Smart wearables, also known as wearable technology, are these portable gadgets that help us with our daily tasks — from basic computing functions to unique health-tracking services. With their versatile and practical functions, they have slowly become indispensable in most people’s fitness regimen.
Transforming the way we workout, the popularity of devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers are undeniable. Nowadays, Huawei’s smart wearables are among the most popular devices on the market, and as a response to their consumers’ trust and loyalty, Huawei is committed to innovate and enhance R&D capabilities in order to advance in the health technology market.
“Smart wearables are tiny gadgets, but they bear big thoughts which guide consumers to a more scientific workout experience and a healthier life,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s Consumer BusinessGroup (BG).
In line with this, Huawei announced earlier this month the implementation of its brand-new HUAWEI Health Lab in Xi’an, China. In this facility, Huawei researchers, engineers and developers will jointly explore the innovation and application of new sports and health wearable technology, bringing a scientific and conducive experience through their smart wearables.
HUAWEI Health Lab and the brand’s commitment to quality
This year alone, Huawei introduced seven smart wearables to the market, and the company’s products have been recognised for their quality. Smartwatches such as HUAWEI WATCH GT 2, HUAWEI WATCH GT 2 Pro, and HUAWEI WATCH FIT have won acclaim for their professional fitness and health tracking functions. Furthermore, world-renowned market consulting firm IDC reports that Huawei’s wrist wearables ranked No. 1 in the second quarter of 2020.
To continue this momentum, Huawei’s R&D team spent 9 months integrating existing R&D resources and introducing new professional research devices to consumers. After much planning, the brand-new HUAWEI Health Lab was built to further enhance research capabilities for their wearable technology. Over 40 researchers, developers and testers work together closely in the HUAWEI Health Lab, actualising their passion for an active and healthy lifestyle from a wide range of specialised equipment and innovative research methods.
Improving user experience through scientific data
Great user experience is the foremost consideration for Huawei smart wearable products, and this is the fruit of the complex R&D processes developed from within the HUAWEI Health Lab for better health and fitness tracking.
During the development phase of HUAWEI WATCH GT 2 Pro’s Golf Driving Range Mode, for example, engineers used the indoor golf simulation device to collect more than 2,500 sets of professional data from 20,000 swings. These algorithms were later tuned and tweaked to ensure that this particular smartwatch mode provided consumers with the best possible experience.
In order to accurately capture health data for fitness tracker features such as maximum oxygen uptake, running posture, heart rate and calories burnt when running, researchers at HUAWEI Health Lab designed a core data collection system by including tools such as a foot pressure treadmill, cardio-metabolic mask, heart rate belt, optical gesture capture system and professional treadmill. In 2020, Huawei researchers collected 10,900 hours of running data and a running mileage of around 105,000 kilometres. This data is continuously verified and optimised by data algorithms based on the actual physique of people when they are running, and eventually applied to Huawei’s wearable products.
The best wearable technology from a multi-disciplinary research group
“In the HUAWEI Health Lab, research equipment is not the only important element, but also researchers and their innovative research solutions,” said Rico Zhang, President of Smart Wearable and Health Product Line in Huawei Consumer BusinessGroup (BG). HUAWEI Health Lab is staffed by researchers and developers with a wide range of professional backgrounds and disciplines, spanning many areas across the spectrum of sports and human sciences.
This collaboration of a multidisciplinary group of researchers and developers is the key to turning this laboratory to an innovative workshop — which in turn results to product innovations that help consumers exercise scientifically and live a healthier life.
The brand-new HUAWEI Health Lab includes an experimental smart wearable product testing area and a sports health innovation area. Here, Huawei smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other wearable technology products undergo repeated and rigorous testing with strict standards before being introduced to the market and to consumers. Using more than 20 professional research devices, Huawei’s product testing engineers use national and international standards of product hardware and software to simulate extreme usage scenarios and conduct durability tests on Huawei’s wearable products.
“In the future, Huawei will continue to increase the investment in the field of sports and health, and build another sports health laboratory in Songshan Lake, Dongguan which will collaborate closely with more than 10 of Huawei’s global science institutes, sharing R&D resources with the aim of building an innovative, industry-leading, and open Huawei sports health ecosystem. We also aim to provide consumers easy to use, professional and accurate health and fitness products,” said Rico Zhang.
With the rapid expansion of Huawei’s sports R&D facilities matching the brand’s growing repertoire of wearable devices to suit different consumer needs, the future certainly looks bright for Huawei’s smart wearable and health product line.
For more information on Huawei smart wearables, you may visit the Huawei Singapore website or find @huaweimobilesg on social media.
