Munich, December 4: Calling for innovative solutions for wearable devices from Sports & Fitness, Healthcare & Wellness, Security & Prevention and Gaming & Lifestyle, the WT Innovation World Cup attracted over 280 entrepreneurs, researchers and developers from 51 countries who demonstrated that the market for Wearable Technologies (WT) is growing immensely and has enormous business potential.
With 171 million wearable devices forecast to be shipped in 2016 according to IMS Research, the wearable technology market is projected to create significant opportunities for a range of suppliers in a number of product categories. The WT Innovation World Cup is paying tribute to this growing market and the potential business opportunities by encouraging developers, researchers and entrepreneurs from all over the world to participate in this growing market. Through world-wide promotion of their solutions, the WTcommunity and the sponsors will actively help the finalists to create better awareness for their product innovations and to find the right partners and customers to successfully bring their solutions to the market.
Texas Instruments, Title Sponsor of the WT Innovation World Cup and world leader in wireless connectivity solutions, supported the participants by handing out various development kits for different use cases to over 250 contest participants. “TI is pleased to be able to support innovators of wearable devices from all over the world with the broadest connectivity portfolio and technical support,” says Volker Prueller, marketing director, Wireless Connectivity Solutions, Texas Instruments. “As wireless data transfer technologies are at the heart of numerous wearable devices, we are already looking forward to seeing how this year’s participants are going to shape this booming market with their novel solutions.”
Over the next month, an international panel of experts will evaluate the submissions according to criteria such as marketability, degree of innovation or opportunities of implementation. The panel of experts is made up of representatives of the sponsoring companies Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics and VARTA Microbattery, as well as experts from the Continua Health Alliance, Prof. Dr. Paul Lukowicz from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence or wireless data transfer expert Anders Edlund.
The “WT Innovator of the Year 2012” will be announced at ISPO, the world’s leading sports business network in Munich in February 2013. Furthermore, the eight finalists will be introduced at the world-leading WTconference taking place on February 4th in Munich. The overall winner will receive a prize money of USD 5,000 and all finalists will be promoted through the organizer’s and the sponsors’ marketing channels to increase media awareness and international visibility.
About the WT Innovation World Cup
The competition Innovation World Cup was first launched in 2009. In the first three years the focus was on innovations based on Bluetooth® low energy technology, and its scope was enlarged in 2012. Participants from all over the world are now invited to submit solutions for Wearable Technologies in the fields of sports & fitness, healthcare & wellness, gaming & lifestyle and security & prevention. The contest is supported by Title Sponsor Texas Instruments, Preferred Technology Partner STMicroelectronics and sponsor VARTA Microbattery as well as an international network of innovative technology regions and alliances. Through Cluster 55 as the ICT association in the border region between Sweden and Denmark, the Continua Health Alliance, IOT Cloud & BuildInG Taiwan and the regional development agency Team Côte d’Azur, participants will be able to benefit from a large network of potential business partners and customers.
About Navispace AG
Navispace, founded in 2003, is the organizer of the Wearable Technologies Innovation World Cup. It is an international Innovation and Marketing company with focus on convergent technologies and solutions. We provide best-in-class global innovation awards, market and business development, international conferences and innovative event concepts, marketing strategies and services. Leading companies of the ICT and lifescience industries, research institutes, industry alliances and associations as well as trade fair organizations rely on Navispace. Navispace is the initiator and organizer of the M2M Challenge.
