The holidays are upon us, and as savvy shoppers search for gift ideas with a personal touch, wearable gadgets from U of T Engineering-developed companies are pret-a-porter for the fashionable tech lover on your list.
A motion-sensing glove for gamers? Check. Wristbands that let you make secure mobile payments? Check. This season, startups from U of T Engineering alumni are offering accessories to help improve your basketball game, smartwatch typing and more.
Below are just a few of the best wearable tech gifts from companies growing in the U of T Engineering community.
The Nymi from Bionym
This sleek, biometric wristband enables users to seamlessly unlock devices, remember passwords and—in a pilot with RBC in early 2015—even make 
mobile payments. And it does so securely, by recognizing your heart’s unique signature.
“We’re at the forefront of a revolution in identity-based interactions with devices and services,” said Karl Martin (ElecE 0T1, MASc 0T3, PhD 1T0), CEO of Bionym. “Our momentum continues to grow with the support of our investors and strategic partners.”
The company, which he co-founded with fellow alumnus Foteini Agrafioti (ElecE MASc 0T9, PhD 1T1), recently announced a round of $14 million in investment. A spin-off of their engineering research and developed through several university entrepreneurship supports, Bionym is now making headlines in the Washington Post, Mashable, Daily Mail and NBC.
You can reserve the Nymi for an introductory price of $79 on pre-orders before December 31. And ‘Nymi Band Discovery Kits,’ are also available, perfect for developers keen to create applications for a much buzzed-about piece of tech soon to hit the market.
Learn more about Bionym and Nymi.
Minuum from Whirlscape
It may not be a piece of wearable tech itself but this software makes smartwatches even smarter.
Minuum’s tiny, highly predictive keyboard offers accurate typing even when users miss every letter.
The company, developed by alumni Will Walmsley (MASc MIE 1T2) and Xavier Snelgrove (EngSci 1T1)with help from U of T accelerators UTEST and Creative Destruction Lab, blasted past its IndieGoGo goal by 873 per cent and has been producing minuscule keyboards for sloppy typers on a variety of devices ever since.
“While we hoped others would appreciate our project, we didn’t anticipate the level of support, enthusiasm and excitement that Minuum would generate around the world,” said Walmsley, CEO of Whirlscape.
The Minuum is available for devices running on iOS and Android and the company says it’s “the first keyboard to enable typing on Android Wear devices, including the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live,” among other smartwatches.
Minuum for iOS and Android costs $3.99. Consider it a virtual stocking stuffer.
SWISH by Onyx Motion
This free Android-wear smartphone app is made for basketball enthusiasts looking to track and improve their shot. SWISH records the shot and offers tips on focus, technique and more, with information sourced from real coaches.
Engineering alumni Jason Schuback (ECE 1T4), Vivek Kesarwani (EngSci 1T4), Marissa Wu (EngSci 1T3) and Kelvin Xu (EngSci 1T4) co-founded Onyx Motion as part of The Next 36, the entrepreneurship development program co-founded by Ajay Agrawal, Peter Munk Professor of Entrepreneurship and academic director at U of T’s Creative Destruction Lab. Onyx Motion has just been named one of the newest UTEST companies. The free app is available for download in the Google Play store.
Learn more about Onyx Motion and SWISH.
ExoGlove from BreqLabs
The smart glove from U of T’s BreqLabs is poised to get gamers more immersed in their virtual worlds – and serve as a wearable mouse for users with mobility challenges such as hand tremors.
Engineering alumnus Martin Labrecque (CompE MASc 0T5, PhD 1T1) is developing the product with support from U of T’s Impact Centre and the Heffernan Commercialization Fellowship. In the video below, he demonstrates the ExoGlove in tandem with the Occulus Rift virtual reality headset and discusses other possible applications.
Learn more about BreqLabs and ExoGlove.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3NFciucp0Y]
