Wearable technology, the increasingly popular trend of computers and electronics integrated into accessories, goes above the bar of more traditional electronic technologies such as mobile phones and laptops. Wearable technology is the idea that computing technology and the internet will be accessible anywhere as an integrated part of the environment. The purpose of wearable technology is to create constant, seamless and mostly hands-free access to electronics and computers. Most recently, wearable technology has included google glasses, body temperature shirts, calorie counting wrist bands, and hearing devices that look like earrings. Electronic devices are also integrated into accessories such as watches, Ahead bands, rings, and bracelets.
Wearable technology first became popular in the fitness sector through the use of health monitoring devices. In the 1980s, the calculator watch was also introduced. Ilya Fridman’s Bluetooth headset was designed as a pair of earrings with a hidden microphone.
Pocket Tweet was a device specially designed for Twitter users, they can wear and get notifications using Java applications.
Here’s a look into a few popular forms of wearable technology available today:
Google Glasses: Google Glasses are the latest wearable technology with an optical head-mounted display. It was developed by Google and was launched in February 2013. It is purely based on android operating system and has a memory of 1GB ram and had a storage space up to 16GB. Google Glasses are also integrated with a 5 MP camera. It displays information in a hand free format. Wearers can communicate with Internet via natural language voice commands. It constantly keeps you plugged in with your email, calls and other notifications so you don’t have to miss a beat. Google Glasses were released to the general public on May 15, 2014 for the price of $1500.
Cocktail Rings: Cocktail rings with integrated technology let you know when someone is calling, texting, emailing or tweeting. With apps for both iPhone and android users, users can set different notifications for individual senders or types of messages using lights in various colors.
Fit Bit Flex: This physical activity tracker is a smart watch for budget level consumers and especially made for those people who wants to stay fit and workout every day. It is lightweight and can be tightened with a strap like other watches. The watch is equipped with accelerometers and Bluetooth 4.0 and its functionality lies in its companion app that connects the watch to the phone. Fit Bit Flex also counts calories burned and sleep time.
Smart watches: Smart watches are computerized wrist watches with functionality that is enhanced beyond time keeping and is also comparable to a personal digital assistant. Smart watches can run mobile apps. They offer you playback FM radio, audio, video via Bluetooth headset. Smart watches may support wireless technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS.
Imogen Glove: Imogen Gloves are loaded with sensor to detect tilt, acceleration, bending and pressure. They can either be tethered to a power source or run off a custom battery. It also includes Bluetooth sensors to send data to a computer running the appropriate software.
Technology has been with us for years now, constantly adopting to our needs in smaller and faster forms. Humans are on a journey to integrate their technology into their daily lives to make their virtual and real worlds come seamlessly together. These wearable technologies are helping humans by delivering live updates throughout their busy days. However, it remains to be seen how privacy issues are dealt with in regard to these technologies.
