Too many platforms, not enough hardware (foreign article)

Smart hardware, especially wearable devices related to human body, produces a lot of data when used. This data, if it's only shown to the user individually, such as how many steps you take, how much you weigh, how long you sleep, how your heart rate changes, and so on, is obviously hard to dig out. Here are three questions, first, the data exist in individual applications and hardware, users can not see their overall situation at once; Secondly, if the personal data to access the hospital, it is best to complete the doctor to make judgments; Finally, large data analysis needs as much data as possible, especially the cross analysis between different data.

The integration of data is so important, so there are many giants and startups are scrambling to launch their own hardware platform, on the one hand to provide users with a unified user interface, the intelligent hardware into their own ecology, on the other hand, it is easy to study the development of large data. This article will list the main foreign intelligent hardware platform.

Apple HealthKit

Apple unveiled HealthKit and its corresponding iOS app Tiyatien this year's WWDC. This platform brings together Third-party hardware and application-generated data to form a unified personal health profile. The data used include heart rate, calories, blood pressure, blood sugar, and so on. In addition, users can create a medical emergency card to provide their own important medical information in case of emergency.

At present, access to HealthKit hardware products including Jawbone, Withings, Ihealth, Garmin, and so on, the software is more, including popular applications such as MyFitnessPal. The Fitbit still hasn't joined, but officials have said they are considering it. And, of course, don't forget Apple's own Watch, which will be on the market early next year.

Currently HealthKit is limited to iOS platforms.

Ii. Microsoft Tiyatien and HealthVault

Microsoft's Tiyatien platform, recently released with Microsoft Band, is similar in functionality to HealthKit, which collects data from hardware and applications. The difference is that Microsoft Tiyatien provides recommendations for user implementation based on data analysis, and the platform is much more open, supporting the three platforms of WP, iOS and Android, including the design of its own hardware sensors, which are also open to third parties.

Microsoft's problem is that the market share of WP platform is too low, can not be pre-installed to promote a large number of users, so open up as an inevitable choice, but in iOS and Android is also facing similar products competition. But the sale of the bracelet seems to be good, sold out immediately on the first day of the market.

HealthVault is a more medical-biased platform, mainly web-based, which was launched as early as 2007 and is connected to Tiyatien. Currently, mainstream wear vendors and applications have supported Microsoft Health,fitbit yet not supported, but have been plugged into HealthVault.

Third, Google fit

Google has launched Google Tiyatien, but it closed down because it didn't succeed. This June, shortly after Apple launched HealthKit, Google Fit was also launched on Google I/O. This platform is similar to the first two, and it also uses a set of APIs to access hardware and application data. Partners who have announced their participation include Nike, HTC, LG, Withings, Motorola, Runkeeper, etc.

Google fit currently only supports Android, and users can choose who to share their data with and delete them at any time. Google itself has not introduced the corresponding hardware product, but has the Android Wear system.

Iv. Samsung Sami and Simband

Samsung announced at a recent developer conference that Sami's Api,sami is "Samsung architecture for Multimodal Interactions" abbreviation for "Samsung multi-channel interactive system." This platform, like the first three, accesses data through an open API, and then analyzes the user's health through complex algorithms. But Samsung said the platform, while storing the user's data, was still the owner of the data.

Corresponding to the Sami is the open source of the Simband hardware architecture, Samsung Simband sensor modules open to Third-party OEMs, so that they can quickly make a product that is no worse than Fitbit and Jawbone.

V. BlackBerry Project Ion

This May, the almost doomed BlackBerry and its QNX software system launched Project Ion, a target networking. It's also an open platform, and its goal is to get smart devices to analyze and help make business decisions by uploading massive amounts of data collected to the cloud. But it does not deliberately target wearable equipment, and the car is a better target, knowing that a car using QNX neutrino produces up to 3GB of data a month.

The BlackBerry platform is currently in the public testing phase and will be launched in February, starting in the new fiscal year.

Vi. Validic

Validic, a start-up company, won a round of financing in August this year. Validic's health platform collects data from smart hardware and mobile applications to healthcare providers. Solve the problem of user data integration, so that health-related medical institutions, drug companies, welfare agencies, and even health clubs can use this information more accurately and quickly.

Validic's current partners include Fitbit, Jawbone, Ihealth and Garmin.

Summary

The hardware data platforms listed above are mostly related to health and healthcare, and many are in the layout of some giants. Without exception, they open access data to third parties, analyze the data, and provide the results to the user or to a third party company. It is not difficult to do such a platform, it is difficult to get the maximum amount of data and to carry out complex large data analysis, which is why more giants are playing.

The reason why the hardware is not enough, because the current smart hardware market stock is not large, the British and American developed countries wearable equipment penetration rate of only about 10%, the use of lower. A variety of products are also the phenomenon of inaccurate data. Fitbit alone occupies nearly 70% per cent of wearable equipment. Although they are not all dressed, they are the main products that collect the user's body data. The Giants still have a lot of bracelets, watches and other products to launch, expecting them to push up the penetration rate further. And the introduction of more new products also makes the platform's hardware is no longer just a few wearable products.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)