Take two microchips and call me in the morning… One of the most useful applications for wearable tech is in the medical field. Basic smartwatches and fitness trackers can now monitor common health indicators such as heart rate and blood oxygen; a variety of rings and bands can do the same, as well as monitoring sleep stages, heart rate and respiration while in bed. Such devices can be an important first-line defence against catastrophic health conditions such as irregular heart rhythms, sleep apnea or even life-threatening allergic reactions. Because these devices collect important medical data around the clock without disturbing your sleep or your lifestyle, they can be an invaluable tool for early detection and intervention. CSA Online by James Dolan The Tech You Wear What you put on in the morning may soon change the way you live We often think about technology in terms of powerful computers and large-scale machines that help us perform important tasks. But that may be about to change. A new generation of technology which we can wear is changing the way we see, what we hear and how we interact with the world. Wearable technology has been around for a long time ‒ hearing aids, calculator wristwatches and even bifocal eyeglasses are all examples of well-known technologies that enhance human perceptions and make everyday life a little easier. But current advancements in connectivity, artificial intelligence and microprocessor capacity have combined to create an explosion of wearable tech that’s adding a lot more fashion to its function. In the years to come, instead of sitting down at your desk to access a computer or loading up an app on your phone, you may end up wearing that capability as a necklace, a wristband, or even a cool-looking leather jacket. Here’s a brief rundown of some of the most interesting, most promising areas of the new, fully wearable future. Jewellery that looks smart – and actually is smart Computer chips are getting smaller and cheaper, allowing designers to put them into regular-sized pieces of jewellery without compromising style. These small, fashionable devices offer high-tech capability in a discreet item that doesn’t even look like technology. You may have seen someone wearing a smart ring from Oura, Samsung or another manufacturer. Such jewellery connects to your phone to track your sleep patterns and monitor stress levels (via skin temperature, heart-rate variability and other measures of anxiety), along with other useful information. Smart necklaces offer similar capabilities, giving you the ability to track your heartbeat or even your daily UV exposure. Other versions allow you to quickly transmit your location to trusted contacts in case of an emergency. Connectivity for your eyes and ears Chances are that you know someone who owns a smartwatch or a version of Apple’s popular earbuds-style headphones. Smart glasses are the next iteration of this trend and have generated a similar “buzz” in the market. Meta’s smart glasses (designed in collaboration with eyewear companies RayBan and Oakley) allow you to take photos, capture video, send texts and chat with an AI assistant, all while looking impressively cool. Augmented reality glasses may soon be another step toward the fully connected future, overlaying digital information onto the real world for games or navigation. Such visors are bulky and cumbersome right now, but may well be integrated into “regular” glasses in the near future. Meanwhile, earbuds from Apple, Samsung and others are starting to offer additional capabilities. Real-time language translation might be the most exciting of these, allowing a person to speak in their language while you hear English in your ear. While these capabilities aren’t entirely accurate quite yet, the technology is improving rapidly ‒ within a few years, translators and language instructors may be looking for a different line of work! 46 | www.snowbirds.org
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