Wearable Tech Conference Comes to Seattle

Wearables are the hottest topic in technology these days, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing. An innovative segment just a few years ago, its now a juggernaut of massive proportions, attracting top talent and research and investment dollars. In 2013, there was an estimated $1.4 billion spent on pursuing wearable technology. By 2019, its expected to hit $19 billion, and Seattle is at the epicenter of the boom.

The Northwest Connection

Because wearable technology relies on cloud computing for much of its functionality, Seattle is a natural host city, with Microsoft, Amazon and many other big cloud computing players calling it home.. Its also been home to some of the early stars of the wearable game, including Artefact, one of the leaders in wearable health care applications.

Not surprisingly, Seattle was chosen as the first U.S. location for the only wearable technology conference to focus solely on the user experience. Coming off a wildly successful conference in London in 2014, the 2015 Wearable Technology UX Conference is coming to Seattle on October 1-2, and it will bring together the top minds in wearables and user experience to talk about the future of this exciting technology segment.

Chris Linnett, Director of Design from Spotify and one of the presenters at the conference says, Seattle is an ideal site for a conversation about wearable UX because the region has long been home to hardware and software innovation and provides distance and perspective with which to measure the merits of the proposals we will explore together.

While many players in the wearable world have been focusing on pushing the envelope as far as technology, too many have been neglecting the human experience aspect of wearable. This conference aims to address this gap. Human centered design, paired with revolutionary technology, is the goal of the attendees and speakers who will be participating in this conference.

Consumers steer clear of products that are frustrating to use, or are not intuitive and needlessly complex, says Yuriy Zaremba, a UX Design Lead and member of Seattles User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA), the local chapter of a dedicated group of design professionals. We strive to create an extraordinary experience to go with flawless technology. The UXPA Seattle group and the Seattles IoT (Internet of Things) and Wearable Meet Up Group are both partners of the conference.

Stacy Burr, Vice President of Wearable Sports Electronics for adidas, agrees. UX was given a back-seat during the earlier days of wearable development, she says. Initially we were just try to get the devices to work reliably. Now that many of the hardware and sensor challenges have been addressed, the time is now to focus of the experience and relationship between device or app and the wearer.

Burr will be speaking at the conference as well as other experts from Microsoft Research, Mad*Pow, Spotify, eHarmony and more will be presenting on such varied topics as why location matters with wearables, behavior change. Speakers will address cutting edge developments in wearables such as wireless epidermal electronics and voice interfaces.

Wearables and Health Applications

Health related wearables have probably been the most enthusiastically embraced segment of the wearable market, with todays more health conscious and tech savvy consumer. The potential of wearables that was commercially successful with products such at the Nike Fuelband and the Fitbit were just the tip of the iceberg. Jen Ohlsen, president and co-founder of Interactive Health Technologies (IHT) has been working to transform physical education for students through wearable technology, data collection and a holistic understanding of student fitness, health and academic performance. This type of research is critical for a nation facing challenges for youth fitness and the epidemic of obesity.

With technology fully integrated in all of our lives, especially our children, wearables are an ideal tool to meet young people where they are, says Ohlsen. They engage and inspire them to track and follow their own fitness progress and become a personal motivator that provides a high tech and data driven exercise prescription.

Design is Paramount

A successful wearable device not only has to be functional – it needs to delight the wearer, and have an intuitive, clean interface. The connected generation is more demanding than ever when it comes to technology. To move customers from casual users to brand advocates, there needs to be beautiful design and an emotional connection. This is really the heart of the user experience, and why this is the next frontier in wearables. Its not surprising that early adopters of wearables have been those passionate about a specific solution – fitness aficionados or music enthusiasts. How to design for emotional connection is an enduring challenge, and one Chris Linnett from Spotify will discuss in a session on what wearables mean for music fans in the future.

A New Regulatory Landscape

Another hot topic in wearables, and one to be explored at the conference is that of regulation. In March, the Federal Trade Commission raised red flags about consumer privacy and the collection of data, something that every wearable developer needs to be aware of. But is it something to be feared? Not necessarily. Rather, device manufacturers, particularly those in the health-related segment, need to be aware of information gathering parameters, such as those under HIPAA.

Patricia Wagner, an attorney with the Washington D.C. office of the Epstein Becker Green law firm and an authority on HIPAA privacy and security, will be speaking on the subject.

I work with many high-tech startups, they often hate regulation. But organizations that think about regulatory issues form the very beginning do much better down the road, she says. If you address it in advance, you can position yourself in such as way that meets regulatory requirements and your business goals. Wearables are no different. They are so focused on pushing the envelope with new innovation, they often think that they will lose traction by thinking about regulation.

Wagner is looking forward to presenting on this topic at the conference, but also hearing the other presenters and meeting the next big players in the wearable space. Its always fun to be at conferences with entrepreneurs, who are thinking outside the box, especially in health care. Its an exciting time.

Chris Linnett from Spotify is happy to see that such a conference is happening. I was first contacted by a recruiter for a wearable UX startup in 1995. Since those early days, the industry has been exploding, and 20 years later I am excited to see the latest fruits of these labors and the seeds of innovation to come.

The Wearable Tech UX conference comes to Seattle October 1-2 at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel. Registration is available here: https://www.wearabletechnologyux.com/

Enter WTUX1015 for a $400 discount.