WEARABLE TECH TRENDS

STUDENT:CHIRU ANA-MARIA RALUCA

FACULTY:FILS
DEPARTMENT:
ELECTRONICS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
YEAR:1
GROUP: 1212A
TELEPHONE NUMBER: 0724911383
DATE: 15/05/2015
SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR: CONF. DR. YOLANDA-MIRELA
CATELLY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION IN MODERN
LANGUAGES

Wearable Tech Trends

1.Definition
Wearable technology, wearables, fashionable technology, wearable devices or
fashion electronics are absolutely as it sounds clothing and accessories with incorporating
computers and advanced electronic technologies. (1)
2.Introduction
Wearable devices are related to both the field of ubicomp and the history and
development of wearable computers. Ubicomp is a concept in software engineering and
computer science where computing is made to appear everywhere and every time, which
connects many devices that allows us to interact with the computer which exists in many
different forms, including laptop computers, tablets and terminals in everyday objects such as
a fridge or a pair of glasses and the history and development of wearable computers. Even
though the history and development of wearable technology was highly debated firstly, the
vision started to affirm on the market. This concept was noticed by perpetual change and
trying to combine utility with aesthetic, most notable being the Steve Manns concept of
sousveillance. Sousveillance refers to the process of supervising the activity of someone by
using small wearable or portable personal technologies. (2)
3.History
The first wearable technology was released in the 1970s. The calculator watch was
one original piece of highly utilised accessory. It was preceded by Ilya Fridmans Bluetooth
headset designed headset into a pair of earrings with a hidden microphone. Later on, Google
released a pair of smart glasses, a device that brings rich text and notifications as well as
other information straight to your eyes. Wearable technology has applications in health
monitoring and real-time feedback for athletes as well. The availability is increasing among
consumers due to the decrease of costs needed to process the power and other components.
According to Forbes, 71% of 16-to-24 year olds want wearable tech. (3)
4.Products
The sells of wearable technology are intensifying day after day, showing a great
potential and a real help when dealing with key problems of our society, such as workplace
productivity or even a person's health. In healthcare there exist many examples to date, such
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as a contact lens with microscopic sensors that can monitor the blood sugar levels of someone
with diabetes, using the tears as a fluid source. (4)
Most of us own a smartphone and many have heard of fitness trackers and even
smartwatches. There is even more out there to explore. The smartest of these wearable
devices can perform more tasks than we might expect from a computer or laptop that is
already on our desk waiting for us every day. In fact, in many cases, wearable tech is even
more highly developed and sophisticated this is because it can be used to scan, track and
provide sensory feedback on ourselves. (5)
5.Smartwatches
A smartwatch is a computerized wristwatch with functionality that is beyond
timekeeping. While early models can perform basic tasks, such as calculations, translations,
and game-playing, modern smartwatches are wearable computers. Many smartwatches run
mobile apps, while a smaller number of models run a mobile operating system and function
as portable media players. Some smartwatches models, also called 'watch phones' can work
as well as any cell phone. (6)
Ever since the beginning, the most anticipated product was the smartwatch which
was released by Apple in the winter of 2014. The Apple Watch is a bold device, the product
of a brand trying to shake up an uncertain smartwatch market and prove that, once again, it
can make a niche device cool and mainstream. In the era when the sport was replaced by
games on smart phone, at least you're still being active at the same time, with those steps
being counted in the Apple Watch's fitness app. It's not the most comprehensive fitness
tracker, but it lets you keep tabs on metrics, calories burned and heart rate. (7) (8)
6.E-textiles
E-textiles, also known as smart clothing are fabrics that enable digital components
(including small computers), and electronics to be embedded in them. Many intelligent
clothing and wearable computing projects involve the use of e-textiles.
Electronic textiles are different from wearable computing because the accent is putted on the
combination between the electronic elements and textile elements, such as sensors or
batteries. Furthermore, e-textiles are not used only for clothing items. They are used also for
interior design. (9) (10)
7. Problems encountered
One of the most commonly obstacle in the adoption of wearable tech has been its
design, which was often been associated with being unfashionable. However, high fashion

and high tech seem to be converging. Wearable tech developers are putting greater accent on
design, while various fashion designers are entering the wearable tech scene.
8.Attempts to enter the fashion market
Among the biggest players in the fitness tracking and wearable tech scene was
observed Fitbit. Initially starting out as a simple bracelet that could improve and make easy
your fitness activity, Fitbit is now in collaboration with Tory Burch to make sure that this
piece of wearable tech device is looking more like a classy accessory that is versatile enough
to accompany you on various occasions, instead of remaining as an athletic-looking tracking
device.
Misfit announced also its partnership with Swarovski that resulted in a new
collection called Swarovski Shine Collection. This collection currently includes two new,
fully waterproof rings, a clear Swarovski Shine with a brilliant crystal face and a violet
Swarovski Shine which uses a new patented energy crystal technology to power itself.
What this means is that this new product becomes the first wireless activity and sleep monitor
that makes use of an energy-harvesting technology to enable it to never require charging or
the replacement of batteries. (11)
9.Futere of tech trends
Nowadays technology tends to capture most of our time, but this is not necessarily a
bad thing taking into account the help given in many fields, such as sport, medicine or
gastronomy. It is a well-known fact that the development of this new technology is only at the
beginning and therefore the future seems to be even more promising due to its continuous
improvement and research for a better balance between quality and price. The young
generation is always in search for a device which can facilitate their work and also can bring
the satisfaction of a well-worked task measured by an intelligent device. The research is
intensifying day by day, especially on the field of medicine, and that will only be possible
with the discovery of more innovative materials. In the future the level of usage of wearable
technology will be so high that we won't even realise the existence of them. (12)
10.Conclusion
Not everyone is convinced that the fusion of tech and fashion at the high end of the
market is such a good idea. Maybe Apple will sell watches but a lot of this sounds like
desperation both by the tech players, who need to differentiate their products, and the fashion
companies, who constantly need a new marketing edge, says luxury market expert Pamela
Danziger at Unity Marketing. Fashion needs to be market-driven, while gadgets, by
definition, have to be product-driven, says Danziger also. She may be right. But even the
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most traditional names in the luxury sector cannot afford to take the chance that she is not.
(13)

Bibliography

(1). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wearable_technology
(2). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquitous_computing
(3). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiko
(4). http://www.wfs.org/Forecasts_From_The_Futurist_Magazine
(5). http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/wearable-tech-and-thefuture-from-solar-clothes-to-smart-tattoos-1283713
(6). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartwatch
(7). http://www.ubmindia.in/interop-delhi/blogdesc.aspx?blog=blog6
(8). http://www.techradar.com/reviews/wearables/apple-watch-1264567/review
(9). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-textiles
(10). http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/e-textiles-electronic-textiles2014-2024-000383.asp
(11). http://www.cnet.com/topics/wearable-tech/best-wearable-tech/

(12).http://www.wearabletechworld.com/topics/wearable-tech/articles/402935-wearabletechnology-ecosystem-2015-2030-opportunities-challenges-strategies.htm
(13).http://www.billionaire.com/wearable-technology/1347/tailored-tech-the-rise-ofwearabletechnology