CTA Wearables Standards Called ‘Great First Step,’ but Lack Independent Oversight
CTA standards for health wearables are a “great first step,” but were not independent, Scott McLean, senior manager-biomechanics at engineering consultant Exponent told a Sports & Fitness Industry Association webinar Tuesday. CTA approved voluntary wearables standards for heart-rate monitoring last…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
year. Wearable tech companies “themselves generated those standards,” said the ex-Fitbit researcher. “What’s necessary here is a much stronger, more independent oversight on those standards.” The “biggest challenge” in wearables is what counts for sufficient accuracy in the devices, he said. “That is a really big issue with developing standards, but it’s something that really does need to be addressed.” CTA devised a “reasonable standard for a consumer grade of accuracy,” he said. “But as consumers use these products in new ways, then the question becomes, does that standard really hold true now for these new applications?” As wearable devices “proliferate more," he said, data reliability "can be challenged." There are "limited standards to hold these products against," he said. "Those that do exist tend to have been developed with very limited independent oversight.” CTA didn’t comment Tuesday.