Montreal is joining the wearable tech revolution as We Are Wearables heads to the city for the first time this month.
Montreal joins Toronto, Ottawa, and Chicago as the fourth chapter for We Are Wearables, a community devoted to driving innovation and adoption in wearable technology. Formed in 2014 in Toronto, We Are Wearables has rapidly grown to a community of over 100,000, becoming a powerful platform to help raise up wearable tech startups and thought leaders in cities around the world. Its first event in Montreal will feature startups developing smart shirts, augmented and virtual reality head-mounted displays, and even emotional measurement platforms.
“Montreal is home to a number of wearable startups that are already recognized on the world stage,” said We Are Wearables founder and BetaKit senior editor, Tom Emrich. “Our first event is aimed at showcasing this success to ensure that the community knows what great stuff is happening in their own backyard. But we will also talk about the opportunities and challenges in being a wearable startup in Montreal to help inspire and support entrepreneurs who are thinking about — or who have just started — their own wearable startup journey.”
Smart clothing startup OMsignal is one of the wearable companies joining the agenda at the September 14 event. OMsignal’s biometric smartwear uses sensors embedded into the fabric of the clothing to measure vital information including heart rate, breathing rate, breathing volume, movement (including steps and cadence), movement intensity, heart rate variability, and calories burned. Last year, OMsignal partnered with Ralph Lauren to bring to market the first connected polo shirt and earlier this year at CES the company debuted a smart bra.
The event will also feature AR/VR HMD maker, VRvana; programmable wearable wristband, Mighty Cast; emotion recognition platform, Sensaura Tech; Motion Engine which is developing next-generation sensors; and BioMindR, a hydration and biometric monitoring system.
BioMindR’s co-founder, Meryeme Lahmami, is the We Are Wearables Montreal (WWMTL) co-organizer. “For me, it was obvious from the beginning that Montreal needed its own chapter and community,” said Lahmami. “Today, it is the right timing because the hype and buzz are shifting to real traction. Today, wearables are not just cool gadgets; they are increasingly part of our reality.”
We Are Wearables Montreal takes place at Desjardins Labs on September 14.