Healthcare devices with infrared

I received an announcement forwarded from one of my readers about a healthcare product in Japan - Wireless Japan 08 show. Omron had introduced a weighing machine that uses infrared to beam data from the device to a computer for monitoring one's body fat over time - now that's a useful thing these days! Quite a clever thing. Here's the picture from the show, the Omron HBF-362 (beaming from the device) and from their website (the full view of the product), respectively:

Also from the same Wireless Japan 08, there were phones from Sharp and Docomo that have built-in health monitoring capabilities, and beaming to local devices using infrared. From the Sharp SH706iw can measure your heartrate using the sensor on the underside of the phone:









Here is Docomo's unidentified phone:










So I thought I should check out US products too, and lo and behold! There are at least two companies already using infrared in their products.

Roche Accu-Chek Blood Glucose Meter Systems:
Compact Plus Meter, Compact Meter, Aviva and Active models (in order below):










A diagram from the Roche product brochure showing how to transfer data:









Polar Systems makes sports monitoring devices with infrared to beam data to PCs:
RS800CX, S725X, CS600 and their IrDA-USB adaptor (below) - and 14 other models not shown here:

Phones with infrared

OK, so there is sufficient question out there about whether there are really any phones with infrared. So, here is the list I have personally found with IrSimple. I have not bothered with the slower IrDA 1.0 versions which are 115kbps or even the slightly faster IrDA 1.1 at 1Mbps. Just to prove to myself that the next generation IrSimple with 4Mbps that the Infrared Data Association members are talking about is real.
I will continue to update here when I see new models introduced. Watch this space!

Printing from your phone?

So how do you print that email message from your smartphone if you really needed to? Perhaps it is a set of driving directions or a coupon?
Sharp Japan has just introduced a fax machine (UX-D90CL or 'fappy') that allows you to also beam your message via infrared for printing using IrDA's IrSimple standard. Sharp's marketing has decided to call it "cordless digital fappy". I suppose if you desperately want a copy of your driving directions from your phone printed out or faxed, you just point and shoot it to the 'fappy'. Note the infrared window below the numeric pad.
Sharp UX-D90CL



















Other smaller printers, mostly portable and thermal, are also announced recently with IrSimple.
Seiko DPU-S445 and Extech S5400
Three photo printers from Canon has already been available with IrSimple:
Canon SELPH CP770, Canon ES1 and Canon iP90

I anticipate there are more products out there in with IrSimple that we have not heard about. Watch this space!

Crossing the Chasm - it is not really that Ir....simple!

The big $74million dollar question once you have developed a cool standard is how to get the industry to adopt it quickly. Most industry associations are formed to develop and propagate the standard that is developed.

Some options include whether to provide the standards document free to anyone and everyone who wants it or charge for it, cover only printing costs or other overhead costs too. Or perhaps insist that only members can get access to the standards document, and as members, there are membership dues - which itself is not unreasonable.

The argument gets more complicated if the model gets complicated, such as charging per unit royalties, or charge sliding scale depending on certain criteria. This certainly generates more revenue into the association's coffers but starts impacting whether the model is to create an industry standard or to generate revenue. If early adopters have to stop and think about whether they like the charging philosophy, it detracts from the impulse of jumping on the bandwagon and crossing that chasm.

The fundamental issue for product managers who are deciding to deploy the standard is whether the standard itself has sufficient value to warrant the cost of adding it to the product. Just think of Betamax vs VHS - where Betamax was clearly superior but charged too much and eventually lost to VHS.

The value for the standard has to be high and obvious. These product managers have to be assured through market data or other means that the standard will be demanded by users and if their products do not incorporate the feature, their competition will win. That is always the deciding factor. In this case, then the cost in getting the standard is no issue. Consider Qualcomm - the licensing fee is very high but it was still adopted by many companies because there was no choice!

But if the value of the standard is in question, then there will always be a discussion of price. Once that happens, it is almost better to charge minimally using one of the earlier options - because the objective is to propagate the standard. Without the rest of industry adopting it, the industry association will eventually cease to exist anyway.

So, the best strategy for any industry association is to focus on spreading the word - about the standard, its utility, its adoption and let the resulting demand drive new members to the association.