Waterloo has its own wearables factory

Waterloo has its own wearables factory

Inside Thalmic Labs’ secret wearables warehouse

Photograph courtesy of Thalmic Labs

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.

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