A modern twist on an ancient look
What is Wearable Technology?
In the human species’ haste to uncover life-changing, game-shifting, world-affecting advancement, we often fail to ask if a particular revolution is necessary. Far be it from me to inject politics, ethics, or morality into a particular endeavour, but the advent of fitness trackers and smartwatches like the Pebble, Moto 360, and Apple Watch have all delivered unprecedented advancements in technology, while simultaneously failing to answer the basic question of necessity. That is to say, now that we are capable of fulfilling our dreams of wearing Dick Tracy-like watches that also double as telephones, televisions, and teleprompters, do we really need them?
Wearable technology is yet another form of modernity that is firmly rooted in the design sensibilities of the ancient past. Instead of needing to lug around a computer, or a laptop, or even pull a mobile phone out of pockets, the presence of watches on our wrists increase efficiency, while reducing user strain. Simply put, wearable technology takes the form of basic devices, like watches, to ensure that users can access their information without actually needing to directly access a computer or laptop.
How does Wearable Technology work?
The most important factor to consider when attempting to link a watch with a computer is actually not the design of the device, but rather the mode of connection. How can we transmit the information on one device so that the same information can be manipulated on another, smaller, more distant device without using a wire or link cable?
Current wearable technology, like the Apple Watch, or any of the offerings released by Google’s Android Wear platform, connects devices using the wireless Bluetooth standard. Doing so enables devices like computers and smartphones to transmit information to devices like smartwatches without the fuss of a wire or cable. However, due to the nature of Bluetooth, and due to the fact that device components can only be so small, the information transmitted from a phone to a watch is minimal, in order to ensure that watches remain wearable.
Otherwise, wearable technology functions and controls information in a similar manner to traditional input devices like phones and laptops. Wearable technology allows users to manipulate the same information they would normally use with a phone or computer by simply tapping away at a watch screen or glass lens.
Why is Wearable Technology important?
I mentioned earlier that we’re able to manipulate information with wearable technology, but the need for such technology has to be addressed. There is a simple fact that cannot be avoided, and that is the fact that the general public manipulates technology in a different manner than governmental agencies, engineers, medical staff, and construction workers. That is to say, asking why wearable technology is important is the wrong problem to solve. Instead, the true solution lies in asking: when will wearable technology become important?
As of present time, the smartwatch-wearing public has yet to truly provide a meaningful reason for having a smartwatch on one’s wrist.
What is the future of Wearable Technology?
When Microsoft released their Kinect motion-sensing console in 2010, the video game industry absolutely struggled to utilize the technology in an entertaining, user-friendly way. Instead, it was the medical industry, a global market hungry for affordable, easily accessible innovation, that truly benefitted from the motion-controlled technology. Within months of release, programmers manipulated Kinect’s basic functionality to produce machines that were able to scan patients for disease, bone fracture, and general physiology to provide doctors with information that would otherwise require hours of costly medical examination.
The future of wearable technology with the general public will never truly expand beyond easily responding to social networking and reducing our reliance on the computers in our pockets.
As always, however, I am truly excited for the absurd possibilities. I imagine a world where doctors are able to quickly access patient information using the watches on their wrists. I imagine a world where soldiers don’t need to rely on heavy computers to relay vital information. I imagine a world where we no longer need wallets, or keys, or even identification cards, because our data and information will be endlessly connected through simple, easy-to-carry, easy-to-access devices.
Photo by Thomas Hawk via CC BY-NC 2.0