Early Wearable Concepts: From eyeglasses to pocket watches
Early wearable concepts can be traced back centuries, with eyeglasses and timekeeping devices representing significant milestones. Eyeglasses, the earliest wearable technology, were invented around 1286 in Italy. Some credit Salvino D’Armate, a Florentine, with the invention of eyeglasses.
Pocket watches emerged in the 1500s, with German inventor Peter Henlein creating small watches worn as necklaces. A century later, pocket watches grew in popularity as waistcoats became fashionable for men. John Harrison’s invention of the pocket watch was a practical marine chronometer, a clock needed to determine a ship’s longitude. Wristwatches were created in the late 1600s but were worn mostly by women as bracelets. Aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont commissioned Louis Cartier to manufacture a small timepiece with a wristband to keep his hands free for piloting, pioneering the modern use of the wristwatch.
Calculator Watches and Radios: The emergence of portable technology in the mid-20th century
The mid-20th century saw the rise of portable technology, with calculator watches and portable radios emerging as popular gadgets. Calculator watches, digital watches with a built-in calculator, were first introduced in the 1970s but gained peak popularity in the 1980s. While Pulsar introduced the first calculator watch in 1975, Casio’s C-80 in 1980 set the tone for future designs.
Despite their thickness and tiny buttons requiring a stylus, early calculator watches from Pulsar (then a brand of Hamilton Watch Company) were impressive. Hewlett-Packard (HP) also entered the market in 1977 with the HP-01, available in gold and stainless steel. Although early models were expensive novelties, mass-produced calculator watches appeared in the early 1980s, with Casio becoming a dominant brand. Casio’s Databank calculator watch could perform calculator functions and store appointments, names, addresses, and phone numbers. The Casio CA-50, featured in movies like Back to the Future II and III, became a popular model.
However, the calculator watch’s popularity faded in the mid-1990s due to the introduction of cheaper mobile phones and PDAs. Today, calculator watches are collector’s items, with certain models commanding high prices in the used market.
Roulette Predictors and Gambling Aids: Wearable tech with ill intentions
One of the earliest documented uses of wearable technology involved attempts to gain an unfair advantage in casinos. In 1961, mathematicians Edward Thorp and Claude Shannon created a wearable computer designed to predict the outcome of roulette games. This device, small enough to fit in a shoe, used timing to predict where the ball would land, purportedly increasing the wearer’s chances of winning by as much as 44%. Thorp also disclosed a similar system for beating the Wheel of Fortune gambling game.
Keith Taft followed this approach in 1972, designing a 15-pound computer called “George” to aid in blackjack card counting. Operated by Taft’s toes, “George” proved less successful, leading to Taft’s retirement from its use after losing $4000 in a weekend. At least by 1983, Taft was selling Z-80 based shoe-computers with special software for card-counting in blackjack.
Another system used a radio link between a data taker and a bettor. The data-taker used the computer to predict the roulette wheel, then whispered the prediction via radio link to the bettor’s hearing-aid radio-receiver.
These early attempts at using wearable technology for gambling purposes highlight the innovative, albeit sometimes ethically questionable, applications of these devices. Casinos began prohibiting their use.
The 1980s Vision: The Terminator movie motivates the creation of wearable computer displays
The 1984 film The Terminator significantly impacted the vision of future technology, particularly wearable computer displays. The movie’s depiction of a cyborg with augmented reality readouts overlaid on its vision captured the imagination of technologists and inspired the development of real-life counterparts.
In the film, the Terminator’s point-of-view shows a world enhanced with meta-information, a concept that motivated efforts to create augmented reality overlays for everyday life. While the film uses the Terminator’s red glowing cyborg eyes to achieve this effect, companies have worked on perfecting augmented reality technology that would allow people to access added information in their field of vision without needing a robot brain.
Although augmented reality overlays haven’t fully caught on yet, wearable tech devices like Fitbits and Apple Watches offer glimpses of how seamlessly helpful technology can be integrated into our lives. The Terminator franchise, with its dark vision of a possible future, helped bring advanced technological concepts into common parlance. The idea of Skynet becoming self-aware has become a central metaphor for technology going awry and outsmarting its creators. The film serves as a reminder of the potential dangers of unchecked technological advancement.
DARPA’s “Wearables in 2005” Workshop: The focus on computerized clothing and body-mounted cameras
In July 1996, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hosted a “Wearables in 2005” workshop, bringing together industry, university, and military experts to collaborate on delivering computing to individuals. The main focus of this workshop revolved around computerized clothing and body-mounted cameras.
The workshop envisioned the future of wearable technology and explored new hardware, technologies, and studies. Boeing hosted a follow-up conference, and plans to create an academic conference on wearable computing were finalized. This led to the first IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC) in October 1997, co-hosted by Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, and Georgia Tech. The symposium covered topics from sensors and new hardware to applications for wearable computers, drawing 382 attendees.
DARPA also initiated the Smart Modules Program in 1994 to develop a modular approach to wearable and carryable computers, aiming for military and commercial applications, including computers, radios, navigation systems, and human-computer interfaces . However, the rapid evolution of mobile phones briefly overshadowed the wearables market .
The Rise of Fitness Trackers: Fitbit and the quantified self-movement
Fitbit emerged as a pioneer in the fitness tracker market, significantly impacting how individuals monitor their activity levels and health metrics 4. Founded in 2007 by James Park and Eric Friedman, Fitbit aimed to place tracking sensors, inspired by those in the iPhone, into a smaller, wearable package .
The company launched at the TechCrunch 50 conference in 2008 and received over 2,000 pre-orders after initially expecting only 50 . Fitbit spent the first two years increasing production to meet the high demand . By 2011, Fitbit had become a national brand in the US, surpassing its competitors .
Key Fitbit Milestones:
- 2009: The Fitbit Classic, a clip-on device with wireless syncing, was launched . This device tracked movement, sleep, and calorie burn .
- 2011: The Fitbit Ultra was released, featuring an altimeter to track stairs climbed, a digital clock, and sleep tracking .
- 2012: Fitbit began offering activity trackers, along with a website and mobile app for iOS, Android and Windows 10 Mobile 2. Fitbit Zip, a clip on as small as a quarter, also launched .
- 2013: Fitbit launched the Flex, which could track movement 24 hours a day. Also in 2013, Fitbit launched a fitness tracker with a heart-rate sensor and later added sensors to track EDA, temperature, sleep, and menstrual cycle .
- 2017: Fitbit released its first fully-fledged smartwatch, the Fitbit Ionic .
- 2018: Fitbit Charge 3 was introduced. It was the first device to feature an oxygen saturation (SPO2) sensor .
Fitbit’s success contributed to the rise of the “quantified self” movement, where individuals use technology to track and analyze various aspects of their daily lives, including physical activity, sleep patterns, and dietary habits . The brand was acquired by Google in January 2021 and absorbed into its hardware division . As of August 2024, Google is discontinuing Fitbit’s smartwatches and focusing on the Pixel Watch line, but the Fitbit brand will remain on trackers and apps .
Smartwatches Emerge: Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Apple Watch
The early 2010s saw the rise of smartwatches, with the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Apple Watch leading the charge . These devices represented a significant step in wearable technology, offering functionalities beyond basic timekeeping .
Samsung Galaxy Gear:
- Samsung’s first foray into the smartwatch world began in 2013 with the Galaxy Gear 2. While not bearing the “Watch” name, it laid the foundation for the brand’s smartwatches .
- The Galaxy Gear featured a 1.63-inch AMOLED display and ran a custom version of Android . It allowed users to make calls, set alarms, check the weather with their voice, and schedule events .
- The watch also had a 1.9MP camera on the strap for taking photos and short videos .
The first Samsung Gear watches included:
- 2013: Galaxy Gear
- 2014: Gear 2, Gear Live, and Gear S
- 2015: Gear S2
- 2016: Gear S3
- 2017: Gear Sport
Apple Watch:
- While Samsung released their smartwatch in 2013, Apple entered the market in 2015, helping to further popularize the smartwatch category.
- The Apple Watch focused on fitness tracking, mobile communication, and health features, which helped define the modern smartwatch’s role in daily life.
These smartwatches paved the way for future innovations, integrating health monitoring, smartphone notifications, and app ecosystems into a compact, wearable device. The Samsung Gear line later evolved into the Galaxy Watch series, with models like the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch6, continuing to innovate with features like blood pressure monitoring and improved BioActive sensors . Samsung eventually rebranded their smartwatches, fitness bands, and earbuds under the Galaxy name .
Advanced Sensors and MEMS Devices: Materials enabling wireless communication for wearable electronics
Wearable devices like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart clothing rely on advanced sensors, including Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), to function effectively . Critical success factors for MEMS sensors in wearables include precise measurement accuracy across changing environments and minimal power consumption . These sensors measure physical quantities on the user or their surrounding environment .
MEMS sensors enhance wearable performance by providing capabilities like:
- Precise positioning and localization
- Comprehensive health and fitness tracking
- Intuitive gesture detection
- Ultra-compact air quality monitoring
Examples of Bosch Sensortec MEMS sensors include:
- Smart, programmable IMUs (inertial measurement units) for device orientation, gesture/activity detection, fitness tracking, and position localization .
- Low-power IMUs for motion, orientation, multi-tap detection, context, and activity recognition .
- Tiny magnetometers enabling highly accurate absolute orientation for outdoor and indoor navigation .
- Micro-sized accelerometers with integrated functionalities like step counter and generic interrupts .
Advances in communication technologies support the current generation of wearable sensing services . Wireless technologies used in these networks can be of two types: radiofrequency-based wireless body area network (RF-WBAN), and nonradiofrequency-based wireless body area networks (non-RF-WBAN) . In the first group (RF-WBAN), technologies include Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy, Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.6 WBAN, near-field communication (NFC), as well as proprietary protocols such as Sensium and ANT . NFC is mostly used as a contactless payment sensor over short distances (less than 10 cm) .
Wearable Technology Today: The market’s meteoric rise and staggering revenues
The wearable technology market has experienced a meteoric rise, becoming a significant segment of the electronics industry. In 2024, the wearable technology market was estimated at $180.70 billion . It is expected to reach $219.30 billion in 2025 . Projections estimate the market will reach $415.12 billion by 2029 . The wearable technology market is forecasted to grow by USD 99.4 billion from 2025 to 2029 .
This growth is projected to continue, with forecasts estimating the market size to reach $493.26 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 17.60% . Another report anticipates the market to be worth USD 688,056.87 million in 2030.
Key players in this market include Apple Inc., Samsung Group, Xiaomi Inc., Fitbit Inc., and Sony Corporation . The global wearable technology market is segmented by product type, material, and end-user, with North America currently holding the largest market share due to high adoption rates and technological innovation . The healthcare segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period .
Future Trends: Potential for further integration of health monitoring and personalized data
The future of wearable technology points towards greater integration of health monitoring capabilities and personalized data analysis . Wearables are moving beyond basic activity tracking to become comprehensive health monitoring devices, offering real-time healthcare measurements through advanced biometric sensors 2.
Key trends and innovations include:
- Health and Wellness Monitoring:
- Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM): Wearables will be capable of continuously monitoring blood glucose levels, which will be a game-changer for individuals with diabetes .
- Advanced Biometrics: Devices will measure a range of biomarkers, including hydration levels, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation, giving users a holistic view of their health . Smart rings already track blood pressure.
- Mental Health Monitoring: Wearables will monitor mental health indicators like stress levels, mood, and sleep patterns, offering insights and interventions to improve mental well-being .
- Integration with AI and Machine Learning:
- Personalized Insights: AI-driven analytics will provide users with personalized health and fitness recommendations based on their unique data patterns .
- Predictive Health Alerts: Machine learning algorithms will predict potential health issues before they become serious, allowing for proactive healthcare interventions .
- Integration with Healthcare Systems: Data collected by wearables can be shared with healthcare providers, making them essential tools for patient monitoring, especially for managing chronic conditions and providing care to patients in remote areas .
- Smart Rings and Jewelry: Smart rings offer a discreet way to track sleep patterns, heart rate, and activity levels, with potential for more sophisticated features like gesture control and biometric authentication . They offer an alternative to bulky fitness trackers .
- Implantable Wearables: These devices, surgically implanted beneath the skin, offer continuous health monitoring and potential therapeutic applications for managing chronic conditions and delivering medication .
- Smart Clothing and Textiles: Integration of technology into clothing could revolutionize industries like fashion, sports, and healthcare . Imagine shirts that adjust temperature, or socks that monitor foot health .
Wearable technology is reshaping healthcare by enabling continuous monitoring of physical activity, health, and vital signs . The future involves more accurate measurements of physical status and physiological parameters, influencing prevention, diagnosis, and disease management . Wearables can reduce emergency room visits by allowing for timely medical responses driven by real-time data .
As the healthcare landscape shifts towards preventive care, wearables will play a pivotal role in enabling timely interventions and improving patient outcomes . The continued evolution of wearable technology promises to enhance personal health management and revolutionize healthcare delivery, making it more accessible and efficient .
FAQ: The Evolution of Wearable Technology
- Q: What’s considered the earliest form of wearable tech?
- A: Eyeglasses and pocket watches are considered early examples, dating back to the 13th and 16th centuries, respectively.
- Q: Were there any ethically questionable early uses of wearable tech?
- A: Yes! In the mid-20th century, people attempted to make money by creating wearable computers to use as gambling aids and roulette predictors in casinos.
- Q: What movie inspired the creation of computer displays?
- A: The 1984 film The Terminator inspired much of the interest in creating wearable computer displays.
- Q: What was significant about the Fitbit’s arrival on the scene?
- A: The Fitbit popularized fitness tracking and contributed to the rise of the “quantified self” movement. It made activity and sleep tracking accessible to a wide audience.
- Q: When did smartwatches really start to emerge?
- A: The early 2010s, with the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Apple Watch being key players.
- Q: What’s the difference between MEMS sensors and advanced sensors in wearables?
- A: Advanced sensors is a more generalized term and MEMS are a type of sensor. MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) are tiny, highly specialized sensors that allow wearables to accurately measure things like motion, orientation, pressure, and environmental conditions. They’re the “how” behind many advanced wearable features.