Wearable Computers

Wearable computers are not a new concept, as far back as the 1960s Start Trek characters were wearing a variety of the devices – however the concept has only just begun to take off as a viable concept in the lasst 5 years due to advances in:

Battery technology allowing sufficient battery life to make the products useful.
Minaturisation

Common types of wearable computers include:

Smart Watches (Pebble, IWatch)
Fitness Trackers (Fitbit)
Smart glasses (Google Glass)
Virtual and Augmented Reality Glasses

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Main uses

Wearable computers are mainly used for:

Supplementing the notifications from mobile phones to keep track of social media and appointments
Tracking health and fitness, such as heart rate, sleep patterns and step counts
Providing addition data about the user’s surroundings through the use of augment reality googles.
Providing an immersive virtual experience using virtual reality.

Advantages

The advantages of wearable technology include:

Ultra portable
Allow the user to operate a computer ‘hands-free’. THis is very useful for surgeons who can see data whilst operating.
Less likely to lose / damage than a phone
More discreet than a phone for checking email / notifications
Can monitor fitness and health easily

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of wearable technology include:

Very small screen so limited interaction possible
Poor battery life for most devices
Low processing power, so a limited number of applications.
Cameras and recording devices can cause privacy concerns.