Wearable refers to the set of electronic devices and devices that are incorporated into some part of our body, continuously interacting with the user and with other devices in order to perform a specific function, smart watches or smartwatches, sports shoes with built-in GPS and bracelets. that monitor our health status are examples among others of this type of technology that is increasingly present in our lives.
The word wearable has an English root whose translation means “wearable” or “wearable”, in technological slang it refers to bodily computers or wearable with the user, under this conception the computer ceases to be a device other than the user who used it. in a defined space, becoming an element that is continuously incorporated and interacts with the user in addition to accompanying them everywhere.
As we have previously explained, wearable technology refers to all products that incorporate a microprocessor and that we use daily as part of ourselves. Within this definition, we do not consider our television in the living room, the coffee maker in the kitchen or the ebook to be wearable. that we use to read our books, since although they are electronic devices that have microprocessors and we use them daily, they are not part of us since they are not “wearable” or “wearable”, but lenses, glasses, bracelets, watches or clothing They are wearable products which, if we add one or more electronic microprocessors, we obtain wearable products.
We can date the origins of wearable technology to the 1970s, but it was not until the 2010s that this technology has evolved enough to attract a wide range of consumers. The international consumer electronics fair CES 2014 can be considered as the official presentation to the world of the large number of companies that are committed to these new forms of technology, companies such as Intel, Adidas, Sony or Rebook exhibited to the public different gadgets considered like wearables. On the other hand, most experts point to the official market launch of Google Glass and Apple’s AppleWatch as the turning point in which users will embrace and receive this technology in our lives.
Bracelets, rings, t-shirts, pants, lenses, watches and glasses capable of taking and transmitting data, interacting with other devices and making our lives easier is the promise of wearable technology, now technology is wearable and accompanies us in every moment of our lives. life, wearable technology is the next step between the fusion of man and the microprocessor.
Wearable technology is present in a wide range of sectors that satisfy our needs and desires with the aim of increasing our quality of life, improving, for example, the health of patients, the safety of people who are exposed to certain risks in their work. daily or the training of athletes preparing for a competition. Below we present a series of examples of wearable devices and the applications in which they are used:
Smart glasses, the Google company famous for its search engine is a reference in the industry of development and innovation in this new type of technology with its Google Glass, the first smart glasses of this company that are managed through the use of instructions spoken with our voice, providing of a small screen where the requested information is displayed, thanks to these wearable glasses we can take photos and record high definition videos of everything we are seeing as well as play them at another time or send them to a family member or friend, we can check our email, traffic, the latest news or the shortest route to reach your destination, translate the signs you find on the street into any language or hold a live video conference…
Accessories and fashion accessories such as watches, rings and bracelets that light up when your fingerprint is identified, these digital accessories store all the information about your lifestyle such as the kilometers you walk during the day, heart rate, sleep cycles, etc…. You will also be able to interact with other electronic devices thanks to the wireless technology of these wearables, being able to open the doors of your house, start the engine of your car, pay for your purchases without having to take out your credit card, upload and download all types of files such as documents, images, video… all with a single gesture of the wrist.
The safety of workers will increase thanks to wearable technology. As an example, there are currently fire helmets that monitor the oxygen levels and the temperature that the firefighter endures during firefighting work, in addition to incorporating a GPS locator. which allows you to know at any time the exact point where you are.
The textile sector has also succumbed to this new form of wearable technology, children’s clothing that indicates and sends a signal to your smartphone when your baby has a fever, sports clothing that helps you make the correct movements while learning to play golf, sweatshirts with LEDs that illuminate you on dark streets while you run while counting the kilometers traveled, heart rate, calories burned and performance throughout all the days you practice sports.
In the fashion sector, wearable technology has allowed the development of dresses that shrink or lengthen, changing the shape and style so that you do not need to change your suit when you leave a work meeting to attend a party, dresses that change color and that incorporate small solar panels that store solar energy while you walk down the street so that you never run out of battery on your smartphone…
On the other hand, advances in this field of wearables are allowing the development of new devices that are implanted inside the user’s body. Under this philosophy, sensors are being developed that monitor the amount of glucose in a patient with diabetes in such a way that a electronic dispenser automatically injects the necessary amount of insulin, this same sensor would take relevant data about the patient’s health which is sent via the Internet to the computers, tablets or devices of the medical team.
The future of technology involves this new conception of computers that accompanies us everywhere, in the near future we will see how mobile phones are implanted in our ears, robotic exoskeletons will facilitate jobs that previously caused us great effort and fatigue, our body will be continuously connected to sensors that will collect data about our health and physical condition. Without a doubt, wearable technology is here to stay with us.