Wearable technology is the name that has been given to a category of technology that has seen a massive increase in consumer sales in the last several years. Although the idea of gadgets being worn on the body has been around since the beginning of the computing age, it was not until the end of the 20th century when technology could be compacted small enough to become feasible for portability and bodily transport(1).The first commercially successful technology fitted for the body was a device still in frequent use today, the hearing aid. Not long after, in the1980s, the wildly popular calculator watches were introduced(1).
Watch technology went quiet for a long while after this, until a company called Pebble began crowdfunding in 2013 and sold over 1 million smart watches by the end of 2014. Since then, the race for the most complex and best selling smart watch has been on, with massive companies Motorola, Google, and Apple all releasing their own take on the idea. Fitbit, a dedicated fitness tracking band has also taken the wearable tech industry by storm, selling over 38 million devices since 2010(2).
Not every wearable tech device is a major success however. Google’s “Glass” device provided an altered reality to buyers complete with a camera and voice detection. With it’s high price and unaccepted “nerdy” look by the public, the glass project was shut down before even going public(4)(1).
Relation to Computing:
When smartphones originally came out, one of the largest technological races began to create the most advanced phone features while still trying to have the smallest device possible. The competition that erupted from attempts to win over consumers led to some of the largest leaps in technological programming and with it, advanced computing. With this new surge of popularity in wearable technology, a repeat of this race has already begun. In the next couple years, it is forecast that wearable tech will take up over 50% of all technological sales(1)(3). Programming and computing are the skeletons of these devices, and code is the backbone. Programming of heart rate monitors, motion detectors, and micro-cameras are all essential to making these tech pieces tick.
References:
1. "Wearable Technology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.
2. "Fitbit." Www.statista.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.
3. Lamkin, Paul. "Wearable Tech Market To Be Worth $34 Billion By 2020." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 17 Feb. 2016. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.
4. Bilton, Nick. "Why Google Glass Broke." The New York Times. N.p., 4 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.
Hey Tyler,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic because it doesn't only involve computer science and technology, but also involves fashion, economics, and impacts our everyday lives in the future. I was wondering what you thought about this. Do you believe wearable technology, in the somewhat near future, will be implemented into our everyday lives permanently and perhaps physically?
I do believe that. With the amount of research going into assistive devices to be worn on the body, I can only believe that our lives will become more and more intertwined with technology physically.
DeleteThe topic of wearable technology falls perfectly in line with the current trend consisting of incorporating technology into our lives, even at the most basic level. In order to continue the discussion that Ryan started, do you think that this everyday wearable technology will become essential or remain superfluous? Until what point will wearable technology be good for us, and to reverse the question, will the evolution of wearable technology negatively affect our well-being?
ReplyDeleteOne example that I am thinking of is an app that a father created so that he could communicate with his daughter, who is autistic. The app is called TippyTalk and it allows autistic children to click on an image, which is then converted into text so that the person on the receiving side can understand what the child is trying to express. Here is the link to the story: http://www.heart.co.uk/style/dad-invented-an-app-for-autistic-daughter/#4DvqcM7S5cFPTDow.97 . Although this app is not necessarily indispensable, it nevertheless affects the father's relationship with his daughter in a positive way and seems to contribute to the development of a healthy and smooth relationship. How do you see the evolution of this app in terms of necessity v. superfluity?
I believe that the more advanced wearable technology becomes and technology in general will follow a similar ethical trend as what has already been seen. By that I mean that technology such as facebook has been raved about for keeping people connected no matter how far away they live, but it has also been severely criticized for taking away personal connection from people.
DeleteNow that text messages can be read and sent from a persons wrist, it could be said this will cut down on time spent staring at a phone screen, while others say it's a readily accessible distraction from the world. These same multi-perspective opinions will almost undoubtedly continue in the future.