Thalmic Labs has announced a slew of new partnerships with developers to make it easier for people in industries like healthcare and construction to integrate Google Glass into their workday, by using the company’s armband controller.
“We’re literally changing the way that we, as people, interact with the digital world around us,” said Thalmic Labs co founder Matthew Bailey to Forbes.com. “We’d argue that wearables have ‘happened’. If you look around, people are already wearing technology today whether that be a traditional watch or a smartphone on their arm when they go for a run,” Bailey continued, addressing the “buzz” over wearables.
“The question we’re exploring is: how can we find more natural ways to merge technology and people We’re hitting the limits of today’s form factors whether they be personal computers, tablets, or smartphones. We believe wearable computing is the next progression in that evolution,” Bailey said.
The deal with Google Glass is only a fraction of the notable announcements Thalmic Labs released as it prepares for its public launch next month with over 40,000 armbands already preordered.
The armband operates with sensors that detect when muscles in a wearer’s forearm are moving to make a hand signal and translates that into gestures on a screen.
Additionally, Thalmic Labs previously announced it’s working to change gaming as well as interacting online and controlling a desktop. Now, Thalmic Labs is targeting workers in industries like construction, field service and healthcare where interacting with smartglasses using subtle hand and finger gestures while on the go could make the most sense.
According to Forbes, CEO and cofounder Stephen Lake explained in a press release that the armband uses subtle hand gestures to instantly interact with applications on smartglasses, without needing to remove gloves or pull out a secondary controller.
Thalmic Labs is also partnering with Augmedix, which uses Google Glass to free physicians from documentation so they can focus on patients; APX Labs which builds software for smartglasses; Bridgit, the deficiency management software suite aiming to respond to issues of miscommunications on construction sites; and Recon Instruments, which produces a smartglass technology for sports.
Myo Developer Kits start shipping in July and the Myo armband ships this fall. It is currently available for pre-order for $149.
