Four Wearable Devices

Many of us already wear Fitbits or Apple Watches and understand the power of what they can do. You might not know they are called ‘Wearables’ and the market for these devices – beyond just what you can put on your wrist – is growing each year. This tech can be used in business, healthcare and gaming with other innovative uses right on the horizon.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality have been using wearable tech as a key element of the experience for a while, but here are 4 more that might be new to you.

1. Clothing – High-tech garments with tech sewn right into them. These ‘devices’ can link to your phone or laptop via apps and help keep track of important biometrics. Athletic performance and overall health metrics – like heart rate and blood pressure – can be tracked easily. What type of data is measured depends on the type of use: shoes, socks, sleepwear, or other activewear.

2. Helmets – They aren’t just to protect your head from injuries anymore. This headgear has built-in GPS, speakers and phone capabilities. Vibration and voice-activation are the primary functionality triggers. They can also track calories burned, route, stamina and speed. Practical applications include recreational bike riding, of course, but delivery services that use bicycles could really use this as a productivity and efficiency tool quite effectively.

3. Glasses – Digital eyewear shows some of the best promise for the future. Outside the VR and AR mentioned earlier, doctors with super eyeglass power will be able to monitor and track vitals during a surgery, and that is a game-changer for medicine. Cameras, earbuds, and noise cancellation can also be a part of the experience. But imagine for law enforcement if facial recognition could not be at their fingertips, but only a single glance away.

4. Implantables – Surely, a conspiracy theorist’s dream, these microscopic trackers can be implanted under the skin or even taken as a pill. Most of this tech is still in development and not yet approved by the FDA or any other government agency. But the benefits in healthcare are too many to count. Overall, trusted adoption will be this tech’s biggest hurdle.

Statista reports that one of our four Americans will have some sort of usable device by the end of this year. So, for business or personal use, keep these benefits in mind and take your smart shoes for a walk into the future.