Fossil is a fashion retailer that has agreed to co-develop wearable devices

Sep 9, 2014 09:06 GMT  ·  By

Intel has made various attempts at taking over parts of technology market segments other than central processing units, but it has had limited success at best. It is still trying, however, and its latest target is the wearable segment.

Having failed to make a serious impact on the mini PC segment (Intel NUC) and the tablet sector (though there are a fair few business Wintel tablets out there), the company is looking at the latest fertile soil, so to speak.

Wearable gadgets have only really been making a name for themselves for a year at this point. They came out into the limelight at last year's IFA trade show and again made an appearance this year, last week in fact.

Intel has already invested in a number of wearable technology startups, but it wants the “Intel Inside” logo to show up on even more devices.

Intel has allied with Fossil

Fossil is a fashion company that produces bags, belts, watches, and other clothing accessories. It has a well-established brand and its own retail channels and distribution networks.

Intel hopes that a partnership with it will lead to the making of many technology-oriented and embedded fashion products.

They did not go into much detail, but we can imagine shirts that display the time on their sleeves via embedded LEDs, or maybe a new generation of watches.

Fitness and activity sensors could be spread across the wardrobe as well. Shoes could track the running, shirts could monitor the blood pressure and heart rate, etc. All the while a smartwatch would centralize the data, or maybe a smartphone would do it directly.

It all depends on what interconnectivity technology Intel and Fossil manage to come up with that is small enough to be hidden in the seams of the clothes and accessories themselves.

Intel's immediate plans

For now, Intel is still “identifying trends and emerging uses of technology,” but the company also hopes to speed up the innovation of wearable technology.

In the meantime, it will continue investing in other companies through Intel Capital. Thalmic Labs (Canada-based, makes armbands that translate gestures) and Basis Science (health and wellness wearable applications) are two of the ones that most recently benefited from this policy.

Opening Ceremony is another Intel partner, having designed the My Intelligent Communication Accessory (MICA), a luxury smart bracelet for women that was revealed just days ago.