The Future of Wearable Technology and its Impact on Health, Fitness, and Fashion  

Wearable technology is not only a hot topic at major technology conferences like CES and SXSW, but has been at the forefront for innovative new product design in the healthcare, fitness, sports, and fashion industries.  Innovators and creative problem-solvers view wearable technology as a means of connecting us to our bodies while accessing our anatomy more deeply, so innovative fashion designers are now converging with engineers to mix fashion with technology. The newest wearable tech products are multi-purpose, and do something entirely different that current gadgets can’t manage: they provide real time data according to your physical needs. So, moving forward, gadgets are out, and soft sophisticated designs are in.  It’s not a question of “if” we will all be wearing hybrids of apparel and technology in the near future, but how? 

Companies on the Cutting-Edge

What does all of this mean for business? Industrial Designer Julianne Gauron, who has worked with both NASA and M.I.T. to evolve and integrate wearable technology, says it’s a nebulous topic. Which is to say, its true impact has yet to be defined. Gauron believes we are on the verge of something big, but it’s going to take a lot of collaboration from scientists, engineers and designers. She says, “Right now it’s all tracking and data. But to do something with the data, instead of just dumping it” is key. The current wearables – i.e. accessories such as watches and jewelry – “are a great entry point, but fiber science [the creation of new, intelligent textiles] is the backbone of soft wearables. The future is going to be more seamlessly, fluidly and invisibly integrated.”

However, experts agree, building a wearable that is considered useful, usable, and desirable is a very hard thing to do. There are a lot of things to get right: hardware, embedded software, application software, battery life, comfortability, etc. A wearable tech startup in Chicago, Rithmio, is working against these obstacles and is fast becoming the world’s leading platform for gesture recognition. Rithmio’s platform, “integrates with motion-sensing devices such as wearables or connected clothing to learn, track and analyze gestures.” Jen Quinlan, the company’s VP of Marketing, notes, “With each generation of wearables, we’re seeing software get more computationally efficient, which extends battery life.  And we’re seeing batteries get more powerful, thus making possible new types of products.”

Quinlan noted other possible obstacles from a buyer-seller standpoint, “many people don’t want to buy another gadget, and tech that works across many body types is a very difficult challenge. Just think about wrist sizes and the variability across the entire human population. Or think about the unique nuances of how a hundred different people, of all builds and ages, walk. The human body has many variations, and that adds much complexity as to how wearable technology works on the people that wear it.”

This is why Quinlan agrees with Gauron around the importance of fiber technology for the future of wearables. “As hardware becomes more flexible and can be durable to sustain garment washing, we’ll see new applications of tech in clothing.”  Helping this process along?  Innovators working to solve technical challenges associated with “multi-sensor input,” paving the way for more meaningful wearables, as in “connected clothing.” For example, Quinlan cited retail associates, fitness coaches, and doctors as professionals who could take advantage of wearable tech to become more “mobile” in offering up their services conveniently and expediently. Imagine, for instance, a store associate working a cash register while handling customer questions — and needing an efficient way to request backup when the line doubles in length. With this scenario, Quinlan referenced companies such as Dallas-based Theatro that now provide wearable solutions for retail associates to help improve productivity on the store’s floor; the company recently partnered with sporting goods retailer Cabela’s to replace two-way radios with voice-controlled wearables.

Wearable Tech in Sports & Entertainment

As for physical fitness and sports, Quinlan says “As activity tracking wearables gain sophistication, coaching can take place anywhere. Imagine taking a group fitness class from home, where your wearables pass information to your trainer in another location to help give him or her insights on how well — or not! — you’re keeping up, and pushing yourself.”

And for health and medicine benefits, consider what your annual physical looks or feels like in the future: “Will you still have to go into a doctor’s office, or can you do it all via teleconferencing tools, coupled with medical-grade sensors in wearables?” challenges Quinlan. “Can the basic checkup be conducted from your living room?”

There’s even application for wearable tech in personal entertainment. Smart clothing will also become an important part of watching sports in the future. The NFL already uses wearable tech during training to monitor performance, and, according to Juniper Research, the league is now partnering with Microsoft and Zebra Technologies to “produce clothing tech will produce live visualizations of data and new ways for fans to understand each game.”

Someday, you may be able to charge your smartphone with your clothes. Flexible solar panels have inspired designers to come up with clothes and accessories that can power electronics.  And Industrial Designer Julianne Gauron takes it a step further. She is witnessing concepts in “white” biotechnology (a scientific term for “ultra-eco-friendly and bio-degradable”).  Mankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine for centuries, and the latest use in textiles is the kind of problem-solving that will move the wearable industry into the next millennium. “Biotech can reprogram bacteria to make it shrink,” Julianne said. “So biological material is less toxic for bodies and the environment. We already have bio-material for footwear, and can get bio-based beauty products. In the near future, we will be able to reset our own bio rather than fight it.”

Looking Ahead for Corporations and Start-ups

Needless to say, corporations and new start-ups have a huge opportunity in wearable technology. And although all of this forward movement sounds exhilarating, Gauron cautions innovators to consider thoughtfulness and quality: “Think big, but make sure you’re addressing needs! Or your business will not progress or succeed. How big? If I left this new product at home, would I go back for it? How far away would I drive before turning back for it? Most all of us would turnaround for our cell phone. What else can be that important? If it ends up in a drawer, it doesn’t solve a problem.”