PCB design. Embedded firmware. Sensor integration. Power management. EMC. Textile integration.
We hold the full technical context of your wearable, so nothing gets lost between disciplines and your project moves faster.
Wearable hardware and firmware development.
Every layer, one team, no handoff risk.
Ready to develop a wearable?
TacOS — Our proprietary wearable firmware platform
Most wearable firmware is adapted from general-purpose embedded code. TacOS (Tactile Operating System) was built specifically for wearable development. Smaller microchip footprint, faster PoC-to-production transition, and production-ready code from the earliest development stages.
Faster development. Lower cost per iteration. Firmware your team can maintain and extend without starting from scratch.
No competitor offers this. It is one of the reasons DANU chose Elitac Wearables not just for their initial launch but for ongoing product management.
Our hardware & firmware approach for wearables
Wearable hardware and firmware development breaks down when handed off between specialists. The PCB designer doesn’t know how the firmware will behave under textile stress. The firmware engineer wasn’t in the room when the sensor was selected. By the time these gaps surface, you’ve lost weeks and the fixes are expensive.
At Elitac Wearables, we keep hardware, firmware and textile integration in one team, working together from component selection through to field testing, in our own R&D facility (The Wearables Lab) in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on every project.
Ready to develop a wearable?
Firmware design
Embedded Software or Firmware is the glue that connects the electronics and makes it all work nice and smoothly. It’s an essential element of wearable development.
Our firmware developers are jacks of all trades: they can code quick-and-dirty code, such as Arduino, for mockups and Proof of Concept prototyping. But as soon as the requirements start to take shape in the form of a Minimal Viable Product (MVP), they will start to write reliable and releasable code.
They are not afraid to test their own creations and enter into the field neither. Our firmware developers actually go along on our field tests to test and improve the functioning and usability of our wearables.
At Elitac Wearables, we have developed our propriety firmware called TacOS (short for Tactile Operating System), custom-made for wearable development. It allows for faster, cheaper, and smaller (microchip size) product development.
Elitac hardware capabilities
- Custom PCB design
- Hardware reviews
- Functional testing & improvements
- Battery & power optimisation
- EMC-testing & certification guidance
- And more…
See the full list & description of our capabilities
Already have hardware that needs improvement?
We also offer targeted hardware services for existing wearable products:
PCB review and redesign, BOM optimisation, battery life improvements, EMC compliance, and small series production support.
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Hardware design for wearables
Our hardware developers have different backgrounds, ranging from biomechanical engineering, electronics engineering, and human factors & haptic feedback research & development. What they have in common is the experience of hardware & firmware design for wearables, including the seamless integration of their hardware components into wearable products.
However, integrating hardware and sensors into wearables involves balancing complex issues, like elasticity, waterproofing, washability, and manufacturing possibilities. But also, achieving static placement on mobile people, preventing interference from movement and the skin’s electrical field, etc.
At Elitac Wearables, we have over 45 years’ combined experience developing wearables with integrated sensors. These range from complex health and bio-sensors (e.g. Flight Sense System), motion sensors (Mission Navigation Belt), accelerometers (BalanceBelt), light sensors (SmartShoulder), stretch sensors (SmartShirt), to gas sensors and more. We can therefore advise our development partners on the most efficient and cost-effective way to integrate sensors into their wearable.
Ready to develop a wearable?
Prototyping, Testing & Validation
Because we aim to develop wearables from idea to market-ready product, we focus on developing wearables that are fit for purpose, durable and have great signal quality. Therefore we put effort into prototyping, testing, and validation, to make sure the development adds value to our client. For example we:
- Take your concept and turn it from an idea into a functional prototype fast (e.g. Haptic Sleeve).
- Turn your prototype hardware and firmware into a market-ready, reliable product for real-world applications, (e.g. Danu Sports Smart Sock).
- Explore and validate new applications for existing technologies and/or wearables, (e.g. BEAT-IT).
- Innovate electronics and textile integration techniques for future wearables (e.g. Weafing project).
Contact us
Contact us to find out how we can help you to develop your wearable product
Intrigued to work in the wearables industry?
Do you want to improve people’s lives with your engineering skills? We are always on the lookout for talent. Especially for Hardware and Firmware developers.
Check out our career site and let’s get in touch!
