We live in interesting times when technology evolves rapidly and things that our ancestors only dreamed of are becoming reality. The first computer was so big that it filled the whole room and today we can wear one on our wrist. That is what I would like to tell you about – wearable technology!
A bit of history first, before we get to really cool stuff. What was the first piece of wearable technology and when was it created? In 1286 Roger Bacon, an English philosopher and Franciscan friar mentioned glasses in one of his texts and that’s the earliest written record of this invention. Why do I consider something as ordinary as glasses a wearable tech? Well…it’s man -made, we can wear it and it augments our bodies allowing us to do something we won’t be able to do without it. Later, in 1665, an English natural philosopher, architect and polymath Robert Hooke wrote: “The next care to be taken, in respect of the Senses, is a supplying of their infirmities with Instruments, and as it were, the adding of artificial Organs to the natural (...)” He couldn’t be more right.
In 1762 a self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker John Harrison invented a “marine chronometer”, a pocket watch. It solved the problem of establishing longitude of a ship at sea.In 1907 an Aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont commissioned the creation of the first wristwatch which is said to be the result of a bet with his friend, who complained about not being able to check the time and keep both hands on the yoke (a steering wheel of an airplane).
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| Harrison's pocket watch. |
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| Santos-Dumont's wristwatch. |
Ok, enough boring stuff. Let’s talk about first real gadgets! Greed was always one of the strongest motivators for humankind and first wearable gadgets were created as a means to get rich really fast. In 1961 Ed Thorp and Claude Shannon revealed their invention used to predict roulette wheels. The system was an analog computer of the size of a cigarette-pack. The main unit would be worn with one wire running into the shoe to track timing of the roulette wheel by pressing buttons with wearers’ toes, while another would run up to an earpiece for receiving tones. There was a similar invention in 1972, created by Keith Taft and used to help in counting cards in blackjack. The main difference was that the results were shown as small blinking lights on the inside of glasses frame. At that time both inventions were legal because nobody had thought about this way of cheating.
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| Thorp's invention. |
- 1975 – wearable calculator in a watch
- 1994 – wireless internet camera
- 2000 – first bluetooth earpiece
- 2003 – first fully digital cardiac pacemaker
- 2006 – Nike + iPod shoe chip
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| Watch calculator. |
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| Bluetooth earpiece. |
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| Nike + iPod. |
So where are we now? Wearable tech is pretty much everywhere.
In sports, we can measure our vitals by wearing a smartband or a smartwatch. There are also helmets with built-in headphones to enjoy our favourite music while skiing or snowboarding.
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| Samsung Gear Fit. |
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| Headphone helmet. |
Over time technology begins to blend with fashion and becomes yet another way to express
ourselves. From fancy solar panel powered necklaces, to glowing skirts with smoke emitters.
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| Solar powered necklace. |
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| Dress with a smoke emitter. |
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| Glowing dress. |
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| Leg prosthetics. |
Technology can even be used to give us superhuman abilities! The truth is we don’t have super strong robotic arms or cameras implanted into our eyes yet but there are cyborgs living amongst us! Neil Harbisson was the first man to be officially recognized by a government. He was born completely color-blind and has an antenna implanted in his skull that allows him to see visible and invisible colours such as infrared and ultraviolet via sound. This way he can perceive more colors than any other human on the planet, despite being able to naturally see only in grayscale.
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| Heil Harbisson and his antenna. |
This year Intel started a competition for the next big wearable technology. Here is the list of ten finalists and their projects:
Team Nixie won the grand prize and I think they deserve it as their project is both useful and innovative. I encourage you to check out all the finalist on YouTube, they all have really exciting and innovative ideas.
So tell me, what do you think about wearable technology? Is it the natural next step for humans to use technology in every aspect or are all those things just useless gadgets that we could live without? And a more philosophical question – would you like to become a cyborg? Would it be wise to give up a small part of your humanity to enhance your abilities?
Sources:
- http://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/lizzy/timeline.html
- http://mashable.com/2014/05/13/wearable-technology-history/
- https://makeit.intel.com/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_(book)
First of all I would like to see more information about smartwatches and smartbands in this presentation. Nowadays these kinds of tech in hot. Where is any information Google Glass there? It's also one of the devices people are waiting for.
ReplyDeleteWell...I don't really understand the hype for smartwatches, so that's probably why I didn't write much about them. Other stuff, like the Intel contest entries are much more interesting in my opinion. I didn't want to mention Google Glass without explaining differences between virtual and artificial reality and going in depth with that topic as it maybe is related to wearables but not exactly in line with what I wanted to show - a brief history of how wearable tech has evolved.
DeleteOk, your presentation, your rules. In my opinion Google Glass is important part of wearables, because it's different than smartwatches and smartbands. And now it's coming in a consumer version soon.
DeleteI my opinion it's a very nice trend. I really like wearable devices. I used to have Nike+ with iPod, but now, when there is Endomondo, Nike+ is mean less.
ReplyDeleteBecome a cyborg? It depends what benefits it could bring.
About snowboarding... I have heard that there are special goggles which display route, speed and some other stuff on glasses.
True, Nike+ was an early invention and now that phones have pedometers it is becoming obsolete. But it's nice to hear someone used it, as I myself wasn't interested in in when it came out.
DeleteGoggles with a kind of HUD (for those that won't know what it stands for, it's heads-up display) would be awesome. That and maybe some kind of improved sight would give us a big advantage in snow storms or bad weather conditions.
Just few seconds of searching in google...
ReplyDeletetake a look, isn't it awesome?!
http://www.hosz.pl/index.php?p1295,gogle-zeal-z3-carbon-matte-black-z-gps
To be honest, I'm a big fan of wearables. I actually have some of them, shoes and watch. Nike+ is very usefull application if you like runing or measuring your steps.
ReplyDeleteWatch has some minor issues, like short battery life, still it's nice for navigation purpose.
I already read story about Heil Harbisson, he is crazy, but we used to say same things about inventors like Einstein, Edison, Bell and Tesla to name some of them.
Btw I've seen nice T-Shirt with programmable front side :)
In a couple of years, generations that come after us will look back and wonder how could we live with such primitive tech so yeah, every new invention seems amazing at first but then pales in comparison to the new ones.
DeleteProgrammable t-shirts? Are you talking about these?
http://www.morphsuits.com/digital-dudz
It's an amazing thing to wear to a party!
I have read your article with pleasure because it is an interesting topic for me. I have heard about Ed Thorp and Claude Shannon ‚Gadget‘ – that was something huge in that time and to be honest I am really interested in how it exactly worked. Do you have any additional stuff about their solution?
ReplyDeleteAccording to your question in my opinion wearable technology is the natural next step for human kinds. Of course most of gadgets are just useless or we can live without them but on the other hand some of gadgets make our life better(some medical equipment) and funnier ;) Lastly, it is hard to say if I would like to become a cyborg because it depends on too many variables…
There are some details about development of Thorp's invention in this article, take a look:
Deletehttp://www.engadget.com/2013/09/18/edward-thorp-father-of-wearable-computing/
What I think is we should find balance between using technology properly in case of improving our life and getting addicted to it. There are a lot of useful gadgets helping ourselves to save loads of time, such as the mobile phone, the internet and so on. Life with all of them is a way easier because we don't have to spend time to go to somebody and say something, all we have to do is to reach our mobile and just give somebody a call. Of course there is a trap. Taking technology into our life might result in sticking to it every time and in some point it could occur that you spend most of your lifetime at home out of society and reality. Occasionally if you find balance your life might become even better! You go for a run and you don't have to measure a distance done by you, simply turn on an app. When you drive a car apply a bluetooth headphone and you are fine-free! Answering your question I wouldn't like to become a cyborg I love the way I am and don't want to change anything about myself even if I could do something outstanding with technology applied to my body.
ReplyDeleteRisk of addiction and social isolation are the most troubling aspects of rapid technological advancement. I agree with you that we should find a proper balance but as history shows, the more popular technology becomes, the more we accept some behaviors without thinking about it. For example, many people consider it normal for two human beings to be absorbed by their phones while talking and in my opinion this is clearly the sign of technology's bad influence.
DeleteWearables' inventions are now at the peak of the Internet of Things philosophy boom and it's a good thing that huge corporations, such as Intel, are encouraging inventors' creativity with such contests. Intel is also entering the VR market by acquiring 30% shares of Vuzix company.
ReplyDeleteThe most notable wearables nowadays are smartwatches, and I'm amazed by how they capture the majority of attention (side-by-side with smartphones and tablets), while they offer so little, require more charging attention than smartphones and are horribly expensive. With this marketing power, any wearable could be envisioned to be a human lifechanger :)
I also find it amazing, how hyped people are about smartwatches when they don't really offer that much and are still very limited. I would go further and say that not only wearable, but just anything can be sold as a lifechanging product. Too bad often the least useful things get the most attention when the real technological gems stay in the shadows and fail due to low exposure.
DeleteI'm not a super fan of gadgets. I don't buy every new think shown on the market place.
ReplyDeleteBut wearables are sometimes really cool. When I was a kid I loved my g-shock watch.
Now I have smartwatch only but I can have all needed apps on it.
Oh and my wireless headphone walkman. I like it free of use due to great sound.
We don't need any of gadgets. People always lived without them but some of them
make our lives much easier. So I always check what new is being designed.
On one side it would be nice if people could fix some things like now you can heal vision but on the other site people are human because those little limitations.
But as for me after thinking I would probably say yes. Who the hell doesn't want see in darkness!
I think it's safe to say that everyone dreamed about being able to fly, see in the darkness or lift cars with one hand at some point! Technology can really make it happen. The question is, how much can we sacrifice to achieve those dreams.
DeleteThat's true!
DeleteReally interesting article.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I am a bit afraid of future concerning the rapidity of technology evolution. Despite of cool wearable gadgets future technology may be a big threat for our freedom and privacy. Nowadays gadgets like smartphones gather a lot of information about us, soon most of high tech wearable gadgets will do the same. The question is are we ready for the consequences?
And what consequences do you have in mind? I find it funny that the whole world is concerned with privacy but what do we care if someone knows what pizza we like or what products we buy? Is it really so harmful that we see adverts based on our interests instead random ones? Because that's how the majority of those informations will be used. Consumer profiling and advertising. I honestly don't care if even some NSA agent is reading my chat when I joke with my friends about terrorists because another agent may just spy on the right conversation and prevent a real attack. I think that people who got nothing to hide shouldn't be concerned.
DeleteThe consequences I have written about are no privacy and freedom! I value my private life and I don't want anything or any one spy on me.
DeleteNice presentation and interesting topic. The technology nowadays is everywhere and i`m thinking about some case – are we subordinated to technology or technology is subordinated to us? I really don’t know because the level of IT solutions in our live is very high. Everyday we share information about us and we are addicted to electronic devices - it’s a fact so I`m trying to cut back amount of them… From the other side some inventions are necessary for some people (ex. Disabled) and its allow them to live normally and I absolutely agree with this. Back to wearable devices – I don’t need to use those gadgets and for me it’s useless. The smartphone Is enough and give me all functions that I really want and need…
ReplyDeleteThat's a question everyone is asking themselves. On one hand, technology is created to serve humans but on the other, sometimes we are helpless when it is taken away from us. It's true that a smartphone nowadays is enough for most people and I also don't have many gadgets, but I'm always on the lookout for something new that will prove really useful.
DeleteI think wearable technology is step forward to better life, but we must wait for better innovation than now. For Me at now every wearable things is not really special and I don't feel need to buy it. Meybe in future. About next step for humans to use technology I agree with You, everybody at now have smart phones, why would they not have some wearable things if this think wants to help. About cyborg, I think no, I always want to be a 100% human, then someone with special abilities. When I watched linked videos, I found somethink this:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq2FYr8SToc
Hoverbike? They also made a functioning hoverboard lately, check it out:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyWo7_NVWBM
And here is a video of some kids building a hoverboard in their own garage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HI137m7XA4
Yup as an enthusiast of wrist watches I can't really tell that the topic is boring... lol. I would even say that I would just throw into trash that calculator watch because it is electronic lolz. Also quartz movement is nothing good. Only mechanic or automatic movement! Check this out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGPjFFMD3c0&feature=youtu.be - just a pure work of art. I'd love to own a Philippe Patek's watch... because watches are beautiful, classic and the company was founded by polish watchmaker. On the other hand there are beautiful things that comes with new technologies which makes our life easier and for some people it even gives the opportunity to live :-)))
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting presentation. Wearables are indeed a naturally developed highly popular trend right now, it's great we can have more and more technology as close as possible to make things more convenient for us. I hope that the pessimistic visions known from sci-fi will not come true though.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the topic of your presentation I thought something like "Oh no! I have to read about some overhyped gadgets which offer nothing new but people buy them just to be cool". But you have suprised me quite a lot! It was really fun to read and I love the historic part. I never knew about most of this inventions. Some of them are really bizzare. I love this kind of imaginative tech. Modern part of your article was interesting as well. You provided us with deeper insight than dumb tv programmes about tech. I'm finding it quite interesting but odd that something like wearable drone won the contest. For me it is the most mundane and uninteresting thing proposed by creators. On the other hand probably Intel viewed it as a safest investition because drones are in my opinion strongly overhyped and I don't understand what brings al the emotion when technology is hardly new. RC toys was around for a long time. Anyway thank you for interesting presentation. Good job!
ReplyDeleteSo you're not impressed with drones and you say they are overhyped? Then check out this story, about a paralyzed man who got to leave his bed and experience what no ordinary healthy person could ;)
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCIukWXmlV4
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