Nismo smartwatch concept tracks both car and driver [w/videos]

NISSAN ENTERS WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY SPACE WITH THE UNVEIL OF THE NISMO WATCH CONCEPT
Nissan launches first smartwatch to connect car and driver performance

- First smartwatch concept to connect driver and car
- Nismo Watch showcases Nissan's intent to deliver biometric data that enhances driver performance and efficiency
- Nissan is investigating heart and brain monitoring technologies for future wearable tech

Rolle, Switzerland, 9th September, 2013, PRNewswire – Nissan will become the first car manufacturer to create a smartwatch designed specifically for drivers of Nissan Nismo cars. The Nissan Nismo Concept Watch will be the first smartwatch to connect a driver to the car and will provide drivers with real-time biometric data.

The watch, unveiled today ahead of its display at the Frankfurt Motor Show (10th – 22nd September 2013), is Nissan's first step into wearable technology and epitomises its 'fan first' approach to performance.

The Nissan Nismo Watch will allow drivers to:
- monitor the efficiency of their vehicle with average speed and fuel consumption readings;
- access vehicle telematics and performance data while on track;
- capture biometric data via a heart rate monitor;
- connect to the car using a smartphone app via Bluetooth Low Energy;
- receive tailored car messages from Nissan;

Gareth Dunsmore, Marketing Communications General Manager, Nissan in Europe, commented: "Wearable technology is fast becoming the next big thing and we want to take advantage of this innovative technology to make our Nismo Brand more accessible. On track, Nissan uses the latest biometric training technologies to improve the performance of our Nissan Nismo Athletes and it is this technology we want to bring to our fans to enhance their driving experience and Nismo ownership."

Earlier this year, Nissan launched the Nismo Lab – a bespoke, mobile laboratory that features the latest, advanced biometric training tools such as brainwave technology and JukeRide – a cutting-edge performance analysis tool, that captures live biometric and telematics data from the race cars and Nissan Nismo Athletes during races.

Nismo's vision is to take these digital age technologies and make them available to athletes from other disciplines and to Nissan owners through future wearable tech.

Three key technologies have already identified for future development:
- ECG (Electrocardiogram) – to measure the intervals of the R-R rhythm of the heart, and identify early fatigue;
- EEG (Electroencephalogram) Brainwave – to monitor the drivers' levels of concentration and emotions, and help athletes to get 'In The Zone';
- Skin Temperature – to record core body temperature and hydration levels;

The Nismo Watch will also track and rate the user's social performance across Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram via Nissan's proprietary Social Speed software.

The sleek Nismo Watch will be available in three colours – black, white and the flagship black and red. The watch design was inspired by the Nismo ring and is reflected in a seamless, futuristic and ergonomic design. The simple user interface can be controlled by two buttons and is secured onto the driver's wrist via a simple snap-fit mechanism.

Even the packaging will have a unique n Nismo identity.

Dunsmore concluded: "We have brought the Nismo experience to life in every aspect of the watch, including its packaging, which will be made using tyres and rubber from the racetrack. As Nismo is the performance arm of Nissan, we wanted a way of integrating Nismo's heritage in racing into this futuristic innovation."

The Nismo Watch will use a lithium battery and will be charged by micro-USB, with a battery life of over seven days under normal usage conditions.

About Nissan in Europe

Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 14,500 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 695,000 vehicles including mini-MPVs, award-winning crossovers, SUVs and commercial vehicles. Nissan now offers 24 diverse and innovative products for sale in Europe today, and is positioned to become the number one Asian brand in Europe.

About Nissan Motor Co.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 267,000 employees globally, Nissan sold more than 4.9 million vehicles and generated revenue of 9.6 trillion yen (USD 116.16 billion) in fiscal year 2012. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of over 60 models under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in zero-emission mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle launched globally, is now the best-selling EV in history.

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Building the perfect smartwatch

In my tech predictions of 2013 I somehow missed that this would be the year of the smartwatch. But now the most established names in tech are realizing the future may be all in the wrist.

Smartwatches are shaping up to be the Next Big Thing about a decade after they were offered to the public and met with a collective shrug. Timing can be everything in tech. Microsoft marketed a stylus-enabled PC in 2001, but the tablet concept was a nonstarter until the iPad. Even the e-reader had a first life as The Rocket — before the dot-com boom. But it was Amazon, in 2007, that reimagined the device and took the brass ring.

There is still essentially no smartwatch market, but at least one analyst is asserting that more than a million could be sold this year. That astonishing — and dubious — claim would amount to one-third of the anticipated 2013 sales of netbook (which I did predict would surge in 2013).

The renaissance began last year when a startup called Pebble began a Kickstarter campaign to build an eponymous smartwatch. Pebble’s small team raised the $200,000 it sought two hours into its 30-day fundraising period. Pebble stopped taking seed money when it reached $10 million.

Behind schedule, Pebble has finally shipped to all 55,000 backers (I was one of them). The wait to now buy one is two-three months. So the project was a rousing success. So good, apparently, that it got the attention of big tech companies — which is to say it stoked their competitive impulses to leave no, er, pebble unturned to tap into a new market.

Now everybody seems to know what time it is. The bidding began with Apple, which is said to be working on an iWatch. Samsung quickly jumped in as well. The next rumor was that Google, which is going in all sorts of directions these days, is also getting into the act. The latest company that reportedly wants a piece of the action is Microsoft. 

Like tablets and e-readers before them, smartwatches are now much better poised to fill an actual need because of how other tech has evolved. Just as events conspired to make tablets practical — cloud computing, stylus-free touch screens, ultra-portability — the smartwatch era approaches because smartphones have become ubiquitous. Microsoft was one of the earliest proponents of the smartwatch, but its 2002 SPOT smartwatch went nowhere fast. Others, from Fossil and Timex, also served as mini personal information managers in a bid to rival Palm. 

It would be five years until Apple would introduce the iPhone, so there was still a market for portable, Internet-connected devices that served up weather and other real-time information. But the proto-smartwatches tended to be expensive — as much as $300 — and Microsoft required you to subscribe to its MSN service for about $60 a year. Expensive equipment and recurring fees made no sense for things that were essentially toys (but, ironically, are exactly what we willingly pay for smartphones).

Now smartphones do all the heavy lifting; the demands on the watch are fewer. All a good smartwatch has to do is be in constant contact with your phone, serving as a gatekeeper and controller.

As I noted in my Reuters review of Pebble, the watch doesn’t do much. But by relaying messages and alerts to my specifications it frees me from checking on my phone’s flood of notifications. I’m reaching for my phone so rarely that Pebble’s creators should have called it “Pocket Protector.”

None of us, of course, have any idea of what the unreleased smartwatches will be. This makes it the perfect time to speculate on what they should be. So here’s my nobody-asked-for-it list of what smartwatches should do and not do.

Key among the features of these unicorns is that they work well with any phone, even if they work best with their own kind. Undoubtedly all four companies allegedly entering the fray will design watches that leverage their own phones — Apple is especially good at this sort of gentle bondage to its ecosystem since it controls both the hardware and software. But a smartwatch can also be a gateway gadget: This is an opportunity to both strengthen loyalty and introduce new customers, with what could be an entry-level device, to phones they might not have otherwise considered.Maximizing battery life is essential. We tolerate watches because they are relatively maintenance free — nobody wants to wind a stem every day. So sacrifice nice-to-have but battery-intensive features for endurance. Already Pebble has crossed that line by making available two games, snake and Tetris. No games. Please.On charging: Make it wireless. If there ever was a candidate for wireless charging, it’s the smartwatch. The technology hasn’t caught on much with smartphones, which are easy to dock and for which we are particular about cases, including not wanting to use a case at all. But a watch is the classic “lay it on the table” device. Companies like PowerMat have been trying to mainstream so-called inductive energy transfer by creating cases that would draw power to a device from special surfaces. All you have to do is set it down.Navigation on a tiny wrist device is one of the biggest challenges. The Pebble has four buttons, which seems just about right. But multifunction watches can drive a person crazy since they require particular button-press combinations to access certain features. And spare me a touchscreen interface — not enough screen to touch, or too big a screen for your wrist. But there is a mechanical design feature that would help with navigation: screen switching by pressing the watch face. My bicycle computer does this with a feature CatEye calls ClickTec. The smartwatch need is similar: You only have one free hand. Buttons are nice and essential, but click to switch would make it easier to scroll through pages, which makes multiple screens offering different data a feature rather than a tease.There’s opportunity in the watch band. You wear a watch exactly where you want to take you blood pressure and pulse, and those of us who should often don’t. Several companies, including FitBit and Nike, already market bands, so it’s just a matter of agreeing to some simple sizing specifications.Near Field Communication (NFC) is also a natural component. The small NFC chip emits radio signals over a very short distance, making it a relatively secure way to wirelessly beam payment information, for example, to NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminals. NFC is built into many phones — notably not the iPhone, which is what would make it an especially intriguing addition to the “iWatch.” Why in your watch? As convenient as it is to produce your phone so you can wave your hand to pay at the cash register, it’s even easier to wave your hand without the phone.

Smartwatches may not be the next iPad, but I can’t imagine a world without them. In the perfect world I’m imagining, we’ll have several to choose from. And then we can start moving on to more body parts.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Pebble.

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