Wearable technology: challenges and opportunities

element14
By Christian DeFeo*
Monday, 04 November, 2013


Trying to weave technology into our everyday lives is something that has been happening for hundreds of years, with the 16th-century abacus ring often touted as the first ‘wearable computer’. Now, wearable technology is changing and becoming more mainstream. This article examines opportunities and challenges presented by wearable technology.

The big technology giants are all getting in on the action, developing products and snapping up niche companies to help cash in on this growing market, which is expected to be worth $30-50 billion in the next two to three years, according to a recent Credit Suisse report.

WIMM labs, the maker of the lauded WIMM One smartwatch, was recently snapped up by Google. This followed months of speculation after WIMM labs ceased operations last summer, leaving only one clue to the possible reason … a short message on its website. “During the summer of 2012, WIMM Labs entered into an exclusive, confidential relationship for our technology and ceased sales of the Developer Preview Kit … We’d like to thank all of our developers for their interest and willingness to experiment with our platform and look forward to exciting advances in the wearable market.”

Google isn’t the only big player seeing the potential in wearable tech and snapping up specialist companies that can help them meet the growing trend. Samsung, Microsoft, Apple and LG are just some of the names that continue to drive speculation with rumoured acquisitions and developments.

Wearable technology is no longer limited to high-end smartphone derivatives, but offers the potential for numerous technical innovations.

It’s tough to escape the internet and the next logical step draws technology even closer, integrating it into our clothing and into every aspect of our lives. Future generations will wonder, for example, why we bothered with keys and laugh at our tales of losing them, when all they need to do is tap their NFC Ring against a panel on the door.

Making wearable technology a reality

As well as jewellery that opens doors, wearable technology will open numerous opportunities that can have an impact on every area of our lives. There are already a host of specialised wearable technology applications doing different jobs, including GPS sensors that tell a partially sighted person when they’re near home, sensors that are embedded into the robes of vulnerable people living by themselves that can detect a fall and alert carers, as well as technologies which we’ve all become accustomed to such as heart rate monitors and in-shoe running sensors. In the future, gadgets and electronics will integrate more closely with people, going beyond traditional tracking and using the data in a host of clever ways.

One of the newest emerging wearable technology areas can be found in intelligent transport systems (ITS), an area of technology that includes telematics and all types of communications in vehicles, between vehicles (eg, car-to-car), and between vehicles and fixed locations. How wearable technology will impact on this area may not be immediately clear but intelligent transport systems are not restricted to communications between vehicles. In the future pedestrians and cyclists could benefit by wearing sensors that monitor traffic and communicate with cars, forcing them to slow down or brake if a pedestrian gets too close. Consider a world where crossing the road no longer has the potential to kill.

With the scope of new solutions growing the impact for engineers and the designing community is huge. After all, designers will be responsible for making this future a reality. Products like the Adafruit Flora are also helping to democratise wearable technology. The Flora is a wearable electronics platform designed for makers, hackers, crafters, artists, designers and engineers. It's built around the Atmega32u4 chip which has built-in USB support, meaning you don’t need any specialist cables or extra parts to get started with programming, making it easy for beginners to bring their wearable projects to life.

The Flora has seen wearable technology being taken up by the maker movement, creating a bridge between electronics and crafts, this new accessibility will see an explosion in the creation of wearable technology, some useful, some amusing and some just bizarre but many with the potential to become as pervasive as mobile phones are today.

Fearing change

We’re at the very early stages of comprehending what wearable technology will mean for us. Consumers are thrilled and possibly scared about the implications, especially regarding recent revelations about data collection by governments. Security will always be something to consider. As we become more connected, devices will become smarter and collect more information. It’s only wise to understand how this data will be managed and where it will be stored.

There has also been some criticism about the market being torn between the companies that are desperate to innovate and consumers who are asking, do we really need this? For anyone wondering if companies are trying to force the trend, the early days of internet adoption provides a useful analogy.

When the internet first showed up in people’s homes circa 1995, many people thought that it was all hype and no substance. It required flaky modems and users experienced terrible download speeds. However this didn’t make the internet any less significant. It’s important to remember that technology can often get ahead of itself, being available before it is fully practical or usable.

Eventually broadband and 3G came along and we forget that there used to be a time when you’d get cut off if someone else in the house picked up the phone. Companies are trying to muscle into wearable technology because they know it will be fully practical one day soon, and they’re still adhering to the dotcom bubble era idea of ‘first mover first’ - the perception that if you don’t get there ahead of your competitor, they will carve out a lead you can’t overcome. While this psychology remains there will be a number of products which make little sense as a result. However, this should be considered as a natural part of the creation and adoption process. Eventually these early teething problems will be ironed out and wearables will become as ubiquitous as the internet is today.

Getting closer

element14 wanted to tap into its extensive community of developers to find out what the future really holds when designers are given a chance to bring their innovative ideas to life. The company joined forces with Adafruit and started the ‘Get Closer’ challenge. Using all the contents from the Adafruit FLORA Kit, which includes a GPS sensor, a colour detector, an accelerometer and several LEDs that can be sewed into fabrics, competitors were asked to submit their concepts of wearable technology.

Over 100 concepts were submitted including:

The GPS hat

Walking in the wrong direction and getting lost is almost impossible nowadays thanks to GPS-enabled smart devices. In most cases however this requires you to hold a device at all times. One concept wants to solve this dilemma: by equipping a baseball cap with LEDs that show you the right way. The cap can be set to a line of locations, which you want to visit one after another. Once you reach a target the hat changes directions to the location next in line. And even better - the more locations you reach, the more colourful the LEDs get.

The GPS glove

For people who don’t want to wear a hat another solution might be gloves. Another concept describes a LED-equipped glove, which shows a compass needle that points you to your location. Thanks to the built-in accelerometer, the glove only shows directions when the wearer shakes his or her hand. During normal movements the LEDs go into stand-by to save energy.

Out of the hundreds of entries submitted two winners were chosen:

The Flora ColourCam

Wearables are not only for grown-ups. One of the winning concepts was for a toy. The camera-like device has two white LEDs and a colour detector on the front and three LEDs that can glow in different colours on the back. Children can point the front at an object, for example a green apple, and the colour detector registers the green colour with the help of the white LEDs. The information is then sent to the LEDs on the back of the device where the LEDs change colour accordingly, with one LED taking on the same colour as the object. Beneath every LED there is a pressure-sensitive sensor. If the child presses the correct LED an affirmative tone is played.

The FLORAbrella

No one likes rainy days - the FLORAbrella is designed to brighten up your day with a simulated rain shower light pattern that converts to a rainbow-inspired light show. The clear-domed umbrella shows off the neopixels and colour sensors. The GPS means the umbrella can display its rainbow light show when the user is near home while the colour sensor allows you to coordinate your outfits accordingly.

What the future holds

Wearable technology is still in its early stages but we’ve already come a long way since the calculator watch of the 1980s. In the not-too-distant future wearable technology will become an all-encompassing part of us. Thirty years ago the idea of a phone without a cable was only imaginable in the realms of science fiction but children born in the next 50 years will hear us talking about plugging things into the wall and wonder what on earth we’re talking about. With energy harvesting, the narrative was similar: children in the future will read about how much waste we created by using batteries and shaking their heads in disbelief in much the same way as we now look at people in the 19th century who used to just burn coal without any concern for the environment. The same is true with wearable technology. We’re at the forefront of a technological revolution, which will eventually become the norm, now is the time to make sure we harness the innovation and equip our engineering industry with the know-how and tools to make it a reality.

*Dr Christian DeFeo began his career in information technology at the age of nine, when he received his first personal computer. After graduating from university, he was recruited by International Computers Limited and since then has worked for firms such as ebookers.com, the Trader Media Group and, most recently, element14, where he presently works as an eSupplier Manager. Among his responsibilities, he works with manufacturers to identify new technologies (including wearables) and develops content marketing and education programs to spread the word. He currently resides in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

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