The Internet of Things healthcare market is expected to reach over $160 billion by 2020, and just last week we saw the launch of new connected devices, including Samsung’s new biometric earbuds, all aimed at helping people live a healthy lifestyle.

Every week we round up the latest developments in the Smart World, from new developer platforms to smart city initiatives around the world. Here’s what you missed in the Smart World:

Biometrics whiz explains hearables

The global wearables market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 35 percent over the next five years, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. aims to take the lead by signing a major deal with Valencell, Inc. to power its Samsung Gear IconX cord-free fitness earbuds. An earbud may be an odd choice for tracking fitness, but Dr. Steven LeBoeuf, president and cofounder of Valencell, explains that the ear is the most accurate spot to asses for blood flow, is very localized so data is not mixed from everything else.

Read more about why the ears are the best spot for fitness tracking here.

Custom vitamins startup sees IoT opportunity

STYR Labs, Inc. launched a new health ecosystem that marries fitness tracking and supplement recommendation services. The ecosystem features a fitness tracking band and a smart wireless scale, with data gathered from both devices used to create custom supplements for the user. The custom supplements come in a credit-card sized, single-serve packets.

The starter kit is priced at $68 which comes with the smartband and 15 vitamin packets.

Read more about this new health ecosystem here.

Nokia delves deeper into IoT healthcare 

Nokia Corp.-owned Withings SA announced the market availability of its newest connected health device, the Withings Thermo. It’s a smart connected thermometer that allows for the easy monitoring of temperatures for multiple users, as well as assists with the management of temperature readings using the Thermo app. The thermometer itself is able to tell the user whether a temperature reading is normal, mild or high fever, using the color-changing LEDs on the device’s display.

The Withings Thermo is priced at $99.99.

Read more about this new smart thermometer here.

Ford bets on 3D mapping to guide self-driving cars

Ford Motor Co., is part of a group of investors that has invested seed money into 3D maps startup Civil Maps. Motus Ventures led the round with the participation of Wicklow Capital, StartX Stanford, and AME Cloud Ventures, which is run by Yahoo! Inc. co-founder Jerry Yang, aside from Ford. Civil Maps, like HERE maps, uses spatial data to create ‘extremely accurate localization’ which will be better for use by autonomous vehicles. Civil Maps uses sensors from cameras and high-resolution laser imaging (LiDAR), with data crunched and reorganized into machine-readable maps. It also users artificial intelligence software to minimize data storage and transmission requirements allowing it to crowdsource map data on the go.

Read more about how 3D mapping is better for autonomous vehicles here.

Tune in next week for more interesting stories, discoveries and innovations in the world of smart and connected things.

Image via Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.