Wearables

German startup the Instruments of Things wants to turn your movement into music with the SOMI-1, wireless motion-tracking sensors that send data to a hub connected to a smartphone running an app, which translates your moves into sounds or effects.

Hot on the heels of Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories comes a pair of concept smart glasses from Chinese tech firm Xiaomi that don't just push notifications from a smartphone, but also sport some nifty independent functionality.

Marshall has expanded its true wireless earphones offering with a third-gen outing for its Minor buds and a new model called the Motif ANC earphones, which close off listeners to the outside world so they can focus on the music.

Facebook is hoping that it can succeed where others have failed, and use its massive global presence to make smart glasses a worldwide hit, partnering with Ray-Ban to launch a pair of photo/video-capturing glasses called Ray-Ban Stories.

For a long while, Bose sat at the top of the active-noise-cancellation hill with its popular QuietComfort headphones. Now the company is hoping to take back some ground from the likes of Sony and Apple with the QuietComfort 45 wireless over-ears.

Panasonic has joined forces with Japanese game developer Square Enix to launch a neckband speaker specifically for gamers at Gamescom 2021, which offers surround-sound, immersive listening without needing to plug in headphones.

Yamaha is looking to invade Apple AirPods Max territory with a new pair of flagship wireless headphones called the YH-L700A that headline with spatial audio and head-tracking, active noise cancellation, and a 34-hour battery life.

Last year we looked at an interesting research project from scientists at Cornell University seeking to use wearable cameras to track facial expressions, and the technology has now taken on a more practical design in the form of the NeckFace.

Premium audio brand Klipsch is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and is marking the occasion with the launch of a pair of ANC true wireless earphones that tap into Bragi AI to control functionality using head gestures such as nodding.

Audeze helped design a pair of headphones to facilitate communication between doctor and patient during an MRI scan, without affecting the imagery produced. And this led to the development of the CRBN Electrostatic headphones for audiophiles.

After first entering the now pretty crowded true wireless earphone marketplace back in 2017 with the Beoplay E8, Danish high-end audio brand Bang & Olufsen has now launched its first pair of noise-canceling true wireless earphones.

Over the years, we've seen a number of experimental "smart" gloves that convert their deaf wearer's hand gestures into text. The aptly named Sign Language Translation Glove, however, is claimed to be the first mass-produced product to do so.