Ch 57. Wearables

Chapter Overview: The concept of wearable technology is by no means new; it has featured in science fiction media for close to a century - from wrist-worn communicators, through x-ray spectacles to 'cybernetic brain implants'. As early as 1931, the US newspaper Detroit Mirror included a comic strip, Dick Tracey, whose eponymous character used and wore technology that we would recognize today.

It took Moore’s law, miniaturization of electronics, introduction of micro-sensors and scales of economy to up to the millenium to get industry to a point where wearables became technologically and commercially viable.

In this chapter we trace back the origins of wearables, provide a general overview of wearables and look into the design and design challenges of wearables.

In Section 1 we start with an overview of the history wearables, highlighting the importance of preceding consumer electronics technologies.

Section 2 provides a general description of wearable products and the wearables market.

Sections 3 through 10 give details of Wearables Architecture, Sensors, Power, Screens, Video & Audio, Wireless, Privacy and the Future.

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