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Tag: consumer electronics

  • Averna partners with PI Group for manufacturing

    Averna partners with PI Group for manufacturing

    Averna logoAverna and Physik Instrumente (PI) have formed a new partnership to deliver advanced automation solutions that meet the growing need for flexible, scalable and high-throughput manufacturing and test equipment.

    Physik Instrumente (PI) is an international group of companies focusing on high-precision motion and positioning solutions, and Averna is a global test and quality solutions provider.

    With significant overlap in several markets — industrial automation, automotive, consumer electronics, communications and life sciences — PI and Averna each offer expertise in different areas. Their goal is to expand each offering to their clients by integrating PI’s unique precision positioning and micro-robotics systems into Averna’s customized quality and assembly turnkey solutions.

    To date, the two companies have delivered numerous joint projects, improving results for a variety of applications including camera and projector assembly, laser alignment, fiber alignment and optical wafer scanning.

    “We are very excited to begin this partnership,” said Niels Davidts, vice president of Europe at Averna. “Having worked with PI products in the past, we understand the power of what they offer. They are unique in what they do, and we know how to make them work best for our clients. A closer partnership will open a lot of opportunities for both parties.”

    Scott Jordan, long-standing photonics expert and business developer at PI emphasizes, “Working with Averna has been very rewarding. We have always been impressed with the systems they design for test, quality, and precision assembly. Combining our knowledge with Averna’s skills, we can now approach customer challenges in ways that have never been done before.”

  • Juniper Research: Smart Healthcare, Fitness Devices to be $1.8B Market by 2019

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    Annual revenues from connected healthcare and fitness services will approach $2 billion by 2019, nearly six times the $320 million value estimated for this year, according to a report from Juniper Research.

    The report, “Smart Wireless Devices: CE, Enterprise, Fitness, Healthcare, Payments 2015-2019,” says that connected healthcare devices and the data they generate will offer substantial benefits to both stakeholders and consumers, potentially improving preventative healthcare. However, deployments will initially be constrained by inconsistent regulation, alongside continued privacy concerns surrounding the sharing and security of personal data.

    ‘Quantified Others’ are Key

     
    The research highlights the “quantified others” trend: the use of someone’s data by a professional or concerned party — such as a parent — to provide meaning and/or advice. Companies like GOQii and Filip Technologies are using this to provide services beyond mere data provision.

    Although, this has the potential to be undermined by unreliable data. While medical devices have validation standards, fitness devices have no such benchmark. The development of standards would alleviate consumer and medical professionals’ concerns, driving up adoption.

    Software to Drive Connected Devices Forward

     
    “Connected fitness and health devices provide a way to collect biometric data, not interaction platforms,” said author James Moar. “People want to interact with the devices at the app level – the draw is the information. Because of this, and the omnipresence of sensors, the importance of the hardware will diminish at a much faster rate than other CE market segments.”

    Other Findings from the Report

     
    Other findings were mentioned in a news release from Juniper Research, and are listed below:

    • “Smart Wireless Devices will permeate the enterprise, with smart glasses in particular having a large impact.”
    • “Mobile point-of-sale devices are poised to take off in developing markets, with several key players looking to move into Latin America and Asia Pacific in the coming years.”
    • “Smartwatches will be the most popular consumer electronics connected devices, overtaking more established wearable cameras.”

    The white paper, Smart Wireless Devices & the Internet of Me, is available to download from the Juniper website together with details of the full research and the Interactive Forecast Excel (IFxl).