How Location

Data is Fueling the

Wearable Revolution
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Two critical factors to the growth of
the wearables industry
Introduction
How to optimize wearables for function,
form and battery life
Why device level location is vital
for a fluid user experience
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION
The wearable market is
already worth $3 to $5 billion
today, according to a report by
Credit Suisse. In the next two
to three years it is expected
to be a
$30 to $50
billion market.
Afer years of iterating on prototypes, and everyone from garage-based
hardware hackers to consumer electronics juggernauts entering the space,
weve fnally reached The Year of The Wearable. While their new technology
breaks into the mainstream, these pioneers face an industry full of challenges.
Every week, a new smartwatch
receives funding on Kickstarter,
a new connected ftness band
emerges from a Fortune 100 tech
manufacturer and an Ivy League
dropout in a garage in Southern
California takes aim at Google
Glass. The wearable market is
already worth $3 to $5 billion
today, according to a report by
Credit Suisse.* In the next two to
three years it is expected to be a
$30 to $50 billion market. With so
much competition in the market,
the most daunting challenge
wearable manufacturers will face
is diferentiating their devices.
The winners in the market will
make products that users cant live
without, like todays smartphones.
Better user experiences start with
the basics like increasing battery
life, adding location data and
reduced form factor. Complete
user experiences go a step further,
adding rich layers of contextual
information to ft more precisely
into users lifestyles. The Year of
Wearables may as well be called
the Year of Natural Selection.
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*Credit Suisse The Future of Wearable
Technology Report
Two critical factors to
the growth of the
wearables industry
Chapter
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CHAPTER 1
TWO CRITICAL FACTORS TO THE GROWTH
OF THE WEARABLES INDUSTRY
The smartwatch market is expected to grow from 15 million devices to 373 million devices
by 2020**, NextMarket Insights predicts. The competition is growing and so is the need to
diferentiate your device. The frst thing to consider is user experience that satisfes a use
case for an indispensable device that users will want to wear everyday. Simple, right?
The second focus is creating a clean, solid API that allows third party developers to not
only leverage the functionality of the device, but dream up the next generation of use cases
that make the device even more vital. Theres a race to gaining market share because most
developers frst and foremost care that their sofware gets used.
Many wearable device manufacturers create products that extend the mobile experience
rather than replace it. Most smartwatches and smart glasses fall in this category, establishing
persistent Bluetooth connections to become a second screen for users smartphones. In
order to make the device indispensable, wearable manufacturers have the ultimate vision
to build smartwatches and smart glasses that are replacement, not a mere accessory for
smart phones. These devices will deliver everything a smartphone can, directly to their users
glasses or wrists, eliminating the disruptive behavior of pulling a device out of their pockets.
When diferentiating your device, focus on a user
experience that will make it indispensable; Create a
solid API that allows third party developers to leverage device
functionality and make your wearable more vital.
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**NextMarket Insights Smartwatch Forecast 2013-2020 Report
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One of the most forward-looking leave-your-phone-behind devices is the Neptune Pine
smartwatch. It packs a lot of connectivity beyond Bluetooth into its 66.0 x 53.5 x 14.2 mm
body: Wi-Fi, GPS, and cellular networks. Its equipped with everything a standard Android
device needs, so its compatible with many Android apps that rely on native location
features. True diferentiation in the market helped the Neptune Pine reach 8x its Kickstarter
crowdfunding goal.
Likewise, if youre a smart glasses company that equips its device with a camera, youll likely
want Instagram to build on your platform. Your target users are Early Adopter Instagram
addicts, and your success hinges on appealing to their photo sharing habits.
3rd party apps play a crucial role
in the industry, as they provide the
device with an added value which
sometimes becomes the decision
maker for the user when purchasing
the product. The more features the
wearable provides to the users, the
more valuable the device is.
Alex Cabo
General Manager
Nestwork
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If you dont ofer a standard native set of features at the device level, including location,
Instagram will not be able to geotag photographs on your platform. Lacking native location
prevents Instagram from building a consistent experience for their users, and they will likely
dedicate their resources elsewhere.
Developers will fock to wearable device platforms that allow their users to have a consistent
experience with the apps they already use in their everyday lives.
It is critical that smartwatches and smart glasses empower 3rd party app developers with
platforms that have the same capabilities as smartphones--including native location.
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5
Why device level
location is vital for a
fluid user experience
Chapter
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CHAPTER 2
WHY DEVICE LEVEL LOCATION IS VITAL
FOR A FLUID USER EXPERIENCE
When you know where you were
when something happened, you
can usually infer or remember a
tremendous amount of related
things about that experience,
which makes the data secondary,
and the experience primary.
Shane Luke
CPO
Recon
The ease and fexibility of adding
device sensors like accelerometers,
gyroscopes, and compasses to
wearables has driven an explosion
of ftness wearables and apps.
The wearable technology market
is packed with competition.
By 2017, the global market for health
and ftness wearables alone will reach
170 million devices, according to ABI
research.***
Unlike smartwatches and smartglasses
which typically establish persistent
Bluetooth connections with mobile
devices, ftness devices usually collect
data and periodically sync with a
smartphone. Users view their activity
levels once their device connects to
their mobile app, which pairs that
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***Forbes The Next Big Thing In Enterprise IT BYO Wearable Tech

2014 Skyhook Wireless Inc Follow us on
activity with primitive location data from the mobile device. However, location data at the
device level provides an extremely valuable context layer that elevates the user experience
of ftness devices.
The real opportunity for the next generation of ftness bands and smart clothing lies in
coloring in the user experience with the contextual story around ftness activity. Mark
Gorelick, Director of Product Science & Innovation at MIO Global says, Location-based data
has a real opportunity to enhance healthy lifestyle wearables by categorizing daily activity
into a relevant contextual story.
Location-based data has a real opportunity to enhance healthy
lifestyle wearables by categorizing daily activity into a relevant
contextual story.
Mark Gorelick
Director of Product Science & Innovation
MIO Global
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A truly intelligent device will know the diference between taking 6,000 steps on a treadmill
and running 3 miles in a park, on a beach, or in a hilly neighborhood. I believe that this type
of journaling of daily life promotes engagement as well as providing richer notifcations,
social interconnectedness, motivational encouragement
and lifestyle awareness, says Gorelick.
Social networks like Nike+ and the FitBit community
bring unprecedented social competition to ftness with
leaderboards and weekly challenges. But social workout
features shouldnt be quarantined to the digital world.
They can exist in the real world too: recommended
workout spots from the local community, social gym
buddy programs and running route time competitions.
None of that is possible without device-level location: ftness bands and clothing that know
where they are when an activity is recorded, without relying on a mobile phone passing lat/
long coordinates over Bluetooth.
Recon CPO Shane Luke says, When you know where you were when something happened,
you can usually infer or remember a tremendous amount of related things about that
experience, which makes the data secondary, and the experience primary.
The market is fooded with wearable ftness bands, smart clothing and the accompanying
mobile apps. Only the strongest device manufacturers will survive--the ones that best ft
into their users lifestyles. Doing so requires a knowledge of user context, and device-level
location is the key to unlocking it.
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How to optimize
wearables for function,
form and battery life
Chapter
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CHAPTER 3
HOW TO OPTIMIZE WEARABLES FOR FUNCTION,
FORM AND BATTERY LIFE
Of all the methods available for wirelessly transferring
data from one device to another, companies in the
wearable industry have chosen Bluetooth as their
frequency of choice. Bluetooth chips are inexpensive,
and establishing a connection over Bluetooth
consumes less battery power than the alternatives.
Unfortunately, devices can only access location data
over Bluetooth when paired with another device that
has GPS, Wi-Fi, or a cellular connection. The good news
is that while wearable developers hold onto battery life
with white knuckles, they dont have to sacrifce it for
location features.
Its true that establishing a Wi-Fi connection consumes more device battery life than
establishing a Bluetooth connection. How much more depends on innumerable factors like
the size of data transfer and applications running simultaneously. However, by adding Wi-Fi
chips, wearables, like all mobile phones can retrieve location by scanning for nearby Wi-Fi
networks without ever connecting to one. When using Wi-Fi in this way for location, it is
using signifcantly less power than when using it for data transmission.
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Many Bluetooth chips on the market
today, including the Broadcom
BCM43142, have combined Bluetooth and
Wi-Fi capabilities. By using these existing
Wi-Fi chips, or by adding an additional
low-cost part, wearables, like all mobile
phones can retrieve location by scanning
for nearby Wi-Fi networks without ever
connecting to one. Wearables powered
by these chips simply need to switch on
their already built in Wi-Fi scanners to
get location. Compared to using Wi-Fi
for data transmission, using it only to do
an occasional scan every few minutes
contributes a negligible amount to your
devices battery consumption.
Using Wi-Fi scans to surmise location data
is a method frequently used by mobile
phones, and one that wearables should
take advantage of too. If your device has
a Bluetooth-only chip, you need to add
another chip to use our system, or switch
to a combo chip. A combo chip is the best
option for size, cost, and power and is less
disruptive to the device design in terms of
footprint and board space.
To put this into context, a user with a
location-enabled ftness band wants to
chart her run. When the band is charging
overnight, it downloads information
about the location of Wi-Fi beacons in a 3
mile radius.
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The next day, the user puts on her band and leaves her apartment for a run while keeping
her phone at home.
As she runs, her ftness band scans for Wi-Fi networks, matching them with the coordinates
pre-loaded into its memory the night before. The user runs 5 miles away from her
apartment, beyond the range of pre-loaded Wi-Fi networks. The device then begins to
collect data about the Wi-Fi networks it passes. When the user returns home, she pairs her
band with her phone over a Bluetooth connection. Her accompanying mobile app displays
her run on a map by combining the pre-loaded location data from Wi-Fi hotspots she passed
along the way and positioning the out-of-range beacons using Skyhook Optimized Location.
The result is a full-color picture of the users run: where she went, hills she ran over, scenic
views she passed, popular stopping points used by others in her social network. And her
device paints that picture without draining much additional battery power.
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YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
Location and Context for Wearables Datasheet
WHATS NEXT FOR THE WEARABLES INDUSTRY?
Many manufacturers rushed to market early with minimum
viable products, valuing speed to market over long term
vision. In 2014, well see the wearables expand their
capabilities and begin to compete on user experience.
Better user experience means integrating into users lives
and developing ways for them to interact with the 3rd party
apps they already know and love. Soon consumers will
expect much of the same functionality from their wearable
device as they do from their smartphones, and location will
play a crucial role in delivering it.
Skyhook is the worldwide leader in location positioning, context and intelligence.
In 2003, Skyhook pioneered the development of the Wi-Fi Positioning System to provide
precise and reliable location results in urban areas. Today, Skyhooks Precision Location
provides positioning to tens of millions of consumer mobile devices and applications.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT: WWW.SKYHOOKWIRELESS.COM