It would be stretching a point to say that traditional tattoos are wearable technology, but in some ways there are, and the same case could be made for mobile phones. They're permanently with many of us; we ?wear? them in the same way that some of us ?wear? tattoos that were etched onto our skin by technology.
Motorola is just part of the new wave of portable technology that goes way beyond tattoos and mobiles. There are large research groups involved in this field including Georgia Tech, MIT, ETH Zurich, University of Oregon, Carnegie Mellon University, Microsoft, Sony, Samsung and the aforesaid Google.
There is a surprisingly number of people in the UK who use wearable technology. A recent report by by Rackspace and the Centre for Creative and Social Technology (CAST) at Goldsmiths, University of London found that more than eight million people in this country are doing so.
Early examples include pacemakers for those with heart conditions, but there has been a recent surge in less urgent technology such as smart clothing and monitors for fitness... and a future that offers Google Glass, sensors implanted subcutaneously and even cloaks that offer invisibility. The next decade will see a revolution in our behavior, however Canute-like we want to be.
Kevin Curran is a Reader in Computer Science at the University of Ulster and Senior Member of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) and posits the early 1990s as the time when the term ?wearable computer? was coined when it had the noble aim of extending the human body to do extraordinary tasks; this has led to a new form of synergy between human and computer.
?We are not yet at the stage where wearable computers are able to take the place of our mobiles but as the miniaturisation of computer chips and components increase, we are very close to mass consumer products on the market. There is still much work to be done on standardising and improving user interfaces but the arrival of Google Glasses may change the playing field,? he says.
While Google Glass is obviously interesting, the discussion about its potential is over-hyped. There are plenty of other places where people are talking about Google Glass, just as there is plenty of hype about smartwatches and Apple?s rumoured iWatch.
If eight million people in the UK that are wearing technology, there seems little opposition to such personal invasion. Privacy concerns fall down in front of convenience and this week a Finnish start-up called Uniqil announced a technology that allows its customers to buy products by using their face.
All they have to do is present their face to a camera in a store and the transaction is processed. Add to that Google Glass?s ?head tilts? or voice commands and we are as close to being remotely controlled robots as can be.
But there will be opposite reactions to this form of disruption. Some designers such as Adam Harvey from the School of Visual Arts in New York is collaborating with fellow designer Joanna Bloomfield to make clothes that allows people to be invisible from technology. Their designs cut out phone signals, protects the heart from X-rays and blocks out thermal imaging.
So, wearable technology is an emotional minefield. One minute it?s controlling the user, the next minute the user is fighting back against technology. Then there?s the help it can give to those who are old and suffering from dementia. Wearable technology could provide reminders for medication, location determination for carers, sensors to detect falls, and video replays to assist with memory. This has to be a good thing.
Scenarios such as these seem far-fetched, but technology moves at a faster rate than ever before. For now, however, as IEEE?s Curran points out, the concerns about technology such as Google Glass are more straightforward and prosaic.
?We can expect wearable devices such as smart glasses to lead to changes in behaviour. The ability to record video and images without the knowledge or permission of those within view will lead to much debate. Already, some bars, strip joints, restaurants among others have announced they are banning the wearing on smart glasses in their establishments,? he says.
As ever, Sir Isaac Newton?s words that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction ring true. Wearable technology is going to change our lives, it?s just that nobody quite knows how by how much and to what end.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-were-all-going-to-be-using-wearable-technology-2013-7
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