Rip Curl GPS Surf Watch

Surfers can now record and relive every swell with this GPS-enabled surf watch. Connected with a smartphone app, the watch lets you track your surf, register your top speed and distance and rack up your wave count in each session. Sync your data to the Rip Curl Search App or Website to re-live your surf with location maps, image sharing and graphic charts which showcase your session.

Smart safety

Smart Glass

Imagine touching a window and having it instantly adjust to whatever tint you wanted. All of this is now possible in windows, skylights, sunroofs, partitions and other glass or plastic products using SPD-Smart light control film technology developed by Research Frontiers. The smart glass is currently being tested on Japanese trains. 

The window glass combines a thin, strong chemically-strengthened glass with SPD-SmartGlass to reduce weight by a third and improves passenger comfort and safety. Smart Wonderlite glass also lets customers adjust the amount of outside light coming in to suit their preferences. This innovative light control glass function eliminates the need for curtains and enhances interior comfort with high heat shielding and thermal insulation.

"The benefits of SPD-SmartGlass technology currently enjoyed by thousands of people in the automotive, aircraft, marine and architectural industries are now moving to the mass transit train market,” said Joseph M. Harary, President and CEO of Research Frontiers. “SPD-SmartGlass technology is currently the best-selling smart window technology in the world, and through AGC's new product, these benefits are expanding to an even wider group to make their traveling experience even more enjoyable, comfortable, and safer, while also saving energy for train operators."

Smart guns

A Smart Gun only the authorized owner can fire could be one part of a solution to curbing rampant gun violence. Following the U.S. Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, Carmen Lobis, whose 6-year-old grandson Ben Wheeler was one of 26 victims, has started a crowd funding campaign to finance a biometric lock for guns. The smart gun would require an authorized fingerprint before it could be fired. The technology would be one potential barrier between kids and their parents' firearms, or even from an intruder turning a gun on unsuspecting homeowners. 

Connected quality of life 

Halo Brain Booster

Halo Neuroscience recently raised $1.5 million in funding to help make their brain boosting wearable device a reality. The device is strapped to the head and looks a bit like something "Doc" Brown from "Back to the Future" might answer the door wearing. But the promised results are fascinating. The creators contend that the device sends tuned electrical currents through the brain to stimulate specific areas and coax it into a more active state. Although still in development, the promise of healing a damaged brain or even boosting the performance of a typical aging brain is very exciting. 

GrandCare 

Connected devices are helping us live independently, longer. GrandCare is a system which monitors activity and communicates in real time with family members outside the residence. A dedicated Internet connection communicates with sensors installed throughout the home. Family and caregivers log into a website and monitor an aging loved one's daily activity, medical information and create custom alerts. These alerts can monitor everything from doors opening to medication. The GrandCare solution also provides a space for news and weather updates, messaging, sharing videos and pictures and playing games. 

Now that's smart

As the IoT becomes an ever present reality in our daily lives innovations like these will become more commonplace. These smart devices will connect our homes, cars, and lives. This represent a seismic shift in the industry as the underlying technologies, such as operational and business support systems, have to become more flexible, versatile and down right smart to keep up.