Wearable Technology

Shane and I were recently discussing how technology that is always present on the user and acts independently of them is interesting, and we came across some information about wearable technology.


This first link is a guide to designing wearables. Important points seem to be 'make it discreet', 'make it not touch-only' (for instance use haptic feedback, sound etc), and 'make sure it is not reliant on things like wi-fi'. Link:
https://wearablesguide.fjordnet.com/


This article talks about the rising popularity of wearables and where the technology is headed:
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/invisible-revolution-how-wearables-are-quietly-invading-the-enterprise/


And here's some specifically health-related info. The authors used an example of a mouthguard that senses impacts as they happen:
http://nuviun.com/content/preparing-healthcare-to-use-data-from-wearables-smart-fabrics-and-3d-printers


What we were considering from this were things along the lines of shoes/rings/keys that do tasks so the user doesn't have to. Like shoes that give you directions using GPS by vibrating or something along those lines, or that automatically pay bus/train fare upon entry using some kind of sensor or NFC. The UK have a system on the tube that uses NFC called Oyster Cards which track how far you've traveled to determine your fare.

Or keys that automatically unlock your car when you are within range and/or do a certain gesture.

Two forms of wireless we saw were NFC and RFID. These are possible technologies to explore when we are coming up with concepts for the project.