What is Wearable Computing?
There are two main types of wearable technologies:
-Apparel and textiles are used in healthcare, medicine, sports, safety, and fashion for fitness, wellness, and life-tracking applications. They also apply in industrial, police, and military environments (eg body-mounted cameras and augmented-reality headsets).
-Infotainment appliances include smart phones, goggles for virtual reality, and smart glasses. The technology is primarily integrated into traditional electronics and is evolutionary, that is, integrating cell phone peripherals with diagnostic devices, or versions of new human interfaces.
source: https://electricalfundablog.com/wearable-computing-devices-technology/
The key characteristics that define wearable computing devices are:
Portable while Operation.
Enables hands free and hands limited use.
Always with the user, or acting on behalf of the user.
Able to get user’s attention.
Able to sense user’s current context. The person operating or using the device is able to enter and execute command(s) while involved in any physical activity.
The Timeline Of Wearable Computing
Source: Areteon (2015) Wearable Devices Market & Technology
This picture shows us the advancements we have made throughout the years in wearable technology. This quickly developing technology is mind-blowing and who knows where it could be in another decade.
Wearable Applications
Healthcare is a prominent area in which wearable technology is utilized. Such as, Prosthetics, Exoskeletons, Glasses for visually impaired , Blood pressure, heart rate, hydration, lung capacity, blood sugar monitors , Location devices , Smart clothes (e.g. posture correcting wearables) p Implants (e.g. pacemakers) and Ingestibles.
Source: Lecture 15 wearable computing - Gabriela Avram
One specific area I would like to focus on in the healthcare sector which was recently announced is Elon Musk's Neuralink implant. "euralink Corporation is an American neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk and others, developing implantablebrain–machine interfaces (BMIs). The company's headquarters are in San Francisco; it was started in 2016 and was first publicly reported in March 2017."
It is a brain-machine interface visualized by Musk that binds humans and
computers using implant chips and thousands of electrodes in the most complex organ.
It may allow paraplegics and other patients with Alzheimer's, dementia, and neurologically impaired individuals
to monitor artificial limbs and other linked devices with thoughts in their primary stages.
Musk expects perfect human-computer symbiosis as technology progresses
further or connects our consciousness to an intelligent machine. It has not yet been released to the direct public as it is still in testing phase.
There are many people that question Elon's new invention as the brain is so complex it is hard to know how exactly it will adapt to the human brain.
In conclusion, there are many applications for wearable technologies. Not just in healthcare but for wellbeing also such as apple watches, fitbits, gopros, implant devices and even tattoos! Technology is growing at a rapid rate and we can take advantage of this to better our health and even well-being.