The Future of Wearable Technology

Look around today, and you’ll see a continuous parade of wearable technology. Devices like the Apple Watch, Fitbit, and VR headsets are everywhere. These devices offer a wide range of functionality, from checking your health to keeping in constant communication at the touch of a button. With all the innovations and possibilities that wearable tech promises, there seems to be a never-ending number of incredible products on their way. Here are a few you might have missed.

Project Jacquard

Project Jacquard is the exciting collaboration between Levi Strauss & Co. and Google to create a functional wearable garment for today’s on-the-go urban cyclist. Levi’s® Commuter™ Trucker Jacket combined with Project Jacquard by Google allows the wearer to program the jacket to accept gestures as an interface for their mobile devices. Fully washable (except for the cuff strap interface) and fashionable, this jacket could be the start of fully realized wearable tech with an eye on design. Imagine one day wearing a business suit that allows you to talk on the phone or use GPS with a gesture.

Athena

Athena Smart Safety Jewelry is a brilliant device to help keep women safe. This wearable tech is a panic button in the form of jewelry. When activated, Athena can produce an 85-decibal alarm (the equivalent of a freight train), which will also send a text to predetermined family or friends with the use of the app. The message will show your location, with directions, and allow them to call you or the police with this information. It is designed to be a flexible piece of jewelry that you can clip on a pocket or purse, or wear as a necklace. Partnerships with expert designers will allow Athena to provide fashionable protection for all walks of life. The device is a must-have for all women and is available for preorder on its website.

Invisibles, Ingestibles, and Implantables

Some of the most amazing wearable tech is being created and used in the medical field. Inventions like the PillCam and CorTemp are ingestible technology that record and monitor the body from the inside. Swallowing these devices can give more accurate, cheaper, and less invasive results for common medical procedures such as colonoscopies. But the really exciting “wearable” tech is being developed now by Qualcomm and Scripps. Embedded nanosensors – possibly the most incredible lifesaving wearable technology around – could one day provide internal data that could diagnose heart attacks or even detect cancer. This would be accomplished by injecting nanosensors into the patient that would lodge themselves inside the body, monitor the blood stream, and check for irregularities and markers related to life-threatening events.