Wearable computing

The new user interface proposals are aimed at finding those that adapt to the ways of human communication, rather than lead the effort by the user in learning. Following this concept efforts devoted to the study of the so-called Wearable Computing, where you try to achieve the concept of user-machine acting as a single entity. The main argument against such scenario does not allow the interaction with the user in an intuitive and natural way, it is the person who must adapt to this form of communication that still is not comparable with spoken language or gestures commonly used.  (Starner, 2011)

For example a head band that sensors brain waves to detect vehicle driver’s tiredness. The technology is able to monitors brain activity and warns drivers that they are becoming fatigued in advance of it becoming dangerous, giving users more time to do the one thing that helps: stop and take a break. Tired drivers pose a risk to both themselves and those around them, and we've seen different types of technology that aim to keep groggy drivers alert. In theory at least, allow drivers to get off the road before they become a safety hazard. Drowsy driving is the second major cause of fatal accidents in USA roads.

Wearable devices have been getting a lot of attention lately, and many vendors. Until recently, wearable computing devices have garnered the most attention from the fitness and medical worlds, but markets are shifting as users start to adopt this new trend. Experts predict that if wearable technology is really going to take off with consumers, one of the most important factors developers will need to consider is aesthetics. In other words, these new gadgets will need to either blend inconspicuously with an outfit or they will need to look good without drawing too much attention. In addition, security features for data transmission, storage and processing needs to be reinforced.  Estimated time to massive adoption 7-12 years.

One problem that wearable technology suffers is that, as the name denotes, it must be wearable. This in turn means that there's only so much space on which to put wearable devices, and even then, not all the space will be engaged. Wearable tech as a whole is still essentially in its earliest days, and taking many of its critical elements and going beyond that is really only to be expected. To successfully pull off this new technology, computer engineers, developers and programmers will need to expand their knowledge into specialties outside of IT. (Human Anatomy, Psychology and Sociology).

According to Statista.com by 2018, it is estimated that the market for wearable technology will be worth some 12.6 billion U.S. dollars.

References

Statista (2013). Facts and statistics on Wearable Technology. Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/topics/1556/wearable-technology/

Starner. T. ( 2011). The challenges of wearable computing. Retrieved from http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~thad/p/magazine/published-part1.pdf