French Cocorico !

Wearable technology, the Cricet bracelet

Innovative answer to tech-savvy business and event individuals looking for enhanced experience !

What is it ?

To use a wearable technology, first of all, you need a wearable mobile device, such as glasses, lences, a watch...

A wearable device is an electronic device that can be worn and that is capable to connect to the internet. Thus, the device can be connected to networks and interact thanks to data exchanges between the environment and the user.

Wearable technologies are different as they offer the user to make a really personnal use of hardware sensors and software apps.

Wearable technology get developed fastly thanks to the  fast expansion and growing popularity of mobile networks, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi hot spots, applications, and hyper connectivity of users.

All these factors drove the creation of smart watches, web-enabled glasses, intelligent clothes, enhanced-contact lenses..

But, the Google Glasses or the iWatch are already outdated ! Among all the wearable device, one is more interesting than the others.. Your skin ! Yes, in few years, you skin will be your new touchscreen with the Cicret Bracelet !

(Nota: projected images seen are mocked up)

What does it mean for the industry?

In our paper-free system, the Cicret bracelet does not aim to control your heartbeat or your sleeping time but to thrown your smartphone on your forearm.

A French company to change from American big innovators on the market !

At the end of December 2014, this project needed €850.000 to a million to create a prototype to show beginning 2016, for a price varying between  €199 and €399.

-      First of all, it means that the event industry is among the major industries that will encourage innovations in technology. Service related businesses are willing to introduce advanced technology in order to enhance the journey of visitors. But, it also means that our industry has to be proactive more than reactive in front of these evolutions. We think that wearable technologies are meaninfull for event organizers but they have to really understand how it works to make an efficient use of these “magic” tools. Moreover, the idea is not for event organizers  to wait for the technology to be developped but instead, to express their needs and make propositions to technologic corporations in order to develop the technological tools that will help them work more efficiently and provide a better experience to their clients.

As waterproof as your skin can be, it will represent opportunity to be connected at all time (when you wear the device, of course). Under the shower, during your thinking time, you will now be able to use this time efficiently to plan your future event, your future attendance to a venue, manage your guest list etc.

       For the event industry, this new interface is seen as a useful tool to enhance the visitor’s stay. It also improves the capability of event agencies and corporations to gather information about visitors, thus helping them connecting to the visitors and sending them direct and real-time relevant information about their stands, the coming conferences..

      

Wearable technologies are « hands free » technologies. This conveniency they provide to the user is a huge and powerfull argument. Visitors of a trade show or conference organisers need dematerialized information available easily and fastly, everywhere.

The device is also no longer a hinder of operations and natural social interactions. The conference organiser can follow the GPS on his arm and reach fastly and more easily the stand that called him because they did not received their flyers. The visitor can check information about the company he is visiting the stand, or receive push notifications to remind him his planned meetings with exibitors.

 

Wearable technology, hype or opportunity ?

Wearable technologies are not able to offer the same wide range of services as smart phones or tablets. If the visitors already carry one of these two mobile devices, will he be willing to wear another third one ? Not sure

• Hairs, sleeve tatoos, sleeve in clothes... How the device will handle the natural or added skin options ?
• Light bulb will have to be strong as hell to project under the sunlight but then skinburnt and cancer would have to be handled correctly
• How they will handle shadows ? When moving your fingers will avoid see the rest of the screen as the light is projected from one direction
• Can’t project black light
• Brace yourself, skin irritation is coming...
• People fear the company is using the donation to develop only the Cicret application (a safer Whatsapp), an independent app supposed to work with the bracelet but depend on the same donation funding.
• One person only to develop the product, one year to develop it whereas Google and Apple need several people and many years to work on it. The team is composed by a father and a son, Misters Pommier and Fabien Noblet, the supposed developer who has a music diploma
• Scam: with very little percentage of commitment in donation (you can only donate on the official website and not the usual crowdfunding platforms) and can’t stop saying it’s only a prototype lowering the trust of potential consumers

In overall, this Cicret is a very blurred project: financial aspect (donation), “it will comes out soon”, the very small team, the Musician developper, announced suppliers who claim not being part of the project... Let's see what the future holds !

References

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/wearable-technology.asp#ixzz47IYuLkNA

https://www.facebook.com/CicretAppandBracelet/

https://usattravel.wordpress.com/2015/07/31/travel-executive-voices-wearables/

https://www.tnooz.com/?s=wearable+technology

http://www.zone-numerique.com/cicret-bracelet-votre-smartphone-sur-votre-avant-bras.html
http://www.erenumerique.fr/le_bracelet_cicret_projette_votre_smartphone_sur_le_bras-article-11540-30.html

http://www.journaldugeek.com/2014/12/05/cicret-le-bracelet-qui-transforme-votre-bras-en-ecran/

http://www.latribune.fr/technos-medias/innovation-et-start-up/20141203trib4f3426608/pourquoi-le-cicret-bracelet-risque-de-ne-jamais-voir-le-jour.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J7GpVQCfms

Wearable technology in tourism: the rise of the connected Apple Watch?

Apple announced last week that its new innovation, the Apple Watch, will be released on April 24. Following this announcement, hotel groups such as Accor, IHG or Starwood, and the airlines Vueling and EasyJet, communicated last week: Apps for the Apple Watch will also be released in April. The major hospitality industry players seem to be willing to follow the trend and adapt their technologies. Does this trend announced a major shift in the way we travel? Will the Apple Watch break new grounds where other new tech wearable have failed to do so?  

Why it could work:

Apps have the main advantage to keep travelers connected and informed 24/24. 

Airlines travel Apps will give to passengers personalized flight information and real-time views of travel information. EasyJet revealed that the EasyJet App will include “pre-departure information, check-in detail, up-to-date local currency exchange rates, weather in destination and real time flight status”. Additionally, the app will be connected to Facebook and Twitter enabling travelers to tweet and post at the different stages of their trip. Vueling also announced that the company will “partnering with Sony to create the concept of smart-watched based boarding pass”. 

For hotel group such as Accor, the app will allow users to manage current bookings on Accorhotels since the watch will be connected to the smartphone app and will additionally promote destinations and top Accor Hotels through notifications. Users will also have an easy access to their loyalty account. Starwood Preferred Guess App (see below) will enable its users to explore, book or redeem on the Apps, but will also connect the user to social medias and like Accor, will give the option to check the loyalty program Status.  

Also, these different smart watch Apps will be available in many languages

Why it could fail:

Apple has created a set of expectations when it announced the watch. Now it has to meet those expectations.

First , we can ask ourselves: where is the real novelty compared to Mobile Apps?

smart watch are not are new: indeed, several companies have tried them before. And most of them failed. Below, some striking failure examples:

• Sony still sells its Android smart watch, but the watch does not respond to touch controls
• Microsofts has launched its SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) platform in 2004 and has killed it in 2008
• LG has tried to make the smartphone watch GD910 happen but the problem was that “it was a bit strange to talk to your wrist", so it worked best if used with a dorky Bluetooth headset. A large panel of other brands have failed like Samsung or Motorola.

Furthermore, the smart watch of Apple will be pricey. Travelers who already have an efficient smartphone, could decline this new innovation for a lack of real novelty.Moreover, it will still be an expensive technology for companies to adapt.

Finally, the question of real utility is asked.Apple has crafted a fine product that nobody needs:

• It lacks a defining must-have feature: we can use it as the same way of the iPhone, iPod or iPad: it does not propose a novelty service/use
• It needs an iPhone: indeed, anyone who does not own an iPhone cannot use the watch and this is a significant limitation
• People wear less and less watches
• Travelers can already do most of the describe Apple watch’ featuring on their smartphone. It is yet another gadget to carry.

The Apple watch is announced to be one of the major innovation of this year, but will it really meet all the expectations? Or would it turn like an expensive technology without any added-value for the traveler? Most of the Apple Watch apps from hotel groups have featuring that can already be done on smartphones. However, with a good marketing strategy from Apple, and gradual apps innovation, the Apple watch could impose itself as a new must. 

Clothilde and Louise

Sources:
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/easyjet-app-set-for-apple-watch-launch/

http://ftnnews.com/technology/26561-intercontinental-hotels-group-presents-translator-app-for-apple-watch.html

http://thinkdigital.travel/opinion/apple-unveil-iphone-6-and-smartwatch-offering-travel-tech-opportunities

http://www.rustourismnews.com/?p=41014

http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/hotels_are_getting_ready_for_apple_watch

http://www.businessinsider.com/smartwatch-failures-2013-3?op=1#ixzz3UaE1U2zg

http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/other-devices/5-reasons-why-the-apple-watch-will-fail-1278008