It seems like it was just yesterday that I gathered a bunch of smartwatches, a back sensor and my Google Glass in a box and headed out to The Lab on Queen Street West to geek out with Toronto about wearable tech. In January of last year I had this idea to create a meetup which brought people together to try out some of the latests in wearable tech in order to help us all better understand why this new wave of computing is so important. Fast forward to today and We Are Wearables Toronto is now 3,000 strong, making it the largest Wearable Tech group on Meetup.com.
I continue to be blown away by the We Are Wearables community in both Toronto and Chicago. Our stages have seen brain-sensing headbands, heartbeat authentication bracelets, gesture control wristbands and smart shirts that light up or measure your breathing and panel conversations on Payments & Identity, Wearables and Women and more. But the real magic happens off stage and in the exhibitor area where members get a chance to try on the tech. I know first hand that this emerging tech needs to be experienced in order to be understood. This is why demos are such a critical component to the We Are Wearables format. A light bulb goes on when you get a chance to use EEG to calm your mind, or wave your hand to fly a drone. You get it. You get excited and you realize that all of this tech, that sometimes feels like Sci-Fi, is ready now. And what's great is that you get to experience this all with like-minded people.
We have definitely accomplished a lot as a community this year in raising awareness for wearables within the cities we are in and most importantly with ourselves. I personally want to thank you all for your commitment, dedication and curiosity to this new tech. Let's keep growing! Viva the Wearable Revolution!
~Tom