Wearable Devices and their Implementation in Various Domains

Electronics

The last few decades have seen an unrestrained diffusion of smart-integrated technologies that are extremely pervasive and customized based on humans’ environments and habits [...]

The introduction of wearable technologies allows users to access technology hand free. There will be no longer be the need to carry around bulky devices. Information can be accessed at your command and pictures or videos can be taken with the wink of an eye. This new wave of technology will ignite an explosion of innovation which will be the key to advancements for mankind. As computers move from the desktop, to the palmtop, and onto our bodies and into our everyday lives. In this paper we focus our attention on two applications, from the plethora of wearable computing possibilities. We will first discuss general everyday use wearable computers; this will include such devices as wearable electronic fabrics, wearable digital watches with enhanced capabilities, wearable handbags and so forth. Next we will explore a number of medical wearable devices including navigation systems for the blind and real-time American Sign Language recognizers.

Methods of information in medicine, 2004

Wearable systems can be broadly defined as mobile electronic devices that can be unobtrusively embedded in the user's outfit as part of the clothing or an accessory. In particular, unlike conventional mobile systems, they can be operational and accessed without or with very little hindrance to user activity. To this end they are able to model and recognize user activity, state, and the surrounding situation: a property, referred to as context sensitivity. Wearable systems range from micro sensors seamlessly integrated in textiles through consumer electronics embedded in fashionable clothes and computerized watches to belt worn PCs with a head mounted display. The wearable computing concept is part of a broader framework of ubiquitous computing that aims at invisibly enhancing our environment with smart electronic devices. The goal of the paper is to provide a broad overview of wearable technology and its implications for health related applications. We begin by summarizing the v...

Sensing physiological and environmental signals and extracting parameters on-body without discomfort, whenever possible in real-time and continuously, are targeted by many research groups since more than a decade. Most developments include wireless communication to transmit signals. In more recent development, the systems extract locally relevant variables, which are transmitted when needed, while feedback is directly provided to the user. A broad range of systems are named "wearable" nowadays, although many of them are rather portable. Wearable systems embedding sensors address a large palette of applications. This paper aims at listing and describing some of them, considered relevant by the authors for applications including leisure, healthcare and professional security.

Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, 2012

Objective: Extensive efforts have been made in both academia and industry in the research and development of smart wearable systems (SWS) for health monitoring (HM). Primarily influenced by skyrocketing healthcare costs and supported by recent technological advances in micro-and nanotechnologies, miniaturisation of sensors, and smart fabrics, the continuous advances in SWS will progressively change the landscape of healthcare by allowing individual management and continuous monitoring of a patient's health status. Consisting of various components and devices, ranging from sensors and actuators to multimedia devices, these systems support complex healthcare applications and enable low-cost wearable, non-invasive alternatives for continuous 24-h monitoring of health, activity, mobility, and mental status, both indoors and outdoors. Our objective has been to examine the current research in wearable to serve as references for researchers and provide perspectives for future research. Methods: Herein, we review the current research and development of and the challenges facing SWS for HM, focusing on multi-parameter physiological sensor systems and activity and mobility measurement system designs that reliably measure mobility or vital signs and integrate real-time decision support processing for disease prevention, symptom detection, and diagnosis. For this literature review, we have chosen specific selection criteria to include papers in which wearable systems or devices are covered. Results: We describe the state of the art in SWS and provide a survey of recent implementations of wearable health-care systems. We describe current issues, challenges, and prospects of SWS. Conclusion: We conclude by identifying the future challenges facing SWS for HM.

Sensors, 2016

Over recent years, we have witnessed the development of mobile and wearable technologies to collect data from human vital signs and activities. Nowadays, wrist wearables including sensors (e.g., heart rate, accelerometer, pedometer) that provide valuable data are common in market. We are working on the analytic exploitation of this kind of data towards the support of learners and teachers in educational contexts. More precisely, sleep and stress indicators are defined to assist teachers and learners on the regulation of their activities. During this development, we have identified interoperability challenges related to the collection and processing of data from wearable devices. Different vendors adopt specific approaches about the way data can be collected from wearables into third-party systems. This hinders such developments as the one that we are carrying out. This paper contributes to identifying key interoperability issues in this kind of scenario and proposes guidelines to solve them. Taking into account these topics, this work is situated in the context of the standardization activities being carried out in the Internet of Things and Machine to Machine domains.

2014

wearable technology offers many opportunities which trigger the thoughts and imaginations of people of all fields. In this age of technology, the dependence on computers and other interfaces required them to be omnipresent. This requirement paved way for the development of wearable technology, computers which can assist specialized professionals in personal activities by aiding and augmenting everyday life with the tech savvy world. In reality obstacles imposed by factors such as battery life, processor power, display brightness, network coverage and form factor have led to the delay in the widespread introduction of wearable computers. However in the past 10 yrs many successful implementations and the continuous relentless effort to miniaturize computers promise the emergence of viable applications. In this paper wearable computing applications are reviewed from the early aircraft maintenance and military designs to current production models including designs for personal entertain...

IEEE Micro, 2001

The most immediately striking challenge in designing wearable computers is creating appropriate interfaces. However, the issues of power use, heat dissipation, networking, and privacy provide a necessary framework in which to discuss interface. Part 1 of this article covers the first two of these issues; Part 2 begins with the networking discussion.

List of Contributors ix Introduction xi 1.1. Wearables: Fundamentals, Advancements, and a Roadmap for the Future SUNGMEE PARK, KYUNGHEE CHUNG, AND SUNDARESAN JAYARAMAN 1. World of Wearables (WOW) 1 2. Attributes of Wearables 7 3. Textiles and Clothing: The Meta-Wearable 11 4. Challenges and Opportunities 16 5. The Future of Wearables: Defining the Research Roadmap 19 References 22