Wearable tech at SXSW 2014

Wearable technology promises to be the next big thing.  Here are some of the highlights from  startups at the South by Southwest Interactive festival.

Using a person’s unique cardiac rhythm to authenticate their identity, the Nymi allows the wearer to wirelessly control your computer, smartphone, car and more.  Gestures, such as a flick of a wrist -- and proximity -- tells the device that they want their car started.  The Nymi also incorporates authentication and motion sensing technology into a customizable design.

Kiwi Wearables

The Kiwi Move is a multi-sensor, Internet-connected, and wearable technology.  Currently sporting only an accelerometer and a gyroscope, the company hopes to have the magnetometer, microphone and barometer sensors active when the device begins to ship in July 2014. 

Mighty Cast

The NEX Band, according to the Montreal-based company, is unlike other smart bands.  It is modular, meaning that the smart band itself highly customizable.  These “mods” are described as living charms, having multi-colored LEDs and a unique identifier related to its users and applications. 

Mighty Cast

Able to interface with Android, iOS, computers and mobile devices, Mighty Cast also plans to release its own video games with the NEX, as well as working with other partners to enhance social and gaming capabilities.

Skully Helmets

An augmented reality motorcycle helmet with a load of features for the tech-conscious biker, the Skully AR-1 includes a Heads-Up Display (HUD), 180 degree rear view camera, visual navigation, and smartphone integration via Bluetooth.

Skully Helmets

Positioned outside the rider’s primary field of view, the HUD shows a rider a viewing angle that includes views behind the rider, as well as their left and right blind spots. 

Pauline van Dongen

A fashion designer based in the Netherlands, Pauline van Dongen works closely with scientists, merging fashion with technology.  Unlike so many other wearables, Wearable Solar is an attempt to combine fashion and technology in a way that both looks and feels beautiful.

Pauline van Dongen

Coat and dress prototypes are embedded with flexible solar panels, which can charge a smartphone 50 percent after an hour of direct sunlight, according to the website.

Active Protective

Philadelphia-based Active Protective set out to develop a smart garment that can detect a fall prior to impact, deploying micro-airbags that protect the wearer from injury.  Using 3D motion sensors, the garment is capable of mapping its wearer’s daily activities and is then able to determine if an activity deviates from normal.  If an accident does occur, the garment will send out a call for help.

AveGant

AveGant is developing Glyph -- the next generation of wearable headmounted displays.  A device that looks like the VISOR worn by character Lt. Geordi La Forge in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” the Glyph uses a Virtual Retinal Display to create an incredibly sharp and vivid display. 

AveGant

The display uses a micromirror array and a combination of optics to reflect the image onto your retina, according to the website.  Looking into the device, users will see an image that looks like an 80 inch screen eight feet away.  Launching a Kickstarter campaign on Jan. 22, it raised over $1.5 million, vastly exceeding their goal of $250,000.  The company hopes to deliver the Glyphs at the end of 2014.