What is wearable technology?

When people think of wearable technology they often think of those fancy exercise bands that is all the hype right now. But that is only a smart part of the wearable technology pie.

A broad definition of this particular type of technology is any device that can be worn on your body to help you connect to the Internet, or information in general, in a more convenient way. From Google glasses to clothing with solar cells that can help you charge your smartphone on the go, the possibilities are endless.

Is wearable technology all that it’s cracked up to be?

It will be, but just not yet. And this is perhaps what Singaporeans need to be cautious of when purchasing a wearable technology of their own.

For instance, fitness bands don’t quite have the accuracy it claims to have. It may collect data efficiently and track your progress well. However the data isn’t always accurate. This means that you might either be getting too much credit or too little for the amount of exercise you are actually doing – you can just depend on yourself for this kind of inaccuracy.

There is still much left to be desired. And if I were you, I would hold out until mid-2015 or towards the end to reassess your options of purchasing wearable technology; patience will allow you to get a significantly better product since technology improves really quickly.

Take the Google Glass for example, it was released with much hype more than a year ago, but Google has since stopped the sale of it in January this year and said it would be concentrating on future versions of the glasses. Early adopters of the Google Glass may have felt like they were hung out to dry.

What are the types of wearable technology to look forward to?

Fitness bands by the end of the year will definitely be something worth investing in. It’ll be able to evaluate your health and fitness with much more accuracy then what it currently does. It will even tailor a workout regiment and track it so that you can reach the goals you set for yourself.

Wearable technology will also be integrated to the clothes you wear. Sports clothing will have the potential of telling you if you are getting enough exercise, dresses and shirts that can change pattern and colour based on your mood – this is still a work in progress – and as previously mentioned, clothes that can help charge your gadgets.

Really once the ball starts rolling nothing is off limits, and it will inevitably enter the market.

Things to be cautious about

Welcoming wearable technology could be to your detriment as well. Whatever data you store will open for hackers to exploit.

Furthermore, remember when mobile phones came into existence? We couldn’t escape calls from our bosses. Then smartphones came along and we are enslaved by mobile emails and pings.

With Apple looking set to make the smart watch a new way to access digital information, having this sort of device on your wrist would mean you are more plugged in than ever. That means your ability to maintain a certain semblance of personal space and time may quickly vanish.

But of course there’ll always be ways to counter this.

Nevertheless, take careful care when you embrace this futuristic technology. It’s potential is limitless. But it can also be invasiveness.

Top photo from here.