We included Thalmic Labs co-founders Stephen Lake, Matthew Bailey and Aaron Grant on our roundup last year, but it is worth continuing to watch the company in 2014. Since 2011, the team has been working on Myo, a device that fits around a users’ forearm, and uses a combination of biometrical signals, as well as data from gyroscopes and accelerometers, to track and interpret movement. So far, we’ve seen demos of Myo controlling quadrocopters, video games and a home stereo system.

This past June, the company raised a US$14.5-million round of Series A funding — the largest of any Y Combinator graduating company yet. The additional funding was expected to fuel Thalmic’s continued growth, Myo’s development and the development of future products and technologies, Stephen Lake, chief executive and co-founder of Thalmic said. It’ll be interesting to see what’s in store. Most importantly, this year will finally see Myo’s official release, and the first developer units will begin shipping early this year.

Recon

While everyone has been watching Google Glass with fevered anticipation, a Vancouver-based company has been working on its own brand of head-mounted wearables, albeit for sports. Since 2008, Recon Instruments has been developing athletic-friendly heads-up displays (HUDs), initially for snowboarders and skiiers, but soon, for athletes of all kinds.

The company’s Snow2 model — its second-generation HUD for snowboarders — launched in November, puts a small magnified display in the periphery of most popular snowboard goggles. Recon says it has sold more than 50,000 units of both generations combined worldwide, and it has partnered with popular glasses companies such as Oakley and Smith Optics to sell glasses with the HUD installed. We’ve seen the company demonstrate its tech at CES for the past two years, and it’s pretty cool stuff.

Intel Capital seems to think so, too. The investment arm of the giant semiconductor chip maker made a “significant” investment in the company in October, although terms of the deal were not announced. Expect to see the fruits of that financing in 2014 and beyond, as the company launches Jet HUD — a device similar to Google Glass, for athletes other than snowboarders — this spring.

Mojio

Om Malik’s technology website GigaOM aptly described Mojio as the product to “make your dumb car smart.” This year the Vancouver-based company will finally bring its smart device to the masses. Mojio is a small, Internet connected device that plugs into your car’s diagnostic port, and measures everything from direction, speed, oil levels and more. But the key is it can operate independent of a smartphone.

“You’ve got your phone that does a lot of stuff. It’ll unlock your door, it will turn your heat on before you pull in. But your car can do a lot of these things too. So why can’t you think about your car as your second device?” Debbie Landa, co-founder of Vancouver accelerator GrowLab, asked.

The company closed a round of seed funding worth US$2.3-millionled by Relay Ventures in October. The funds will be used to bring Mojio to market. The company said it is in the final stages of development and will launch within the coming months.

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