Ahmed Irfan explains that wearable tech is all about delivering customer value propositions with science and technology

While wearable tech has been around for years, the momentum with which it’s growing today is unprecedented.

“Wearable tech is not new,” says Ahmed Irfan – who overlooks Futureworks at Twinery, Innovations by MAS – as he recalls the world’s first all electronic digital watch from Pulsar in the 1970s. He shares how decades later, while the fundamentals still centre around a cluster of microprocessors with computing power embedded in a wearable device, the focus has steered towards capturing experiences and making technology relevant to users.

He emphasises the trifecta of wearable tech – the consumer, science and technology: “It begins with identifying what the consumer really wants and having a viable value proposition. Then we have to look at the scientific edge of this proposition and how technology can be used to deliver it.”

Looking at the health and wellness space – which is a key vertical for Futureworks at Twinery, Innovations by MAS – he shares how wearable tech is being explored to cover avenues such as providing solutions to pain points and driving better performance.

Ahmed Irfan

Futureworks at Twinery
Innovations by MAS

“Value propositions are created around unmet or underserved needs,” Irfan explains, adding that for companies in this space, the focus is on identifying the need or problem for which a solution is required and then knowing how the product will drive benefits across the value chain.

He avers: “The speed of progress in wearable tech is a confluence of consumer needs and Moore’s law, which says that the speed and capacity of computers increase every two years.”

With rising demands around lifestyle-based technology, consumers want relative measurements of their behaviours from the steps they take to their heart activity. This change in consumer expectations combined with the acceleration of technology has resulted in the global adoption of wearable tech being faster today than ever before.

Irfan also shed light on the most significant unlock for wearable tech – function and fashion: “It’s not too hard to put a group of sensors to read something in our bodies, and also make it look good and create a great experience. This is where the differentiation lies.”

When looking at consumers, the wearable tech market caters to everyone from newborns and children, to the elderly and those in geriatric care, offering products such as baby socks that monitor heart rates, average oxygen levels and other sleep quality indicators, as well as bracelets that track the geographic location and activities of senior citizens living with dementia.

This wide range of consumers add an ethical dimension to wearable tech products given the amount of data that is stored and used.

Irfan elaborates: “In addition to understanding the ethical considerations concerning the target audiences of wearable tech, companies must also ensure that their products will enable people to make the right decisions regarding their health and wellness.”

According to a new report by Grand View Research, the size of the global wearable technology market is expected to reach US$ 186.1 billion by 2030. And according to Irfan, the future is going to centre on understanding the consumer’s need, and how science and technology factor into it, while entwining functionality and fashion.

– Compiled by Ruwandi Perera

MERGING FASHION, FUNCTION AND MATERIALS

Futureworks at Twinery, Innovations by MAS focusses on wearable tech in the health and wellness space, capitalising on the three pillars of fashion, function and materials, which have always been at the core of MAS’ offering.

Wavetec by Twinery creates B2B solutions in pain management. Having launched several products over the last two years, the team is working on its latest solution for lymphoedema treatment, which helps flush out accumulated fluid and lactic acids.

For Wavetec, there is much potential in the connected care category, with people opting for more self-care solutions post-COVID. Irfan stresses that Wavetec will focus on creating solutions to help customers manage themselves until and after they receive medical attention, and not on replacing medical care.

The GamerTech arm of Twinery creates solutions to boost performance and enhance the wellness of gamers. With the global gaming industry expected to be worth US$ 321 billion by 2026, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’s report titled ‘Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2022-2026,’ the potential is massive.

“To be here, you have to be a native – you have to walk the right way and say the right thing,” asserts Irfan, adding that the company has “invested heavily to build credentials in this space and understand gamers.”

The GamerTech team at Twinery consists of gamers and gaming enthusiasts, from the CEO to the tech leads, and the company will launch a host of products this year. “We’ve been incubating for the last three years and now we have a range of products ready to go to market,” he concludes.

“Companies must also ensure that their products will enable people to make the right decisions regarding their health and wellness”

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