Qualcomm's 2net Hub
This week at its Uplinq 2012 developer conference in San Diego, Qualcomm released a software development kit (SDK) for its forthcoming Qualcomm Life 2net app, which will act as a hub for personal medical devices. Curiously the SDK will initially only be available for creating Android apps, while an Apple iOS and Windows version of the SDK will launch in the future. (UPDATE: Qualcomm told MobiHealthNews in an email that the original announcement was incorrect, the SDK will be available for iOS, Android, and Microsoft's mobile platforms at launch.) Qualcomm plans to make the SDK available to developers free of charge in mid-August.
"The SDK opens up new revenue opportunities for developers by allowing them to access and leverage the 2net Platform – enabling data to be routed from a sensor on a medical device via the 2net Platform to a user's smartphone," Rick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life stated in a press release. "We're very interested in encouraging development of innovative apps that will improve accessibility to, and usability of, biometric data, which ultimately will drive adoption and utility of wireless health tools."
Qualcomm also announced the launch of a developer challenge that will launch following the release of the SDK in August until mid-September. The competition aims to identify the best 2net-enabled app and will award a $20,000 first place prize, a $10,000 second place prize, and a $5,000 third place prize at the Wireless Life-Sciences Alliance event later this year.
Qualcomm launched its 2net platform at the end of 2011. The company's Qualcomm Life subsidiary offers four ways for personal health devices to connect to its platform. These four gateways include a Class I FDA-listed, standalone gateway device called the 2net Hub; an embedded cellular connectivity component; medical data sent from mobile phones; and an API that enables service integration between the 2net platform and a service provider’s own platform.
In recent days MobiHealthNews has reported on a smartwatch health hub from Vesag that recently nabbed CE Mark clearance that allows it to go on sale in Europe. Numera also has its own smartphone app that acts as a hub for various personal health devices.
More on Qualcomm Life's SDK launch in the press release below:
PRESS RELEASE: SAN DIEGO, June 27, 2012 -- Qualcomm Life Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), today announced the upcoming availability of its 2net™ App Software Development Kit (SDK) during Qualcomm's Uplinq™ 2012 mobile developer conference. The SDK is the first of its kind to provide a single consolidated biometric data stream across different radio technologies, device types, applications and services. The SDK will be initially available on the Android platform and future versions will support iOS and Windows platforms. Qualcomm Life will make the SDK available to developers free of charge.
"The SDK opens up new revenue opportunities for developers by allowing them to access and leverage the 2net Platform – enabling data to be routed from a sensor on a medical device to the 2net Platform via a user's smartphone," said Rick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life. "We're very interested in encouraging development of innovative apps that will improve accessibility to, and usability of, biometric data, which ultimately will drive adoption and utility of wireless health tools."
In conjunction with the availability of the SDK, Qualcomm Life has established the 2net App Developer Challenge to identify the best 2net-enabled application. The challenge will run from August 15 – October 1. Cash and other prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place winners, including: $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. Winners will be announced at the 3rd Annual Wireless Health Conference, hosted by the Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA). Eligibility, submission guidelines and evaluation criteria are available at QDevNet.
The 2net App SDK 1.0 will be made publicly available to app developers on August 15, 2012. In the meantime, interested developers can sign up to receive more information about SDK availability and the challenge here. The app will be available through QDevNet and Happtique's Developer Community. This SDK is for consumer application use only.
About Qualcomm Life
Qualcomm Life is defining and connecting the wireless health network to improve lives and advance the capabilities of medical devices. Qualcomm Life is focused on device connectivity and data management and empowers medical device manufacturers to deliver wireless health quickly and easily to those who need it. The Qualcomm Life team has the experience and the wireless know-how to make the enormous complexities of a wireless connection look simple. We draw from our parent company's more than 25 years of wireless connectivity experience, know-how and universal interoperability to enable unified machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. To learn more, please visit http://www.qualcommlife.com/.
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in 3G and next-generation mobile technologies. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.
