Technology is evolving in every possible manner and the one that is grabbing the attention of tech lovers is wearable technology. Its evolution is slowly expanding from one device to another, from rings to wristbands, from head mounted displays to fashion clothing etc. The journey of wearable devices started around 700 years ago and has now reached a point where most of our wearables are equipped with this technology.
The developments that have taken place in the past few years were purely focused on improving lifestyle and making the lives of people easier. It has not been very long since wearable technology became a mainstream attraction for customers either for taking care of their health or correcting eyesight with smart eye-wear.
There are a number of smart wearable devices that are assisting humans in improving health and lifestyle. Wrist wear, clothing, eye wear, and ear wear etc. the benefits of wearable technology can be obtained in a number of ways. But, what are the wearables that are used by people the most? A survey done to understand the behavior of customers of wearable market shown that wristbands are the devices customers love to wear the most.
1. Fitness Wristbands
Fitness wristbands are the most widely used wearable devices by customers. The recent trend of sale of wearable devices shows that customers are very fond of fitness wristbands. It is a device designed to track every movement of human body performed as an exercise. It provides a track of calories consumed or burned by a person throughout the day, sleep tracking etc. Different machines for tracking physical activities, counting calories can be found easily in fitness centers or gyms, but as wearable technology, wristbands are the most common. As evolution is a part of every technology, wristbands have also gone through some serious transformations. There are wristbands that can individually perform different tasks and those as well which are specialized only for performing only one or two activities such as heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, swimming, multi-sports etc. It depends on the personal requirement which suits one the best.
Brands like Fitbit, Jawbone, Misfit, Motorola, Oculus, Apple and Microsoft are doing some breathtaking inventions with each passing day in the world of fitness wristbands.
2. Smart clothes Equipped with Wearable Technology
Smart clothes equipped with wearable technology are the new trend. Though the trend of smart clothing is growing slowly, it is becoming the new favorite of fitness freaks. Clothes equipped with sensors are able to monitor every fitness activity closely, and they are far more accurate than other devices in monitoring heart rate, breathing and number of calories burnt etc. because they are closer to the body parts. Problem of washing these clothes may create a problem, but this is also nothing in front of the amazing functionalities these smart clothes are equipped with such as heart rate tracking bra, t-shirt that changes color with heat and sweat, solar jackets that can keep one dry, energized, and charge gadgets as well. Some big brands are trying their hands on the smart clothes to rule this comparatively new market, such as Athos, project Jacquard of Levi’s and Google etc.
3. Smart Eyewear
Glasses
have evolved in a whole new way from simple glasses to smart glasses with
embedded wearable computers that can do a range of things from correcting
vision to providing information about an object which a wearer sees. These
glasses control or retrieve data from external and internal sensors,
instruments and computers. It also supports technologies such as Bluetooth,
Wi-Fi and GPS. There is an endless pool of possibilities what a smart
glass can do.
Many
experiments and inventions are being done around augmented reality these days
and glasses equipped with this functionality are able to create this augmented
world. Smart headsets allow a user to watch videos, play games, navigate and
much more without losing sight of physical world. In fact, some eyewear look simple,
but are equipped with features such as speakers, microphones, batteries etc.
4. Head Wear
Wearable technology is covering every part of our body including the head. Head wearable devices can be multi-functional; they can be used for tracking of health activities and can also be used to enjoy the amazing experience of virtual reality with special virtual reality headsets. Fitness head wears are smaller and fit well on to the head with the help of an elastic strap. Smart caps are one of the most innovative example of head wear. Head wearable devices such as thync are also playing an important role in managing stress levels, staying calm and energizing the body.
5. Smart Ear-wear
Fitness
tracking not only remains limited to wristband or smart clothing, but has moved
a step further with smart earwear. This smart earwear looks just like an
ordinary ear piece, but it is something extraordinary. The smart earwear
is capable of tracking heart rate, calorie count and activity level by easily
connecting to iOS and Android smartphones via Bluetooth.
The tracking capabilities of smart earwear are also highly accurate
as it remain close to the skin.
Ear
wears are not only limited to keeping track of physical activity, but some of
them are also helpful in improving health, e.g. there are sleep headphones in
the market that are especially designed to improve sleep quality.
Advantages of Wearable Technology
1. Healthcare
The biggest and most advantageous use of wearable technology is in the field of healthcare. When it comes to calculation of heart rate, calorie count, breathing rate, respiration rate, and sleep quality etc., there are numerous devices which are simple to use and provide very accurate calculation of each and every thing. But, technology is not limited to only these small things, in fact some bigger physical calculations such as heart rate recovery, brain control, etc. can also be nicely done with devices equipped with wearable technology.
This will in turn put many positive effects on our society such as reduced medical expenses, because a disease would be identified at an early stage, and better accuracy of medical diagnosis.
2. Security
Smart glasses equipped with wearable technology has the ability to scan the whole information about an individual. This technique is going to act as a boon for policemen and security personals in future. Because, they will be easily able to find out the suspect and each relevant information about him just with the help of a smart glass.
3. Fitness Trainer
Clothes and wearables equipped with sensors to provide information like calories burnt, sweating, heart rate, and running pace etc. are no less than a fitness trainer for an individual. If a person is aware about small things regarding his health such as number of calories he is required to consume or burn, the kind of food he should eat etc., then a person can easily take good care of his health only with the help of wearable devices, without the need of any physical trainer.
4. Quick
Gadgets equipped with wearable technology produce quick and immediate responses. If you are using a smart watch, it keeps you updated about the latest notifications and important emails that may be difficult for you to track immediately without it. Fitness trackers also simultaneously record the changes that occur in body while exercising. So, these smart devices are really quick as well.
5. Virtual Reality or Gaming
The major advantages of wearable devices that cannot go unnoticed are gaming and virtual reality. The technology of virtual reality is rising constantly, it also becomes the new favorite of the big tech giants to make devices around this technology. Virtual Reality headsets such as HTC Vive, Razer OSVR, Oculus Rift are some of the headsets that will launch in the market in 2016. Seems like VR gaming is the unstoppable trend in the coming times.
6. Enhance Connectivity
Though, the devices like smartphones, computers are designed to keep us connected with the whole world, but wearable devices are those that have the capability to enhance this connectivity by informing about all the latest happenings of the world on an immediate basis. With wearable smart gadgets such as smart watch, a person is very less likely to miss any important email or information.
The advantages of wearable technology do not end here, in fact this is just the beginning. As the New Year has arrived, the big tech giants have prepared in advance for giving some pleasant surprises to customers in 2016 by providing wearables with advanced technologies and better functionalities.
We may also get to see a number of new wearable devices in future, but those that are ready to hit the market in 2016 are mentioned below, take a look:
1. Fitbit Blaze
2. Altra IQ Smart Shoes
3. Hidn Tempo – the stress manager
4. Second Gen HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and many more virtual reality headsets
Technology is growing at such a rapid pace that it is really difficult for us to cover each and every device which is going to make a valuable contribution to the market of wearable tech in 2016. But, we will try to cover the most awaited ones in our next post. So, stay tuned with us because we will keep you updated with all the happenings in the world of wearable technology.
No comments :
Post a Comment