Introduction to Wearable Technology

The terms “wearable technology“, “wearable devices“, and “wearables” all refer to electronic technologies or computers that are incorporated into items of clothing and accessories which can comfortably be worn on the body. These wearable devices can perform many of the same computing tasks as mobile phones and laptop computers; however, in some cases, wearable technology can outperform these hand-held devices entirely. Wearable technology tends to be more sophisticated than hand-held technology on the market today because it can provide sensory and scanning features not typically seen in mobile and laptop devices, such as biofeedback and tracking of physiological function.

Now if you search for wearable gadgets you may find several of them. Let me give you a glimpse of a few wearable items, say like, Google Glass this smartspecs display any data you want to know, it could be information about FIFA or your flight schedule. Not only Google Glass but Pebble Smartwatch also promises to change the way we view, gather and spread information. Examples of wearable devices include watches, glasses, contact lenses, e-textiles and smart fabrics, headbands, beanies and caps, jewelry such as rings, bracelets, and hearing aid-like devices that are designed to look like earrings

With such products becoming the mass-market, it is something striking for the web designers and developers to consider its impact on the web design. Web designers have an important role to play when it comes to wearable gadgets. They can shift the way the users interact with the internet and its design. Generally, wearable technology will have some form of communications capability and will allow the wearer access to information in real time. Data-input capabilities are also a feature of such devices, as is local storage.

While wearable technology tends to refer to items which can be put on and taken off with ease, there are more invasive versions of the concept as in the case of implanted devices such as micro-chips or even smart tattoos. Ultimately, whether a device is worn on or incorporated into the body, the purpose of wearable technology is to create constant, convenient, seamless, portable, and mostly hands-free access to electronics and computers.

The implications and uses of wearable technology are far reaching and can influence the fields of health and medicine, fitness, aging, disabilities, education, transportation, enterprise, finance, gaming and music. The goal of wearable technologies in each of these fields will be to smoothly incorporate functional, portable electronics and computers into individuals’ daily lives.

If the more polished designs of mobile phones and digital cameras currently on the market are any indication for the future of wearable devices, then fashion, practicality, function and design will all be taken into account as these products advance. This consideration for both technology and aesthetics is already evident in devices such as Google Glass, which has a very sleek, lightweight, unobtrusive design.

As the potential uses in various fields continues to grow, the sociological and cultural impact wearable technology will have in the future should not be minimized. Already, the current hand-held devices available to consumers, such as Smart Phones, iPods and tablets, have changed the technological and social landscapes on a global scale, such that, walking out in public and seeing an individual engaging with a hand-held device is commonplace. Such an image was nonexistent only 20 years ago. With that in mind, developers and analysts predict that wearable technology will very quickly change the technological and cultural landscapes once again, and may even change the nature of mobile phones and other hand-held devices entirely.

Do you know that by 2020 we will be living in a world of 50 billion web connected devices? Yes, you heard it right! The market of wearable technology is set to be worth an estimated $60 billion. Wearable technology is redefining our relationship with the world around us. With each developing devices, the technology is reinventing the way we connect with each other, the way we communicate and share daily activities across any time zone or distance. Many of us probably know what wearable technology is, but perhaps do not know what it does.