Blog skyhook logo This Week In Wearable Technology: Enhancements in Safety

Feb 20, 2014 9:51:00 AM

This Week In Wearable Technology: Enhancements in Safety

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Wearable technology made a lot of noise at CES 2013 and many people are adopting smartwatches, smart glasses and fitness bands to track their daily activity, create new fitness goals and connect to their smartphones and apps. Wearables are integrating themselves across multiple industries, keeping the trend alive and offering many use cases for the new technology, including tracking statistics and enhancing the game for pro sports players and olympic athletes and helping doctors detect cancer.  

braceletsTo keep up with the wearable tech industry, you don’t have to scour the internet for the latest news: we’ve done all the legwork for you. Here’s what you need to know about the wearable technology industry this week:

location for wearables

1. The NBA's Development League Straps A Sensor Disc To Every Player

The NBA’s Development League (D-League) is embracing wearable technology on the court. A small one ounce disc will be attached to each player’s chest, gathering individual players’ biological statistics in real time.

The article provides a quote from D-League president Dan Reed: “Our goal is to help improve our players' performance and maximize their productivity on the court and help them live their dream of someday playing in the NBA".  

Read the full article on Fast Company >>

2. Glass Hits Operating Theater As Wearable Tech Boosts Cancer Surgery

This article discusses how wearable technology can advance the medical industry. Surgeons at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital use Google Glass during surgery, relying on the wearable technology voice control to provide patient records and to show MRI and X-ray information as they sliced out a tumor.

These doctors have even greater ambitions for wearable technology in the medical field. Dr. Szotek plans to use biological tracers that could help Glass actually go as far as to identify tumors from healthy tissue, saying, "This 'Star Trek'-style technology could really have a major impact on how we practice medicine".

Read the full article on Slash Gear >>

3. Your Constant Care Device

This article discusses the impact wearable technology has on consumer lifestyles and health. Medical and fitness wearables dominate the field of wearable technology, making up roughly 60% of the market in 2013. Wearable technology is being pushed beyond tracking to a place where biomedical data is readily available to care-givers, deliver personalized responses in real time.  

Wearable designers and manufacturers are striving to bring better health through wearable tech, turning their attention to a trend called Data-streamed care. The article concludes by stating that while an apple a day might keep the doctor away, a wearable health tracking device just might keep your doctor better informed about your true well being.

Read the full article at IQ Intel >>

4. Police Departments Have Their Eye On Google Glass

USA Today discusses the possibility of Police departments using Google Glass. New York City Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton says, "We're in the process of field-testing that technology in a variety of circumstances, seeing where — if useful — where it might be most useful, most beneficial”.

Eric Farris, a police sergeant with the Byron, Ga., police department has tested Glass and said he thinks it could serve as a tool to solve investigations.

Read the full article at USA Today >>

5. Wow of the Week: The quantified self goes to the Olympics

Learn how Olympic athletes used sensors, algorithms and data to get themselves in top shape for the event with this article.

The article includes an example of Olympic athletes from Canada relying on Hexoskin, a sensor-embedded shirt that records heart rate, breathing and movement, to monitor their training.

Read the full article at MEDCITY News >>

Takeaways:

The big themes of conversation in the wearable tech industry this week focused on medical enhancement wearables, wearables for pro sports players and Olympic athletes and safety enhancing wearables. These themes will continue to be prevalent throughout 2014 as wearable technology continues to grow within many different industries.