Wearable Technology

Wearable technology is a type of electrical device or technology worn on the body to perform certain functions, such as tracking, analyzing and transmitting data. They are also known as wearables and they come in different forms. Some wearable technology comes in the form of jewelry, clothing, health devices and other accessories.

Wearable technology has become very popular, as many people now embrace the use of wearables. Some examples of wearables are the Apple Watch, smart jackets, and VR headsets. Wearables offer a lot of benefits, which is why they are used across various sectors such as health, gaming, and fitness. E.t.c

How wearable technology works

Wearable technology makes use of microprocessors to record or take a snapshot of data and sync it with other electronic devices, such as laptops and mobile devices. Some wearables are worn directly on the body, while others are attached to clothes. They are made with sensors, which makes it possible for these wearables to perform the functions they are designed for. Some of the functions include tracking the movement of the body, location tracking or providing biometric identification. Regardless of the purpose or function a wearable is designed for, they all serve the same goal, which is monitoring real time data.

Applications of wearable technology in different sectors

Wearable technology is used across different sectors and it is important that we consider some of the sectors where wearable technology is put to use and look at how they function across these sectors

1. Fashion and clothing

There are many examples of wearable technology that can be classified under fashion and clothing. Is it not interesting to have a piece of jewelry or clothing that serves beyond the function of beautifying the body? Wearable technology now makes it possible for jewelry and clothes to function beyond aesthetics. For example, we have an Oura ring that can keep track of your physical health.

Also, there are clothing items such as smart jackets. This piece of clothing has other functions beyond the ordinary function of serving as an ordinary piece of clothing. For example, we have the Jacquard smart denim jacket developed by Levis and Google. This jacket allows the wearer to operate his or her phone, like answering calls, taking pictures and playing music, just by touching the sleeve of the jacket. Doesn't that sound interesting? There are other wearables that can serve as fashion items, such as smart shoes, smart watches, smart jewelry,etc.

2. Health

A lot of people don't take their health seriously because they are busy and occupied with other day-to-day activities. However, our health is one thing we need to be intentional about. The best way to become conscious of your health is through the use of wearables. With the help of wearable technology, we now have wearables that provide information about different health conditions. This allows you to know your health status. With wearable technology, you can now monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, calorie intake, maintain good posture, e.t.c. For example, we have the upright go posture trainer, which is a wearable technology used to correct and maintain good posture.

3. Entertainment and gaming

There are also a lot of wearables used in the entertainment and gaming industries. Some of these wearables include AR glasses, VR headsets, and VR displays like Meta Quest, Oculus quest and the Sony PlayStation. These wearables are used for gaming and entertainment.

4. Fitness

Wearable technology can be used to achieve fitness goals. There are different sports and fitness wearables. One of the popular companies that comes to mind when we talk about fitness is FitBit. They have invented different wearables such as smartwatches and activity tracking bands that keep track of your daily activities, such as the number of steps taken when you run or walk, sleep quality, heart rate, etc.

There is also some sports wearable technology that is found in sportswear and athletic equipment. Examples of such is bats and balls Other wearables include the Samsung Galaxy Watch, Apple Watch, and Polar. E.t.c.

Popular Examples of Wearable Technology

Some of the popular wearable technology include the following:

1. Smart jewelry

Smart jewelry is a form of tracker or notification device that comes in the form of rings, wrist bands or watches that notifies the wearer of their calls, messages or any mail they may have on their smartphone. Beyond this, smart jewelry is also used to capture fitness and health data.

2. VR headsets

VR headsets, also known as VR goggles, are devices that are mounted on the head by the wearer to provide a virtual reality experience for the user.

3. AR headsets

Augmented reality headsets are a form of wearable technology device that is meant to be mounted on the head to make one experience a visual environment through an optic lens. Augmented reality headsets come in the form of eyeglasses made of transparent LCD, built in microprocessors and storage.

When a user wears this device on the eyes, he or she is able to see virtual images, videos or animation.

4. Smart clothes

Smart clothes are also known as smart garments, smart fabrics, smart textiles, high tech clothing or e-textiles. These are clothes that serve beyond the primary function of clothes. They are able to perform other functions because they have been enhanced with technology such as sensors and other forms of hardware. These clothes are able to connect to devices such as smartphones with the help of Bluetooth or WiFi. There are different forms of smart clothes, such as sensoria smart socks, smart shoes, smart sleepwear, e.t.c

5. Wearable virtual assistant

This is a technological device that can be clipped to one's clothes and controlled by the wearer through voice and gestures. An example of a wearable virtual assistant is Humane's AI pin. This device carries out similar tasks as the other non wearable virtual assistants, like Siri and Alexa.

6. Implantable

When we talk of implantables, they are mostly used in the health sector. Implantable is a form of wearable technology device that is introduced wholly or partially into the body.

Conclusion

Wearable technology serves a lot of purposes and offers numerous benefits. We have been able to see how wearable technology is used across different sectors and we can conclude that wearable technology has a promising future. There will be more inventions and innovative applications of wearable technology.