Design company Frog and British smartphone-chip colossus ARM have joined forces to create a new prize for helping people in developing countries with wearable tech.
The Wearables for Good competition sees the two tech companies team up with UNICEF Innovation Lab, to help create devices that will address maternal and child health issues.
Doing good: Wearables projects changing the world for the better
Two winners will be selected at the end of the competition and each will receive $15,000 of funding, and support from ARM and Frog in bringing their idea to fruition. The winner will be announced in November.
"Today, wearable technologies are primarily focused on applications such as fitness and the quantified self," said Denise Gershbein, executive creative director at Frog.
"However, there are countless opportunities for wearable and sensor technology to make more of an impact in emerging markets, particularly in the next wave of social impact development. With the 'Wearables for Good' challenge we hope to foster dialogue among new partners and increase cross-discipline innovation."
Last year, Make it Wearable – a similar competition launched by Intel – paved the way for a series of world benefiting ideas, from 3D printed robotic hand prosthetics for children to connected pregnancy monitors. It was eventually won by Nixie, the wearable drone.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.