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Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include
smartwatch A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ...
es and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they detect, analyze, and transmit information such as vital signs, and/or ambient data and which allow in some cases immediate biofeedback to the wearer.Düking P, Hotho A, Holmberg HC, Fuss FK, Sperlich B. Comparison of Non-Invasive Individual Monitoring of the Training and Health of Athletes with Commercially Available Wearable Technologies. Frontiers in physiology. 2016;7:71. . Wearable devices such as
activity tracker An activity tracker, also known as a fitness tracker, is a device or application for monitoring and tracking fitness-related metrics such as distance walked or run, calorie consumption, and in some cases heartbeat. It is a type of wearable com ...
s are an example of the
Internet of Things The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other com ...
, since "things" such as
electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
,
software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...
, sensors, and connectivity are effectors that enable objects to exchange data (including data quality) through the internet with a manufacturer, operator, and/or other connected devices, without requiring human intervention. Wearable technology has a variety of use cases which is growing as the technology is developed and the market expands. Wearables are popular in consumer electronics, most commonly in the form factors of
smartwatches A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. Whi ...
, smart rings, and
implants Implant can refer to: Medicine *Implant (medicine), or specifically: **Brain implant **Breast implant **Buttock implant **Cochlear implant **Contraceptive implant **Dental implant **Fetal tissue implant **Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator ** ...
. A popular smartwatch in the market is the
Apple Watch Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was ...
. A popular smart ring is the McLear Ring, and a popular implant is the Dangerous Things NExT RFID + NFC Chip Implant. Apart from commercial uses, wearable technology is being incorporated into navigation systems, advanced textiles, and healthcare. As wearable technology is being proposed for use in critical applications, like other technology, it is vetted for its reliability and security properties.


History

In the 1500s, German inventor
Peter Henlein Peter Henlein (also spelled Henle or Hele) (1485 - August 1542), a locksmith and clockmaker of Nuremberg, Germany, is often considered the inventor of the watch., p.31 He was one of the first craftsmen to make small ornamental portable clocks wh ...
(1485-1542) created small watches that were worn as necklaces. A century later,
pocket watch A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatc ...
es grew in popularity as waistcoats became fashionable for men. Wristwatches were created in the late 1600s but were worn mostly by women as bracelets. In the late 1800s, the first wearable
hearing aid A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers su ...
s were introduced. In 1904, aviator
Alberto Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier- ...
pioneered the modern use of the wristwatch. In the 1970s, calculator watches became available, reaching the peak of their popularity in the 1980s. From the early 2000s, wearable cameras were being used as part of a growing sousveillance movement. In 2008, Ilya Fridman incorporated a hidden Bluetooth microphone into a pair of earrings. In 2010,
Fitbit Fitbit (stylized as fitbit) is an American consumer electronics and fitness company. It produces wireless-enabled wearable technology, physical fitness monitors and activity trackers such as smartwatches, pedometers and monitors for heart r ...
released its first step counter. Wearable technology which tracks information such as walking and heart rate is part of the quantified self movement. In 2013 McLear, also known as NFC Ring, released the first widely used advanced wearable device. The smart ring could pay with bitcoin, unlock other devices, transfer personally identifying information, and other features. McLear owns the earliest patent, filed in 2012, which covers all smart rings, with Joe Prencipe of Seattle, WA as the sole inventor. In 2013, one of the first widely available smartwatches was the Samsung Galaxy Gear. Apple followed in 2015 with the
Apple Watch Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was ...
.


Form factors

Wearable technology can exist in multiple different form factors.


Eye and Head-Worn

Glasses are wearable technology that are eye and head-worn.


Foot-Worn

Smart shoes are an example of wearable technology that incorporate smart features into shoes. Smart shoes often work with smartphone applications to support tasks cannot be done with standard footwear. The uses include vibrating of the smart phone to tell users when and where to turn to reach their destination via
Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...
or self-lacing. Self-lacing sneaker technology, similar to the Nike Mag in ''
Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film '' Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ...
'', is another use of the smart shoe. In 2019 German footwear company
Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...
was recognized as one of the "100 Best Inventions of 2019" by ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' for its Fi laceless shoe that uses micro-motors to adjust the fit from an iPhone. Nike also introduced a smart shoe in 2019 known as Adapt BB. The shoe featured buttons on the side to loosen or tighten the fit with a custom motor and gear, which could also be controlled by a smartphone.


Prototypes

From 1991 to 1997, Rosalind Picard and her students, Steve Mann and Jennifer Healey, at the
MIT Media Lab The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fixed academic disciplines, but draws from ...
designed, built, and demonstrated data collection and decision making from "Smart Clothes" that monitored continuous physiological data from the wearer. These "smart clothes", "smart underwear", "smart shoes", and smart jewellery collected data that related to affective state and contained or controlled physiological sensors and environmental sensors like cameras and other devices. At the same time, also at the MIT Media Lab,
Thad Starner Thad Eugene Starner is a founder and director of the Contextual Computing Group at Georgia Tech's College of Computing, where he is a full professor. He is a pioneer of wearable computing as well as human-computer interaction, augmented envir ...
and Alex "Sandy" Pentland develop
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory Modality (human–computer interaction), modalities, including visual, Hearing, auditory, hap ...
. In 1997, their smartglass prototype is featured on ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...
'' and enables rapid web search and instant messaging. Though the prototype's glasses are nearly as streamlined as modern smartglasses, the processor was a computer worn in a backpack – the most lightweight solution available at the time. In 2009,
Sony Ericsson Sony Mobile Communications Inc. ( ja, ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. I ...
teamed up with the London College of Fashion for a contest to design digital clothing. The winner was a cocktail dress with Bluetooth technology making it light up when a call is received. Zach "Hoeken" Smith of MakerBot fame made keyboard pants during a "Fashion Hacking" workshop at a New York City creative collective. The Tyndall National Institute in Ireland developed a "remote non-intrusive patient monitoring" platform which was used to evaluate the quality of the data generated by the patient sensors and how the end users may adopt to the technology. More recently, London-based fashion company
CuteCircuit CuteCircuit ( ) is a fashion company based in London founded in 2004 by Ryan Genz and Francesca Rosella. CuteCircuit designs wearable technology and interactive fashion. All CuteCircuit garments are designed by Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz. ...
created costumes for singer
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...
featuring LED lighting so that the outfits would change color both during stage shows and appearances on the red carpet such as the dress Katy Perry wore in 2010 at the MET Gala in NYC. In 2012, CuteCircuit created the world's first dress to feature Tweets, as worn by singer
Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the list of best-se ...
. In 2010, McLear, also known as NFC Ring, developed the first advanced wearables prototype in the world, which was then fundraised on Kickstarter in 2013. In 2014, graduate students from the Tisch School of Arts in New York designed a hoodie that sent pre-programmed text messages triggered by gesture movements. Around the same time, prototypes for digital eyewear with heads up display (HUD) began to appear.Anne Eisenber
Inside These Lenses, a Digital Dimension
April 25, 2009 New York Times
The US military employs headgear with displays for soldiers using a technology called
holographic optics Holographic optical element (HOE) is an optical component (mirror, lens, directional diffuser, etc.) that produces holographic images using principles of diffraction. HOE is most commonly used in transparent displays, 3D imaging, and certain scanni ...
. In 2010, Google started developing prototypes of its optical head-mounted display
Google Glass Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a brand of smart glasses developed and sold by Google. It was developed by X (previously Google X), with the mission of producing an ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using ...
, which went into customer beta in March 2013.


Usage

In the consumer space, sales of smart wristbands (aka activity trackers such as the Jawbone UP and Fitbit Flex) started accelerating in 2013. One in five American adults have a wearable device, according to the 2014 PriceWaterhouseCoopers Wearable Future Report. As of 2009, decreasing cost of processing power and other components was facilitating widespread adoption and availability. In professional sports, wearable technology has applications in monitoring and real-time feedback for athletes.Duncan Smit
The Rise of the Virtual Trainer
July 13, 2009 Product Design and Development
Examples of wearable technology in sport include accelerometers, pedometers, and GPS's which can be used to measure an athlete's energy expenditure and movement pattern. In cybersecurity and financial technology, secure wearable devices have captured part of the physical security key market. McLear, also known as NFC Ring, and VivoKey developed products with one-time pass secure access control. In health informatics, wearable devices have enabled better capturing of human health statics for data driven analysis. This has facilitated data-driven machine learning algorithms to analyse the health condition of users. In business, wearable technology helps managers easily supervise employees by knowing their locations and what they are currently doing. Employees working in a warehouse also have increased safety when working around chemicals or lifting something. Smart helmets are employee safety wearables that have vibration sensors that can alert employees of possible danger in their environment.


Modern technologies

On April 16, 2013,
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
invited "Glass Explorers" who had pre-ordered its wearable glasses at the 2012 Google I/O conference to pick up their devices. This day marked the official launch of Google Glass, a device intended to deliver rich text and notifications via a heads-up display worn as eyeglasses. The device also had a 5 MP camera and recorded video at 720p. Its various functions were activated via voice command, such as "OK Glass". The company also launched the Google Glass companion app, MyGlass. The first third-party Google Glass App came from the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', which was able to read out articles and news summaries. However, in early 2015, Google stopped selling the beta "explorer edition" of Glass to the public, after criticism of its design and the $1,500 price tag. While optical head-mounted display technology remains a niche, two popular types of wearable devices have taken off: smartwatches and activity trackers. In 2012, ABI Research forecast that sales of smartwatches would hit $1.2 million in 2013, helped by the high penetration of smartphones in many world markets, the wide availability and low cost of MEMS sensors, energy efficient connectivity technologies such as Bluetooth 4.0, and a flourishing app ecosystem.
Crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...
-backed start-up
Pebble A pebble is a clast of rock with a particle size of based on the Udden-Wentworth scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered larger than granules ( in diameter) and smaller than cobbles ( in diameter). A rock made predomina ...
reinvented the smartwatch in 2013, with a campaign running on
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...
that raised more than $10m in funding. At the end of 2014, Pebble announced it had sold a million devices. In early 2015, Pebble went back to its crowdfunding roots to raise a further $20m for its next-generation smartwatch, Pebble Time, which started shipping in May 2015.
Crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...
-backed start-up McLear invented the smart ring in 2013, with a campaign running on
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...
that raised more than $300k in funding. McLear was the first mover in wearables technology in introducing payments, bitcoin payments, advanced secure access control, quantified self data collection, biometric data tracking, and monitoring systems for the elderly. In March 2014,
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...
unveiled the Moto 360 smartwatch powered by
Android Wear Wear OS (also known simply as Wear and formerly Android Wear) is a version of Google's Android operating system designed for smartwatches and other wearables. By pairing with mobile phones running Android version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or newer, or ...
, a modified version of the mobile operating system Android designed specifically for smartwatches and other wearables. Finally, following more than a year of speculation, Apple announced its own smartwatch, the
Apple Watch Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was ...
, in September 2014. Wearable technology was a popular topic at the trade show
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event ty ...
in 2014, with the event dubbed "The Wearables, Appliances, Cars and Bendable TVs Show" by industry commentators. Among numerous wearable products showcased were smartwatches, activity trackers, smart jewelry, head-mounted optical displays and earbuds. Nevertheless, wearable technologies are still suffering from limited battery capacity. Another field of application of wearable technology is monitoring systems for
assisted living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States, but the setting is si ...
and eldercare. Wearable sensors have a huge potential in generating big data, with a great applicability to biomedicine and ambient assisted living. For this reason, researchers are moving their focus from data collection to the development of intelligent algorithms able to glean valuable information from the collected data, using data mining techniques such as
statistical classification In statistics, classification is the problem of identifying which of a set of categories (sub-populations) an observation (or observations) belongs to. Examples are assigning a given email to the "spam" or "non-spam" class, and assigning a diag ...
and
neural networks A neural network is a network or circuit of biological neurons, or, in a modern sense, an artificial neural network, composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, a neural network is either a biological neural network, made up of biological ...
. Wearable technology can also collect biometric data such as heart rate (ECG and HRV), brainwave (EEG), and muscle bio-signals (EMG) from the human body to provide valuable information in the field of health care and wellness. Another increasingly popular wearable technology involves virtual reality. VR headsets have been made by a range of manufacturers for computers, consoles, and mobile devices. Recently Google released their headset, the Google Daydream. In July 2014 a smart technology footwear was introduced in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
. The shoe insoles are connected to a smartphone application that uses
Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...
, and vibrate to tell users when and where to turn to reach their destination. In addition to commercial applications, wearable technology is being researched and developed for a multitude of uses. The
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...
is one of the many research institutions developing and testing technologies in this field. For example, research is being done to improve
haptic technology Haptic technology (also kinaesthetic communication or 3D touch) is technology that can create an experience of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. These technologies can be used to create virtual objects in a computer ...
for its integration into next-generation wearables. Another project focuses on using wearable technology to assist the visually impaired in navigating their surroundings. As wearable technology continues to grow, it has begun to expand into other fields. The integration of wearables into healthcare has been a focus of research and development for various institutions. Wearables continue to evolve, moving beyond devices and exploring new frontiers such as smart fabrics. Applications involve using a fabric to perform a function such as integrating a
QR code A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of Barcode#Matrix (2D) barcodes, matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso#Denso Wave, Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optic ...
into the textile, or performance apparel that increases airflow during exercise


Wearable technology and health

Wearable technology is often used to monitor a user's health. Given that such a device is in close contact with the user, it can easily collect data. It started as soon as 1980 where first wireless ECG was invented. In the last decades, it shows rapid growth in research of textile-based, tattoo, patch, and contact lenses. Wearables can be used to collect data on a user's health including: * Heart rate * Calories burned * Steps walked * Blood pressure * Release of certain biochemicals * Time spent exercising * Seizures * physical strain These functions are often bundled together in a single unit, like an activity tracker or a smartwatch like the Apple Watch Series 2 or Samsung Galaxy Gear Sport. Devices like these are used for physical training and monitoring overall physical health, as well as alerting to serious medical conditions such as seizures (e.g. Empatica Embrace).


Overview

Living a healthy life may not just solely be dependent on eating healthy, sleeping well, or participating in a few exercises a week. Instead, it lies far beyond just a few things and rather is deeply connected to a variety of physiological and biochemical parts of the body in relation to physical activity and living a healthy lifestyle. In the past several years, the emergence of technological devices better known as “Wearable Technology” has really improved the ability to measure physical activity and has given simple users and even cardiologists to be able to analyze their quality of life. Wearable Technology are devices that anyone can wear at all times throughout the day, even throughout the night. They help measure certain values such as heartbeat and rhythm, quality of sleep, total steps in a day, and even help recognize certain diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. They promote ideas on how to improve one's health and stay away from certain impending diseases. These devices give daily feedback on what to improve on and what areas people are doing well in, and this motivates and continues to push the user to keep on with their improved lifestyle. Over time, Wearable Technology has impacted the health and physical activity market an immense amount as according to ScienceDirect “The consumer-directed wearable technology market is rapidly growing and expected to exceed $34B by 2020.” This shows how the Wearable Technology sector is increasingly becoming more and more approved amongst all people who want to improve their health and quality of life. Wearable Technology can come in all forms from watches, pads placed on the heart, devices worn around the arms, all the way to devices that can measure any amount of data just through touching the receptors of the device. In many cases, Wearable Technology is connected to an app that can relay the information right away ready to be analyzed and discussed with a cardiologist. In addition, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine they state, “wearables may be a low-cost, feasible, and accessible way for promoting PA.” Essentially, this insinuates that Wearable Technology can be beneficial to everyone and really is not cost prohibited. Also, when consistently seeing Wearable Technology being actually utilized and worn by other people, it promotes the idea of physical activity and pushes more individuals to take part. Wearable Technology also helps with chronic disease development and monitoring physical activity in terms of context. For example, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine “Wearables can be used across different chronic disease trajectory phases (e.g., pre- versus post-surgery) and linked to medical record data to obtain granular data on how activity frequency, intensity, and duration changes over the disease course and with different treatments.” Wearable Technology is extremely beneficial in tracking and helping analyze data in terms of how one is performing as time goes on, and how they may be performing with different changes in their diet, workout routine, or sleep patterns. Also, not only can Wearable Technology be helpful in measuring results pre and post surgery, but it can also help measure results as someone may be rehabbing from a chronic disease such as cancer, or heart disease, etc. Wearable technology has the potential to create new and improved ways of how we look at health and how we actually interpret that science behind our health. It can propel us into higher levels of medicine and has already made an enormous impact on how patients are diagnosed, treated, and rehabbed over time. However, extensive research still needs to be continued on how to properly integrate Wearable Technology into health care and how to best utilize it. In addition, despite the reaping benefits of Wearable Technology, a lot of research still also has to be completed in order to start transitioning Wearable Technology towards very sick high risk patients.


Applications

Currently other applications within healthcare are being explored, such as: * Forecasting changes in mood, stress, and health * Measuring
blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...
* Measuring athletic performance * Monitoring how sick the user is * Long-ter
monitoring of patients
with heart and circulatory problems that records an electrocardiogram and is self-moistening *
Health Risk Assessment A health risk assessment (also referred to as a health risk appraisal and health & well-being assessment) is a questionnaire about a person's medical history, demographic characteristics and lifestyle. It is one of the most widely used screening t ...
applications, including measures of
frailty Frailty may refer to: Music * ''Frailty'' (The Banner album), 2008 studio album by the Banner * ''Frailty'' (Jane Remover album), 2021 studio album by Jane Remover * Frailty (band), death-doom metal band, from Riga (Latvia) formed in 2003 Othe ...
and risks of age-dependent diseases * Automatic documentation of care activities * Days-long continuous imaging of diverse organs via a wearable bioadhesive stretchable high-resolution
ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies fr ...
imaging patch (potential novel diagnostic and monitoring tools) * Inducing
lucid dream A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment; however, this is n ...
s (albeit "better-controlled validation studies are necessary to prove the effectiveness") *
Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited Perception, sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefuln ...
tracking * Cortisol monitoring for measuring stress * University press release: * News article: * Applications for monitoring of
glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, usi ...
, * University press release: alcohol, and
lactate Lactate may refer to: * Lactation, the secretion of milk from the mammary glands * Lactate, the conjugate base of lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with ...
* University press release: or blood oxygen, breath monitoring, heartbeat, heart rate and its variability,
electromyography Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyo ...
(EMG), electrocardiogram (ECG) and
electroencephalogram Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocorte ...
(EEG),
body temperature Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperatur ...
, pressure (e.g. in shoes),
sweat Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are dist ...
rate or sweat loss, levels of uric acid and ions – e.g. for preventing fatigue or injuries or for optimizing training patterns, including via " human-integrated electronics"


Proposed applications

Proposed applications, including applications without functional wearable prototypes, include: * Tracking physiological changes such as stress levels and heartbeat of "experiencers" or "contactees" of the UFO-sighting, anomalous physiological effects and
alien abduction Alien abduction (also called abduction phenomenon, alien abduction syndrome, or UFO abduction) refers to the phenomenon of people reporting their experience of being kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings and subjected to physical and psychologica ...
/contact/sighting phenomena, including "experiencer group research" * Pathogen detection and detection of hazardous substances * Improving
sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited Perception, sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefuln ...
via sleeping caps


Sense-making for the data

While wearables can collect data in aggregate form, most of them are limited in their ability to analyze or make conclusions based on this data; thus, most are used primarily for general health information. (An exception is seizure-alerting wearables, which continuously analyze the wearer's data and make a decision about calling for help; the data collected can then provide doctors with objective evidence that they may find useful in diagnoses.) Wearables can account for individual differences, although most just collect data and apply one-size-fits-all algorithms.


Use in surveillance

Today, there is a growing interest to use wearables not only for individual self-tracking, but also within corporate health and wellness programs. Given that wearables create a massive data trail which employers could repurpose for objectives other than health, more and more research has begun to study the dark side of wearables. Asha Peta Thompson founded Intelligent Textiles Limited, Intelligent Textiles, who create woven power banks and circuitry that can be used in e -uniforms for
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...
.


Epidermal (skin) Electronics

Epidermal electronics is an emerging field of wearable technology, termed for their properties and behaviors comparable to those of the epidermis, or outermost layer of the skin. These wearables are mounted directly onto the skin to continuously monitor physiological and metabolic processes, both dermal and subdermal. Wireless capability is typically achieved through battery, Bluetooth or NFC, making these devices convenient and portable as a type of wearable technology. Currently, epidermal electronics are being developed in the fields of fitness and medical monitoring. Current usage of epidermal technology is limited by existing fabrication processes. Its current application relies on various sophisticated fabrication techniques such as by lithography or by directly printing on a carrier substrate before attaching directly to the body. Research into printing epidermal electronics directly on the skin is currently available as a sole study source. The significance of epidermal electronics involves their mechanical properties, which resemble those of skin. The skin can be modeled as bilayer, composed of an epidermis having Young's Modulus (''E'') of 2-80 kPa and thickness of 0.3–3 mm and a dermis having ''E'' of 140-600 kPa and thickness of 0.05-1.5 mm. Together this bilayer responds plastically to tensile strains ≥ 30%, below which the skin's surface stretches and wrinkles without deforming. Properties of epidermal electronics mirror those of skin to allow them to perform in this same way. Like skin, epidermal electronics are ultrathin (''h'' < 100 μm), low-modulus (''E'' ~ 70 kPa), and lightweight (<10 mg/cm2), enabling them to conform to the skin without applying strain. Conformal contact and proper adhesion enable the device to bend and stretch without delaminating, deforming or failing, thereby eliminating the challenges with conventional, bulky wearables, including measurement artifacts, hysteresis, and motion-induced irritation to the skin. With this inherent ability to take the shape of skin, epidermal electronics can accurately acquire data without altering the natural motion or behavior of skin. The thin, soft, flexible design of epidermal electronics resembles that of temporary tattoos laminated on the skin. Essentially, these devices are "mechanically invisible" to the wearer. Epidermal electronics devices may adhere to the skin via van der Waals forces or elastomeric substrates. With only van der Waals forces, an epidermal device has the same thermal mass per unit area (150 mJ/cm2K) as skin, when the skin's thickness is <500 nm. Along with van der Waals forces, the low values of ''E'' and thickness are effective in maximizing adhesion because they prevent deformation-induced detachment due to tension or compression. Introducing an elastomeric substrate can improve adhesion but will raise the thermal mass per unit area slightly. Several materials have been studied to produce these skin-like properties, including photolithography patterned serpentine gold nanofilm and patterned doping of silicon nanomembranes.


Entertainment

Wearables have expanded into the entertainment space by creating new ways to experience digital media. Virtual reality headsets and augmented reality glasses have come to exemplify wearables in entertainment. The influence of these virtual reality headsets and augmented reality glasses are seen mostly in the gaming industry during the initial days, but are now used in the fields of medicine and education. Virtual reality headsets such as the
Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016. In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, a ...
,
HTC Vive VIVE, sometimes referred to as HTC Vive, is a virtual reality brand of HTC Corporation. It consists of hardware like its titular virtual reality headsets and accessories, virtual reality software and services, and initiatives that promote ...
, and Google Daydream View aim to create a more immersive media experience by either simulating a first-person experience or displaying the media in the user's full field of vision. Television, films, video games, and educational simulators have been developed for these devices to be used by working professionals and consumers. In a 2014 expo, Ed Tang of Avegant presented his "Smart Headphones". These headphones use Virtual Retinal Display to enhance the experience of the Oculus Rift. Some augmented reality devices fall under the category of wearables. Augmented reality glasses are currently in development by several corporations. Snap Inc.'s
Spectacles Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...
are sunglasses that record video from the user's point of view and pair with a phone to post videos on
Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before th ...
. Microsoft has also delved into this business, releasing Augmented Reality glasses, HoloLens, in 2017. The device explores using digital holography, or holograms, to give the user a first hand experience of Augmented Reality. These wearable headsets are used in many different fields including the military. Wearable technology has also expanded from small pieces of technology on the wrist to apparel all over the body. There is a shoe made by the company shiftwear that uses a smartphone application to periodically change the design display on the shoe. The shoe is designed using normal fabric but utilizes a display along the midsection and back that shows a design of your choice. The application was up by 2016 and a prototype for the shoes was created in 2017. Another example of this can be seen with Atari's headphone speakers. Atari and Audiowear are developing a face cap with built in speakers. The cap will feature speakers built into the underside of the brim, and will have Bluetooth capabilities. Jabra has released earbuds, in 2018, that cancel the noise around the user and can toggle a setting called "hearthrough." This setting takes the sound around the user through the microphone and sends it to the user. This gives the user an augmented sound while they commute so they will be able to hear their surroundings while listening to their favorite music. Many other devices can be considered entertainment wearables and need only be devices worn by the user to experience media.


Gaming

The gaming industry has always incorporated new technology. The first technology used for electronic gaming was a controller for
Pong ''Pong'' is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan A ...
. The way users game has continuously evolved through each decade. Currently, the two most common forms of gaming is either using a controller for video game consoles or a mouse and keyboard for
PC game A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-dete ...
s. In 2012, virtual reality headphones were reintroduced to the public. VR headsets were first conceptualized in the 1950s and officially created in the 1960s. The creation of the first virtual reality headset can be credited to Cinematographer Morton Heilig. He created a device known as the Sensorama in 1962. The Sensorama was a videogame like device that was so heavy that it needed to be held up by a suspension device. There has been numerous different wearable technology within the gaming industry from gloves to foot boards. The gaming space has offbeat inventions. In 2016 Sony debuted its first portable, connectable virtual reality headset codenamed Project Morpheus. The device was rebranded for PlayStation in 2018. Early 2019 Microsoft debut their HoloLens 2 that goes beyond just virtual reality into mixed reality headset. Their main focus is to be use mainly by the working class to help with difficult tasks. These headsets are used by educators, scientists, engineers, military personnel, surgeons, and many more. Headsets such as the HoloLens 2 allows the user to see a projected image at multiple angles and interact with the image. This helps gives a ''hands on'' experience to the user, which otherwise, they would not be able to get.


Fashion

Fashionable wearables are "designed garments and accessories that combines aesthetics and style with functional technology." Garments are the interface to the exterior mediated through digital technology. It allows endless possibilities for the dynamic customization of apparel. All clothes have social, psychological and physical functions. However, with the use of technology these functions can be amplified. There are some wearables that are called E-textiles. These are the combination of textiles(fabric) and electronic components to create wearable technology within clothing. They are also known as smart textile and digital textile. Wearables are made from a functionality perspective or from an aesthetic perspective. When made from a functionality perspective, designers and engineers create wearables to provide convenience to the user.
Clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...
and accessories are used as a tool to provide assistance to the user. Designers and engineers are working together to incorporate technology in the manufacturing of garments in order to provide functionalities that can simplify the lives of the user. For example, through
smartwatch A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ...
es people have the ability to communicate on the go and track their health. Moreover, smart fabrics have a direct interaction with the user, as it allows sensing the customers' moves. This helps to address concerns such as
privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
, communication and well-being. Years ago, fashionable wearables were functional but not very aesthetic. As of 2018, wearables are quickly growing to meet fashion standards through the production of garments that are stylish and comfortable. Furthermore, when wearables are made from an aesthetic perspective, designers explore with their work by using technology and collaborating with engineers. These designers explore the different techniques and methods available for incorporating electronics in their designs. They are not constrained by one set of materials or colors, as these can change in response to the embedded sensors in the apparel. They can decide how their designs adapt and responds to the user. In 1967 French fashion designer Pierre Cardin, known for his futuristic designs created a collection of garments entitled "robe electronique" that featured a geometric embroidered pattern with LEDs (light emitting diodes). Pierre Cardin unique designs were featured in an episode of the Jetsons animated show where one of the main characters demonstrates how her luminous "Pierre Martian" dress works by plugging it into the mains. An exhibition about the work of Pierre Cardin was recently on display at the Brooklyn Museum in New York In 1968, the Museum of Contemporary Craft in New York City held an exhibition named Body Covering which presented the infusion of technological wearables with fashion. Some of the projects presented were clothing that changed temperature, and party dresses that light up and produce noises, among others. The designers from this exhibition creatively embedded electronics into the clothes and accessories to create these projects. As of 2018, fashion designers continue to explore this method in the manufacturing of their designs by pushing the limits of fashion and technology.


House of Holland and NFC Ring

McLear, also known as NFC Ring, in partnership with the House of Henry Holland and Visa Europe Collab, showcased an event entitled "Cashless on the Catwalk" at the Collins Music Hall in Islington. Celebrities walking through the event could make purchases for the first time in history from a wearable device using McLear's NFC Rings by tapping the ring on a purchase terminal.


CuteCircuit

CuteCircuit pioneered the concept of interactive and app-controlled fashion with the creation in 2008 of the Galaxy Dress (part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, US) and in 2012 of the tshirtOS (now infinitshirt). CuteCircuit fashion designs can interact and change colour providing the wearer a new way of communicating and expressing their personality and style. CuteCircuit's designs have been worn on the red carpet by celebrities such as Katy Perry and
Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the list of best-se ...
. and are part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.


Project Jacquard

Project Jacquard, a
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
project led by Ivan Poupyrev, has been combining clothing with technology. Google collaborated with
Levi Strauss Levi Strauss (; born Löb Strauß ; February 26, 1829 – September 26, 1902) was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisc ...
to create a jacket that has touch-sensitive areas that can control a smartphone. The cuff-links are removable and charge in a USB port.


Intel & Chromat

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the devel ...
partnered with the brand Chromat to create a sports bra that responds to changes in the body of the user, as well as a 3D printed carbon fiber dress that changes color based on the user's adrenaline levels. Intel also partnered with Google and TAG Heuer to make a smart watch.


Iris van Herpen

Smart fabrics and 3D printing have been incorporated in high fashion by the designer Iris van Herpen. Van Herpen was the first designer to incorporate
3D printing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...
technology of
rapid prototyping Rapid prototyping is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design ( CAD) data. Construction of the part or assembly is usually done using 3D print ...
into the fashion industry. The Belgian company Materialise NV collaborates with her in the printing of her designs.


Manufacturing Process of E-textiles

There are several methods which companies manufacture e-textiles from fiber to garment and the insertion of electronics to the process. One of the methods being developed is when stretchable circuits are printed right into a fabric using conductive ink. The conductive ink uses metal fragments in the ink to become electrically conductive. Another method would be usin
conductive thread or yarn
This development includes the coating of non-conductive fiber (like Polyester PET) with conductive material such as metal like gold or silver to produce coated yarns or in order to produce an e-textile. Common fabrication techniques for e-textiles include the following traditional methods: * Embroidery * Sewing * Weaving * Non-woven * Knitting * Spinning * Breading * Coating * Printing * Laying


Military

Wearable technology within the military ranges from educational purposes, training exercises and sustainability technology. The technology used for educational purposes within the military are mainly wearables that tracks a soldier's vitals. By tracking a soldier's heart rate, blood pressure, emotional status, etc. helps the research and development team best help the soldiers. According to chemist, Matt Coppock, he has started to enhance a soldier's lethality by collecting different biorecognition receptors. By doing so it will eliminate emerging environmental threats to the soldiers. With the emergence of virtual reality it is only natural to start creating simulations using VR. This will better prepare the user for whatever situation they are training for. In the military there are combat simulations that soldiers will train on. The reason the military will use VR to train its soldiers is because it is the most interactive/immersive experience the user will feels without being put in a real situation. Recent simulations include a soldier wearing a shock belt during a combat simulation. Each time they are shot the belt will release a certain amount of electricity directly to the user's skin. This is to simulate a shot wound in the most humane way possible. There are many sustainability technologies that military personnel wear in the field. One of which is a boot insert. This insert gauges how soldiers are carrying the weight of their equipment and how daily terrain factors impact their mission panning optimization. These sensors will not only help the military plan the best timeline but will help keep the soldiers at best physical/mental health.


Issues and concerns

The FDA drafted a guidance for low risk devices advises that personal health wearables are general wellness products if they only collect data on weight management, physical fitness, relaxation or stress management, mental acuity, self-esteem, sleep management, or sexual function. This was due to the privacy risks that were surrounding the devices. As more and more of the devices were being used as well as improved soon enough these devices would be able to tell if a person is showing certain health issues and give a course of action. With the rise of these devices being consumed so to the FDA drafted this guidance in order to decrease risk of a patient in case the app doesn't function properly. It is argued the ethics of it as well because although they help track health and promote independence there is still an invasion of privacy that ensues to gain information. This is due to the huge amounts of data that has to be transferred which could raise issues for both the user and the companies if a third partied gets access to this data. There was an issue with
Google Glass Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a brand of smart glasses developed and sold by Google. It was developed by X (previously Google X), with the mission of producing an ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using ...
that was used by surgeons in order to track vital signs of a patient where it had privacy issues relating to third party use of non-consented information. The issue is consent as well when it comes to wearable technology because it gives the ability to record and that is an issue when permission is not asked when a person is being recorded. Compared to smartphones, wearable devices pose several new reliability challenges to device manufacturers and software developers. Limited display area, limited computing power, limited volatile and non-volatile memory, non-conventional shape of the devices, abundance of sensor data, complex communication patterns of the apps, and limited battery size—all these factors can contribute to salient software bugs and failure modes, such as, resource starvation or device hangs. Moreover, since many of the wearable devices are used for health purposes (either monitoring or treatment), their accuracy and robustness issues can give rise to safety concerns. Some tools have been developed to evaluate the reliability and the security properties of these wearable devices. The early results point to a weak spot of wearable software whereby overloading of the devices, such as through high UI activity, can cause failures.


See also

*
Clothing technology Clothing technology involves the manufacturing, materials - innovations that have been developed and used. The timeline of clothing and textiles technology includes major changes in the manufacture and distribution of clothing. From clothing ...
* Computer-mediated reality * E-textiles *
GPS watch A GPS watch is a device with integrated GPS receiver that is worn as a single unit strapped onto a wrist, in the manner of a bracelet. The watch can have other features and capabilities depending on its intended purpose and be a smartwatch. GPS ...
*
Mixed reality Mixed reality (MR) is a term used to describe the merging of a real-world environment and a computer-generated one. Physical and virtual objects may co-exist in mixed reality environments and interact in real time. Mixed reality is largely synony ...
* Smart ring * Smart, connected products *
Wearable computer A wearable computer, also known as a body-borne computer, is a computing device worn on the body. The definition of 'wearable computer' may be narrow or broad, extending to smartphones or even ordinary wristwatches. Wearables may be for general ...
* Smart glasses *
Smart shoe Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they det ...
* CardiacSense


References

{{Reflist, 30em


External links


"Wear your heart on your sleeve"
- physics.org
"The Future of Wearable Technology"
- video by ''
Off Book ''Off Book'' is a web series on digital culture and art created for PBS by Kornhaber Brown, a Webby award-winning production studio that creates web series, videos, and motion graphics. The series has been viewed more than six million times, and ...
'' Internet of things Fashion accessories Ambient intelligence Human–computer interaction Ubiquitous computing Wearable devices Wearable computers