Wear a Wearable

September 13, 2013

This is probably not what the blog challenge had in mind, but I’m going to use the opportunity to write about wearable technology….

misfit-shine,M-B-396083-13

There are some fun applications out in the wearable technology domain. Some are essentially a device stuck onto something wearable:

Wearable photos
– A comm badge
– And more upscale: the Misfit fitness tracker  that is elegant as a contemporary brooch.

For these kinds of applications,

Wearables need to be gorgeous or invisible; otherwise they fall flat with consumers.

according to Misfit CEO Sonny Vu.

Others are more subtly integrated, using graphene fabric to ‘battery-power’ various applications:

– mood clothes/jewelry
– biometric security (picks up who’s wearing it, and verifies the person to nearby devices/apps)
– glucose monitor contact lenses, or tattoo, patch, bracelet, et al.
– allergic substance detectionhigh-tech-contact-lens-537x402

There’s a sexy application that dims the lights with zipper motion, a silly one that guesses your preferences and makes you a cocktail, and even a nasty one that detects lies and shocks the liar.

Here are my crazy ideas for startup weekend:

I want a Harry Potter clock that tells me if any of my loved ones are in mortal peril, based on GPS location/acceleration data from clothing (although car or phone data would be good enough for test cases).

I want battery-fabric-powered shoes that power assist, so I can keep walking even when I’m worn out, and fabric that gets more rigid when I slump, so I can sit better.

I want a concussion monitoring helmet for professional football (I know; it already exists), but with the data projected on the big screen. I suppose it’s too much to ask, but the data could be built into the rules of the game, and it would add a new dimension to the strategy (as well as some health/safety for the players).

Although I think wearable technology is very cool, and has potential, the detractors have a point. The release of the Galaxy gear watch last week was met with a huge ho-hum:

There’s no compelling reason to look at the watch when you have a nice, big, high-resolution screen in your hand,

says James Kendrick for Mobile News.

But there are some real and cool possibilities for wearable tech in marketing/augmented reality, law enforcement, fashion, and smart homes / lighting.

Can’t wait to wear a wearable!