/
1x
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
Waterloo has its own wearables factory
Inside Thalmic Labs’ secret wearables warehouse
| September 18, 2017
In an old woodworking warehouse in Waterloo, the wearables of the future are becoming a reality. It’s home to Thalmic Labs, the company known for the Myo armband, which allows users to control an array of devices with a flick of the wrist—PowerPoint slides, lights in a DJ set, even a prosthetic hand.
Last year, Thalmic got $120 million (U.S.) from Amazon and Intel to develop a new interface for wearable technology that would rival iOS. The space buzzes with the thrill of innovation as jumpsuited engineers work to invent not only next-level wearables, but also the machines required to manufacture them. If there were ever a place to build self-lacing sneakers, this would be it.
The Incredible Rise of Tech
Jean Grant has been a freelance writer since 2015, covering a range of lifestyle topics like shopping, interiors, wellness and culture for publications like Maclean’s and Toronto Life. She also enjoys working with brands to develop custom content, and shares personal essays through her Substack newsletter, Nobody is Thinking About You.
