</strong><br />Edison has not officially launched yet – the product is expected to be available within the next couple of months, so we are not in a position to talk about specific devices. Though our CEO did showcase the Mimo Baby “smart onsie” in his CES keynote in January 2014. It is a baby garment with biometric monitoring sensors powered by Edison. It allows parents a new level of insight into their baby’s biometrics. We will be able to talk about additional products soon after launch. Intel is <br />sponsoring the Make It Wearable Challenge to foster innovation in this space and Edison is expected to power a lot of the devices for the competition. Intel has announced more than $1 million in prize money for the most innovative ideas. Competition finalists will be announced in the Fall.<br /><br /><strong>What new reference devices are in the works from Intel post CES?</strong><br /><img width="300" vspace="3" hspace="3" height="344" align="left" src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=decdffcd-5e23-46b1-b152-8e0b93161453&groupId=36166&t=1405866255015" alt="" />We have publicly announced that we are developing a smart bracelet with international fashion house Opening Ceremony. Our CEO, Brian Krzanich, also demonstrated a smart shirt last month at the Code Conference. It underscores Intel’s research and development activities in smart fabrics and garments. We will be making more product announcements in the coming months… stay tuned!<br /><br /><strong>How important will it be to have unifying standards in the upcoming wearables industry? <br /></strong>Everyone's doing their own thing. Consumers have the most power in driving vendors towards particular standards, devices, and usage models. Convergence in mobile ecosystems was driven by customer behaviour. However, there is certainly room for vendors to align around particular technical standards to make the marketplace more transparent upfront. For example, <br /><br />in the interest of a better user experience, Intel is an active player in designing smart wireless charging technologies based on the Rezence (A4WP) standard. <br /><br /><strong>How do you see the problems of security and privacy being tackled as we move into the age of wearables?</strong><br />Every person has their own preferences when it comes to privacy. But regardless of whether individuals want to maintain a public or private profile, everyone agrees that they want their data to be secure. Intel has been a leader in designing security features into both hardware and software for more than 40 years in servers, PCs, and mobile devices. We are now bringing this rich, diverse experience set to bear in wearables. <br /><br /> </div>
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
