What can we expect from the wearable
technology revolution in this post-pc age?
We’re at one of those moments in time where
technology that just a few years ago was considered the realm of science
fiction seems set to become reality. We could soon be making video calls via
our wristwatch just like Dick Tracy, and the embarrassment of forgetting
someone’s name will become a thing of the past when you can pull up information
about the person you are speaking to, Terminator-style, thanks to facial
recognition technology built into your glasses. It sounds far-fetched, but in a
year or two you might be surprised at how far technology has become integrated
into your life, and just how wearable technology is.
In fact, the revolution has already
started. Only a few years ago, the idea that you could fit the power of a
computer in your pocket would have astounded many, but in 2007 Apple launched
the iPhone with many of the features of a computer.
We’re
at one of those moments in time where technology that just a few years ago was
considered the realm of science fiction seems set to become reality.
Even now that we have come to take the
power of our smartphones for granted, we should take a minute to recognize the
immense amount of technology we can already fit into such a small device. On it
we can run apps that let us do everything from composing music or playing a
guitar, to translating languages or ‘blowing’ a dog whistle.
But what can we expect from the wearable
technology revolution? Google has already announced plans to build a
head-mounted wearable computer, and while Apple hasn’t announced anything, the
rumor mill is bursting with claims it’s working on an iWatch, with patent
filings backing up this idea.
You don’t even have to wait to join the
revolution. There are already wearable items with computational power built in,
although it doesn’t look like any of these devices will be turning us into
cyborgs quite yet.
State Of Play
The machines are waking up. We already have
gizmos that can track how many calories we burn during a workout, smart fridges
that order food before we run out, and intelligent home control systems such as
the Nest thermostat ($249.99, www.nest.com), which learns the temperatures you
like and turns itself down when you’re away from home.
The
iPod Nano spawned an industry of straps designed to turn the tiny music player
into something you wore, such as eMonsters’ Nanox ($61, bit.ly/WM9pM1) shown
here.
If you define wearable technology as being
anything with some form of processor, we’re already using it: the Nike +
FuelBand ($199, www.nike. com) or Pebble’s iPhone-friendly watch ($149
getpebble.com). People even turned the iPod Nano into a watch by attaching it
to watch straps. Apple embraced this by incorporating a variety of watch face
options, though the current Nano no longer fits the watch template.
Simple objects are also gaining sensors and
computational powers. It’s only in the past few years we’ve had access to the
electronic components that put processors on your wrist, in your pocket or in
your wallet. Indeed, until recently, those developing wearable technologies faced
major technical challenges. Pioneers weren’t just attempting to invent
something new, but also grappling with hardware limitations, connectivity
issues, and display, processor and motherboard miniaturization challenges,
while attempting to ensure good battery life.
the
iPod Nano
The debut of smart devices from the likes
of Apple, and earlier Palm, changed this environment. They emerged at a time
when ARM, Intel and others began to develop low-energy processors for mobile
devices. Today, intense competition within the smartphone sector means rapid
advances are being made in processor, connectivity, component, display and
associated technologies.
Cloud Cover
In addition, improvements to Wi-Fi
technologies and faster mobile networks means the IP-enabled infrastructure for
these connected devices is available. There’s also the cloud. We can already
access complex software via our mobiles without ever installing it, which means
a device doesn’t even need to have a large amount of storage if it can access everything
it needs in the cloud.
The issue of integrating processors inside
these devices is currently being sidestepped by manufacturers, who are using
the smartphone as the connected processor ‘brain’ for their wearable devices.
Coupled with cloud-based systems, it could be possible to access data that
helps your smart devices be responsive to your needs. They could learn what you
want, and get it for you. For example, when you walk into a hotel room, your
device could set it to your preferred temperature.
“The stars of tomorrow are going to be the
ones that carry computers into better understanding of humans. Eventually these
machines are going to be like human friends. It’s absolutely going to happen,”
enthused Apple co-founder.
