Software

If we wanted to find a common technical denominator across today's different fields of research, it would undoubtedly be software.

If we wanted to find a common technical denominator across today's different fields of research, it would undoubtedly be software.

The imminent rise of wearable devices and their interaction with people and their surroundings is markedly changing the market in civilian and military sectors, particularly consumer and healthcare technology.

Packaging high-performance operating systems into small devices and freely transferring knowledge through the new open-hardware concept are undoubtedly accelerating the emergence of inexpensive, highly useful gadgets.

Healthcare is where we will find the greatest number of gadgets and tools supporting self-diagnosis and even self-treatment. Devices such as Dexcom G4 already exist, using simple electronic equipment to make life easier for people with type I diabetes, avoiding daily needle pricks and the inability to predict hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia. Combined with an insulin pump, it can also act as an artificial pancreas without patient interaction.

Finding a software platform that enables existing tools to evolve and expand is difficult and depends on device compatibility.

SIDE is a Colabsoft project aiming to create a software platform capable of ‘understanding’ many devices and communicating with people and their surroundings through standard languages that can display information on any medium (computers, tablets, mobile phones and smart TVs).