RCR Wireless News recently spoke with Christian Stammel, CEO of Wearable Technologies about the state of the wearables industry and the possibilities for the future. The good news is that there are still many opportunities for innovation yet to come. However, the bad news is the same as there is still a great deal of work to be done in order to get to where we’d all like this topic to be from an industry revenue projection perspective. Today, the average lifetime of wearable usage is only 90 days before interest tails off.
Stammel has been working with wearables for 12 years. Getting his start with smart garments in the sports industry, Stammel started working with wearable electronics companies to help them understand how the technology could fit within their wider business-to-business portfolios. Wearable technologies hosts three events annually in this space to bring together large and small enterprises looking to better understand the opportunity or learn how to get their products to market. About three years ago, the firm launched a services business – in addition to the conferences – to help with incubation and funding needs. What’s been key throughout is the definition of wearables as being centered around the phone. Basically for something to be considered a wearable, it must be an extension of the smartphone in some way. In other words a standalone device isn’t really a wearable, and, in this context, all wearables are a part of the “Internet of Things.”
“Less is more when it comes to wearables. There needs to be a balance between what the engineers know is technically possible and what humans actually need,” said Stammel. “When I forget to charge my smart watch at the end of the day I still want to have a watch on my arm, not just plastic that isn’t good for anything.”
The opportunities cross the spectrum as outlined in the video interview. Smart watches, sports gear, health and well-being, smart homes (some day … not yet) and, last but not least, sex toys, a category has the potential to drive huge amounts of revenue in IoT. While it is a topic many might find uncomfortable to discuss, the reality is “sex sells.” There are examples, as mentioned in the video discussion, that really show the amount of creativity that can come out of this space. For example, Fundawear – touch over the Internet. (Warning: not G-rated).
Christian Stammel is the founder and CEO of the – first of its kind – innovation and business development platform for Wearable Technologies. As a serial entrepreneur, Stammel founded his first two companies while in college. Since the mid-90s he has founded more than 10 companies with proven success records in the fields of geo data, navigation, Internet, open innovation and technology consulting. Currently he operates as CEO of Wearable Technologies AG and is a frequent keynote speaker on topics like IoT and beyond. His work enables multinationals and entrepreneurs alike to connect with forward thinkers, investors and the most influential people within disruptive and converging industries. He developed the renowned open innovation platform Innovation World Cup Series through which he and his team support thousands of companies every year. As a well-known supporter of companies of all sizes, his brainchild Wearable Technologies is acting as a business accelerator for the entire WT ecosystem. As keen as he is about technology , he is as passionate about surfing and snowboarding – always riding the biggest waves first.
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Claudia Bacco, Managing Director – EMEA for RCR Wireless News, has spent her entire career in telecom, IT and security. Having experience as an operator, software and hardware vendor and as a well-known industry analyst, she has many opinions on the market. She’ll be sharing those opinions along with ongoing trend analysis for RCR Wireless News.
