Wearables market to reach $3bn

Wearable devices, including smart glasses, fitness bands and watches, are likely to sell around 10 million units, generating $3bn, according to Robert Hillard Deloitte Consulting’s Managing Partner, Technology Agenda.

According to the Deloitte Australia’s Tech trends 2014 report, on-body computing devices are ready for business. “The potential is tremendous due to hands-free, heads-up technology which reshapes how work will be done, how decisions will be made and how businesses will engage with employees, customers and partners,” said Hillard.

The report identifies how wearables introduce technology to previously prohibitive scenarios where safety, logistics and even etiquette constrained the usage of laptops and smartphones in the past.

“In Australia alone, we anticipate 20% of 17- to 75-year-olds will own a wearable by August this year. It is an interesting trend, but wearables will not replace smartphones as the majority of wearable devices require smartphone tethering for connectivity and GPS,” said Hillard.

There are many opportunities for applying wearables to improve safety and efficiency, by providing quicker and safer access to data.

A recent trial of Google Glass by police in a US town saw an 80% drop in false accusations of police brutality and a drop in cases of excessive use of force by police, according to Deloitte.

Smart glasses are likely to gain mainstream acceptance during 2014, while other wearable devices will likely remain niche markets. The most common usage of smart glasses is likely to be any screen-based application that frees up the user’s hands for other tasks. Smart fitness bands, typically worn on the wrist, will enjoy reasonable demand but are unlikely to become mainstream, and smart watches, with capabilities like text messaging and email, don’t offer the convenience of line-of-sight viewing.

“One of the reasons why devices impact the eyes is due to eyes being the most dependent of all of the senses on training. While the first applications are designed to simply present a screen in your main field of view, it can be expected that the next generation will require the user to learn how to apply their peripheral vision in new and unexpected ways. The applications are almost unimaginable today but include the ability to multitask in a world of even greater information overload,” added Hillard