Local startups unveil wearable technology at Wearable World demo day

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ByJonathan Bloom KGO logo
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Local startups unveil wearable technology
After months of long days and sleepless nights, more than a dozen entrepreneurs had a few precious minutes to impress potential investors at the Wearable World demo day.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We've all seen the recent explosion of smartphones and tablets and now experts say a new boom is upon us in the form of wearable technology.

Google Glass and the Apple Watch may be the most visible examples of this, but some local startups see a future of high-tech marvels that are practically invisible.

After months of long days and sleepless nights, more than a dozen entrepreneurs have a few precious minutes to impress potential investors at the Wearable World Demo Day.

"We can actually tell you who you met throughout the day. You don't have to worry about business cards ever again," Loopd CEO Brian Friedman said.

Friedman's pitching a smart conference badge by Loopd, just one of the products that takes something wearable and turns it into wearable tech.

"The word we use for it around here is seamless, so seamless integration into our lives," Wearable World Co-Founder Kyle Ellicott said.

Theodora Koullias wanted to make a handbag that's high-fashion and high-tech.

"Something that frankly made it simpler to be a modern day woman," she said.

In every pocket, there was a charging cable and between the seams, there was a replaceable power cartridge that can juice up your phone every day for a month.

"You walk outside of your house and you have a power source within your handbag. It becomes a carefree experience," Koullias said.

Gawain Morrison's software uses a tiny sweat sensor to judge your emotions while you watch a video.

It will be great for marketers, who will also love the data from this customer loyalty wristband.

"What products they touch, how long they hold them, whether they touch products of your competitor or not," one woman said.

Startups who demoed at this event last year are already raking in funds like Drumpants.

Now, they've come up with a new use for the fabric sensors.

Some can go in people's shoes, which will be able to control a virtual reality game when they walk.

"It's completely natural, it's just like you're walking in real life," Drumpants Chief Technology Officer Tyler Freeman said.

And real life is about to get interesting for Drumpants because they were selected to appear Friday on ABCs Shark Tank.

"It's a really exciting show, I think there's gonna be some drama going on. I can tell you it was very dramatic when I was up there, so it'll be exciting," Freeman said.