Wearable technology, where is it heading?
Wearables have created a trend in the world of technology and are becoming increasingly popular. The trend is only going to increase as technology thrives.
Wearable tech has come a very long way. Do you know the first wearable tech dates back to the 13th Century when eyeglasses were invented? Again, depending on what you want to call technology.
However, wearable technology achieved mainstream popularity when Bluetooth headset was first introduced in 2002, followed by fitness trackers like Fitbit and Google Glass gaining popularity for wearable tech.
Later, 2014, was dubbed, “The Year Of Wearable Technology.”
Unlike in the past, all these fitness trackers do more than merely calculating steps and calories. Devices like Apple Watch can also track seizures, can give you accurate ECG, and auto call 911 in an emergency, and many more features.
Wearable technology is not just limited to fitness anymore. It has spread across industries now. Companies like Levi’s, Athos, Hexoskin Smart, Owlet Smart Sock are already paving their way into the wearable tech industry from traditional cloth manufacturing.
Google has partnered with Levi’s for its project “Jacquard” to create smart clothing, giving its users a way to control gadgets with the everyday fabric they wear. These fabrics respond to precise gestures giving the users control to actions like making calls, navigating screens, and more functions. Similary, Samsung’s — The HumanFit, Tommy Hilfiger has launched clothing with solar cells to charge devices.
For more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqimqTf6EP8
What all can be categorized as a wearable tech?
Any electronic device that can be worn as an accessory, embedded in clothing or hands-free gadgets with practical uses, powered by microprocessors and enhanced with the ability to send and receive data via the internet.
To name a few:
The current adoption rate of wearables is growing. However, on the flip side, customers are losing interest within a short span. In a survey conducted by Endeavor Partners, it is estimated that there is at least a 30% return rate, and about 50% of the users lose interest within six months of purchase, making it the biggest challenge for the wearable tech industry today. Significant factors include entry-level price points, form factors and accuracy of the parameters captured.
Companies are finding getting wearables “right”, a tall task.
Different users use gadgets for various activities; finding common ground to be truly useful and desirable for people is not easy.
Now, where is the wearable industry heading?
We can’t precisely predict, but, here is my take on the same.
Design and Experience:
Extreme design and engineering are the most critical elements for wearables succuss. Design and experience part of it matters a lot as they play a crucial role in “User Convenience”. These would be focus areas for many companies going forward.
“You can have the greatest product in the world, but if it doesn’t have the right design aesthetic, no one is going to wear it more than a week.” — CEO, Metawatch.
Personalized:
Once design and experience are sorted, now focus will be on “Giving reasons for users to continue them.”
Understanding the users is critical; these objects that are worn on the body 24/7, designing them to be personal is the most crucial thing. Companies would be focusing on improving this aspect, taking a “personalized approach to wearable tech.”
Seamless and connected:
Ability to integrate with almost anything and everything. Every company is now working towards creating a common platform for all its products, making it smooth and easy for the customers to transfer the data from one gadget to others like a hand-off feature. This is a substantial thing.
Wearables also seem to be headed in the direction of authentication as a means of doing something like unlocking your home, getting into concerts, and even buying things at the store without having to go through the checkout process.
Efficient and Accurate:
There is a lot of improvement in the wearable tech in the last few years, and a lot of developments were done to make it more contextual and relevant. Heartbeat monitors, for example, can now be used in tandem with a GPS and all the other classic tracking systems to create a more accurate picture of the user’s activity level.
With newer tech paving in, companies would be focusing on creating enough “effective” features, and efficiency is technically guaranteed.
How even more sophisticated can wearable tech become in the future? What’s your take?
Source: blogs, tech sites.
