Wearable Tech Unleashed: Innovations Beyond Fitness Tracking

Fitness trackers were just the beginning. Today, wearable technology is transforming our lives in ways we never imagined.

By Iryna Smuk

Wearable devices evolved beyond simply tracking steps and calories, from smartwatches to medical trackers, smart closing, and further. They are now transforming industries such as healthcare, fashion, and entertainment with their ability to enhance daily experiences and improve efficiency.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the advancements and possibilities in wearable technology that shape our future.

Key takeaways:

• Modern wearables are revolutionizing the healthcare industry by allowing the real-time monitoring of patients with chronic conditions, detecting irregular heart rhythms, and observing mental health.
• Smart clothing is another promising area of wearable technology development where electronics are incorporated into regular clothing.
• Beyond monitoring health, wearables are now stepping into the environmental domain, offering insights into how our surroundings affect our well-being as well as promoting environmental awareness and sustainability efforts.
• Wearables also come as personal assistants, enhancing social interactions, communication, and performing tasks. On top of that, they are providing critical support for individuals with disabilities through innovative assistive devices.
• However, as these devices become more sophisticated, concerns around data privacy and security need to be addressed.

Health Monitoring and Medical Applications

Wearable technology in healthcare is revolutionizing the industry by providing patients with tools to monitor their health and share data digitally, reducing the need for in-person appointments. Modern wearables allow the real-time monitoring of patients with chronic conditions, detecting irregular heart rhythms, and observing mental health by tracking indicators such as heart rate variability and sleep patterns.

There are some successful use cases of implementation of this innovation. For example, the health tech company Silvertree developed a wearable — the Silvertree Reach — to monitor health and safety for older active adults.

Another example is KardiaMobile — a product made by AliveCor, a medical device and artificial intelligence company that creates solutions for diagnosis, treatment, and screening. It is an ECG that attaches to the back of mobile gadgets. It uses finger and chest sensors to monitor cardiac activity and sends the data to a smartphone app.

La Roche-Posay, a brand under L’Oreal, has developed the My Skin Track UV, a wearable sensor designed to monitor environmental exposure. It monitors UV rays, pollen, humidity, and pollution levels. Users can pair this device with an app to get actionable insights to mitigate harmful effects.

Smart Clothing

Smart clothing is another promising area of wearable technology development. It seamlessly incorporates electronics into regular clothing to improve utility, comfort, and functionality. These clothing items can track the wearer’s activity, sleep patterns, and health indicators by directly incorporating sensors and biometric monitoring capabilities into the fabric. Furthermore, smart clothes can be used to manage gadgets, navigate unfamiliar places using augmented reality capabilities, and even text or call other individuals.

One example is Levi’s Trucker Jacket with Jacquard by Google — a groundbreaking piece of apparel featuring a Jacquard sensor integrated into the left sleeve. Users can do easy actions on the interactive cuff and receive alerts through the Tag when their jacket and phone are paired. This jacket presents features like Google Assistant for real-time updates, alerts for lost devices, remote camera triggers, music playback, navigation, and others.

Researchers from Tohoku University in Japan have created a fabric that analyzes the wearer’s sweat to monitor vital physiological signals related to mental and physical health. This is a big development since fiber can potentially identify heart problems and other health concerns.

Environmental Monitoring and Sustainability

Beyond monitoring health, wearables are now stepping into the environmental domain. These innovations offer insights into how our surroundings affect our well-being and vice versa. They also play a significant role in environmental awareness and sustainability efforts.

HabitatMap developed a wearable and user-friendly air quality sensor the AirBeam for tracking personal exposures. It also communicates measurements to the Android or iOS device and the AirCasting website. Data then appear on this open-source platform, visualizing and mapping the levels of air pollution that people breathe.

In response to the expansion of sustainability, Benjamin Hubert of Layer and The Carbon Trust have developed WorldBeing. It is a practical recycling solution that encourages people to be more environmentally aware. This company uses molded materials from discarded plastics and electronic circuit boards to make wristbands. WorldBeing works with an app that tracks users’ carbon footprint and suggests places to shop locally and ethically.

Social Connectivity and Assistive Devices

Wearables also come as personal assistants, enhancing social interactions, communication, and performing tasks. On top of that, they are providing critical support for individuals with disabilities through innovative assistive devices.

For instance, AI Pin by Humane is one example, which features a virtual assistant powered by the GPT-4 language model and a miniature projector. It transforms the user’s hand into a touch screen. AI Pin serves as a personal assistant and second brain, helping people make calls, send messages, find information, capture moments, take notes, and manage their digital lives while allowing them to stay present and focused.

The FingerReader is a piece of wearable technology for people with disabilities. It uses a small camera to scan text and give real-time audio feedback. A visually impaired individual can read from traditional books or an electronic device by pointing a finger at the text, one line at a time. The FingerReader vibrates at the beginning of a line, the end of a line, when the user is moving to a new line or is veering away from the text baseline.

Hence, wearable technology has transcended its origins in fitness tracking to become a versatile tool with applications in health, productivity, social interaction, and environmental monitoring. It seems obvious that wearables will become a more significant part of our lives in the future.

However, as these devices become more sophisticated, data privacy and security concerns must be addressed. It is important to strike a balance between innovation and user trust for the continued growth of this innovative technology.

Do you have any experiences or insights about innovative uses of wearables in health, work, or daily activities? Please, share your thoughts and stories in the comments!

By the way, you may be interested in our article: Exploring 5G’s Impact: Tech’s Horizon in 2024.

Follow us on other social media: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter