{"id":462589,"date":"2023-10-31T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T05:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=462589"},"modified":"2023-10-31T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T05:30:00","slug":"the-troublesome-guest-huawei-opens-its-first-health-research-lab-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/the-troublesome-guest-huawei-opens-its-first-health-research-lab-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"The troublesome guest: Huawei opens its first health research lab in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In 2022, some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/435933\/quarterly-wearables-shipments-worldwide-by-vendor\/\">492 million<\/a> wearable units \u2013 including smartwatches, fitness monitors, and head-mounted displays \u2013 were sold worldwide.\u00a0 The global market is expected to expand consistently, reaching by 2030 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zionmarketresearch.com\/report\/wearable-technology-market\">$142.4 billion<\/a> value from a $55 billion market size last year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huawei.com\/en\/\">Huawei<\/a> is one of the companies betting the most on this market, as it launched its first health research lab outside of China in Helsinki, Finland.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"io-block io-block__summary\"><ul><li>Huawei opened a new health research lab in Helsinki to develop its wearables, adding to two existing centers in China.<\/li><li>The lab has testing facilities for skiing, swimming, and running to refine devices for athletes and consumers.<\/li><li>Despite tensions, Huawei is deepening ties in Europe. <\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The tech giant unveiled the lab on October 26. The facility adds to the two Chinese health research centers in Xi\u2019an and Songshan Lakes. The newly-setup lab comprises a multidisciplinary team that will investigate sports and health in developing the new generation of the company\u2019s wearable devices. Located in an industrial area of the Finnish capital, the health lab features several testing areas where to test with a wide array of sports, spanning from running to alpine skiing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, Huawei is willing to stay competitive. Smartwatch selling data from the third quarter of 2023 shows the Chinese claiming ten percent of smartwatch unit shipment share, following market leader Apple, retaining 22 percent of the shipments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis lab shows Huawei\u2019s commitment to health and sports science research,\u201d said Rico Zhang, President of the Smart wearable and health product line, on stage. Zhang touched upon the mission of the lab, which comes primarily as a research and development center but also as an \u201cindustry incubator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/huawei-builds-an-immense-digital-backbone-for-china-and-plans-to-offer-it-to-the-rest-of-the-world-too\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"Huawei builds an immense digital backbone for China - and plans to offer it to the rest of the world, too\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Huawei builds an immense digital backbone for China &#8211; and plans to offer it to the rest of the world, too<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Much remained on the surface against the imposing skylines of global cities Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. What did become clear: the Chinese tech giant is determined to bring an alternative to Western telecom technology to market.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sporting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Next to the presentation stage is a ski simulator. There, a former Finnish skier goes down the artificial slope, replicating an Alpine scenario \u2013 despite the temperature, as he skies wearing a t-shirt. The white carpet closely resembles snow, according to the sportsman, not only for its color. It can be even wetted to simulate different snow conditions. The skier says it\u2019s a good way to learn how to ski, although doing so on the carpet involves slightly higher gliding. Sensors on his body and cameras around the slope keep track of each movement he makes, with real-time data being shown on a nearby screen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the open space, a slight smell of chlorine enters the corridor. It comes from the pool located in the adjacent room. Moving closer to the water, the temperature rises. It\u2019s set at 28 degrees Celsius, and inside the pool, a professional swimmer is making his way against the current, as a fan-like engine keeps the flow constant. On his mouth is a measuring mask connected to sensors measuring oxygen flow. Cameras on top and the side measure parameters like hip and head angle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside the lab, researchers will conduct their experiments using Huawei\u2019s latest smartwatch, the GT-4. It can assess users\u2019 running ability, as well as evaluate human cardiopulmonary capacity so as to evaluate performance more efficiently.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"462590\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026_101014-1004x753.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-462590\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"462591\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026_095618-1004x753.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-462591\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"462592\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026_100407-753x1004.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-462592\"\/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">From left to right: the runner, the Paralympic athlete on the treadmill, and the swimmer doing its simulation. &#8211; \u00a9 Innovation Origins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From athletes to consumers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A large treadmill takes up most of the space of a nearby room. There, a cross-country skier, a cyclist, and a paralympic cyclist take turns to use the platform. Before doing so, they all wear a harness. \u201cSafety first,\u201d says the Huawei employee monitoring the activity from the computer. The athletes wear more than the safety rope. On the back of the skier is a heart rate monitor; on the mouth of the cyclist sits a mask to measure oxygen flow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conducting tests with paralympic athletes is seen by the tech giant as preparatory to refining and creating devices that can also cater to physically incapacitated people. Zhang also stressed this point. Overall, testing with top-performing athletes, who, by nature, push to exceed their limits, results in solid technology for the average consumer and vice versa. The whole range of wearables aims to serve beginners but also to get endorsements from the top athletes, too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More than sports watches\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jogging is one of the easiest and most popular sports to practice, and where smartwatches are mostly being used. What the guide describes as an instrumented treadmill is where a triathlete is doing a little run. On the screens in front of him, real-time data on his heart and breath appear, as well as measurements of how his legs release energy to the moving floor. One leg can be more dominant than the other, and this can be noticed by the amount of strength it releases on the surface and by the way it breaks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smart watches can be more than gear for sports enthusiasts. They can monitor vital signs, for instance. One of the latest Huawei models can measure blood pressure. Its sensors under the case sense through the skin, and the cuff inflates, replacing the pump and the stethoscopes of old-fashioned measuring pumps. Despite not being medical devices, Huawei smartwatches monitor vital signs, alerting users to go and see their doctor if needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chinese company is also designing its watches as fashion objects, as something to wear at every moment of the day, not only when doing sports. Its GT line has switched towards a sleek design over the years, boasting round quadrants and colorful iron bracelets, as shown by a banner hanging next to one of the test areas. The GT-4 comes at a lower price than its main competitor but also suffers from the limitations affecting Huawei itself, which doesn\u2019t feature a full version of Android any more and doesn\u2019t have access to Google apps.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026_093449-1004x753.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-462593\" width=\"591\" height=\"443\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A moment of the opening ceremony. &#8211; \u00a9 Innovation Origins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Partnering with European universities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With this move, Europe is becoming increasingly central in the company\u2019s plans. Huawei has 18 research centers across the Old Continent with over 10,000 employees. One of them is in Helsinki, a few blocks away from the new facility, and the health lab builds upon research conducted there. The Chinese company was also the co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interlive.org\/\">Interlive<\/a>, a consortium set up with six European universities to develop standards for wearable devices.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On behalf of the universities, Professor Luis Bettencourt Sardinha from the University of Lisbon thanked Huawei for the collaboration. In his view, the lab is an important resource to \u201cdevelop knowledge.\u201d Looking back at the Interlive project, the academic believes it was a chance to produce \u201cgood science,\u201d understanding user needs that translate into valuable products. The consortium published several protocols on wearables features, such as heart rate and step count.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/as-resistance-grows-in-europe-huawei-shows-its-committed-to-winning-the-6g-race\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"As resistance grows in Europe,\u00a0Huawei assures its commitment to winning the 6G race\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">As resistance grows in Europe,\u00a0Huawei assures its commitment to winning the 6G race<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">While nearly the entire world &#8211; except for China &#8211; is still busy rolling out 5G, the race for 6G has long since begun. <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tough times\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Europe\u2019s stance on Huawei is not as positive. In 2020, the EU released a <a href=\"https:\/\/digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu\/en\/library\/cybersecurity-5g-networks-eu-toolbox-risk-mitigating-measures\">toolbox<\/a> to limit the dependence on the company\u2019s equipment while building its 5G infrastructure. Earlier this year, the Commission issued a new <a href=\"https:\/\/digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu\/en\/library\/second-report-member-states-progress-implementing-eu-toolbox-5g-cybersecurity\">report<\/a> on the toolbox\u2019s implementation, flagging Huawei and ZTE as high-risk suppliers, justifying their exclusion from tenders by some member states. The Chinese company kicked back by filing a complaint. In fomenting the tension, the news of a former employee of ASML \u2013 the world leader in chip-making machines \u2013 who stole confidential information and then joined the Shenzen-headquartered company came last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In June, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/c2a2ef47-1d8a-4b22-b04c-2b07218fd225\">report<\/a> by the Financial Times unveiled that Huawei received money from eleven &nbsp; Horizon Europe programs \u2013 the EU\u2019s lead research initiative \u2013 getting up to fourteen percent of funding per scheme. The news was welcomed with fierce criticism, as in the project, sensible research in AI, quantum sensing, and cloud computing was conducted, with the Chinese company considered a threat to European security.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, from electronic equipment to lithium supplies, Europe has been striving to decouple itself from China, with the US also stepping into critical areas, such as semiconductor technology. Home to ASML, the Netherlands has been deeply entangled in the controversy, with multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/asmls-ceo-warns-for-impact-of-migration-restriction-and-isolating-china\/\">bans<\/a> affecting the export of top-notch equipment to China.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ongoing story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tensions aside, Huawei\u2019s stride shows interest in deepening its relations and penetration within Europe amid criticism and suspicion. The new Finnish facility comes as an important chapter in the story. Many more will come, for sure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2022, some 492 million wearable units \u2013 including smartwatches, fitness monitors, and head-mounted displays \u2013 were sold worldwide.\u00a0 The global market is expected to expand consistently, reaching by 2030 a $142.4 billion value from a $55 billion market size last year. Huawei is one of the companies betting the most on this market, as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":493533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8553],"tags":[27882,27680],"location":[53484],"article_type":[43139],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-462589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","tag-huawei-en","tag-wearables-en","location-finland-nl","article_type-features"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Huawei opened its first health research lab outside of China in Helsinki, Finland. We were there for the opening. ","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Mauro Mereu","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231026_102841.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/digital\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Digital<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Digital<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/digital\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Huawei<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/digital\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">wearables<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Huawei<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">wearables<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 31, 2023","modified":"Updated on October 31, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 31, 2023 6:30 am","modified":"Updated on October 31, 2023 6:30 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462589"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=462589"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=462589"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=462589"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=462589"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=462589"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=462589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}