Other firms are keen to capitalise on this apparent opportunity to make consumers' lifestyles more convenient with a new range of wearable devices. Sony and Apple are among the other firms rumoured to be planning smart watch products.
However, to what extent can these smart watches be considered truly 'wearable'? Many of the products currently coming to the market are simply trying to offer smartphone capabilities in a much more limited form factor. And, as the display for text messages, emails and other notifications cannot wrap fully around the wrist, what can actually be delivered by the smaller, rigid screens available is limited. Therefore, current offerings are not giving a true picture of the potential of this emerging market, and are not doing the term 'wearable' justice.
From watches to clothing
The wearable electronics revolution logically progresses to integration directly into the clothing we wear every day, and clothing certainly plays a part in the future of wearable electronics. For instance, gowns, vests or smart patches for medical patient monitoring of vital signs; or fashion, where integrated electronics could communicate, help the wearer stand out, or allow for dynamic, changing styles. All of the above is being explored today by technology start-ups and multinational businesses alike.
There are already a number of companies moving these electronics directly into clothing. The world of fashion is taking a lead in experimenting and generating publicity in the process. Smart fashion has caught the eye of mainstream media much more over the last year. Pop group the Black Eyed Peas recently completed a world tour in which lead singer Fergie wore a dress covered in OLED lighting panels, supplied by Philips.
Singer Katy Perry is another to sport electronic clothing, wearing a colour-changing LED dress to an awards ceremony. The dress was designed by CuteCircuit, a UK company established to commercialise 'smart textile' concepts. CuteCircuit has been designing dresses featuring wearable technology for a number of years. The company's best-known designs include a dress studded with LEDs that allow it to change colour and reflect the mood of the wearer; and a 'Twitter dress', which links to a mobile device and is able to display status updates from social media sites, using integrated LEDs woven into the fabric.
Wearables for wellbeing
Health and wellbeing applications in particular lend themselves to electronics in garments. There is already a growing market for fitness-related devices, such as wrist-worn monitors of biometric signals like the Fitbit. These devices allow the wearer to track activity such as steps taken and the restfulness of sleep, building towards an overall picture of their health. With consumers already showing an interest in such technology, more sophisticated versions, integrated directly and inconspicuously in clothing or accessories, could open the market further.
Big-name firms see these opportunities in wearables. Adidas was one of the first companies to make a move into wearables, acquiring electronics firm Textronics in 2008.The sportswear firm then launched the miCoach system: a clip-on control unit that collects data and provides audible coaching, with the option to couple with a complementary range of sports bras and vests to monitor heart rate as part of the data collection.
Many companies are looking to establish the use of wellbeing monitoring wearables in athletics first. Athletics provides a scenario where low-volume, premium devices will gain the exposure needed to capture the attention of High Street sportswear manufacturers, leading to higher volume markets.
For example, Massachusetts-based start-up mc10 was formed in 2008 to commercialise conformable electronics technology. The company's approach takes high-performance semiconductors and integrates them into elastic substrates, like silicones and plastics, linked up by proprietary interconnect and packaging technology.
The US start-up has also been working with sports clothing manufacturer Reebok, to develop a helmet that can be worn in sporting events. The device detects blows to the head and feeds back to the sidelines regarding impact, which coaches and medical staff can then use to gauge whether a substitution or treatment is necessary.
Elyse Kabinoff, marketing and communications manager at mc10, comments: 'A heavy impact to the head can cause concussion, if not more serious damage. mc10's technology will allow team members to see whether an impact has occurred and how heavy it was, and help them decide whether a player should be rested, and checked. The helmet can be used in all sports.'
Developments in athletics provide a good indication of the opportunities for wellbeing-related wearables and, with big-name sportswear brands involved, future commercial impact could be significant.
With access to conformal, flexible electronics, wellbeing applications could be more readily achieved. Clip-on and rigid devices could be replaced by wraparound, discreet wristbands taking the trend for Fitbit-style devices further. Product developers would have some of the core components needed to produce a range of sportswear with seamlessly integrated sensors. Entire ranges of sportswear could gather a host of complementary data, synced in one easy-to-use online interface.
The applications for such technology in the medical field are also incredibly diverse. Spanish firm Nuubo has trialled its wearable electronic vests in hospitals, to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on patients. The Madrid-based company's shirts have been trialled for European and US market certification. The Nuubo system centres on medical quality electrocardiogram, heart rate and activity monitors. Beyond medical facilities, such sensing clothing could combine monitors of a patient's health with GPS to locate those recovering at home and alert healthcare providers in case of emergency.
The US army Medical Research and Material Command Office has led a research project into a wear-and-forget sensing system woven into soldier's underwear. Gel-free sensors form an electronic network within the fabric to monitor heart rate, respiration, activity, temperature and posture, and relay it to a central system. The technology would allow commanders to identify casualties, monitor combat, train and identify healthy soldiers for missions. The garments are comfortable, allowing soldiers to carry out missions without interference.
Novelty
Electronics in garments also have potential that reaches beyond these markets,
expanding into leisure and novelty consumer items. In 2012, UK mobile phone
provider Orange backed a T-shirt design which used piezoelectrics to provide
charge to a mobile phone. The clothing would use sound waves, the idea being
that wearers could charge mobile devices at a festival or anywhere without a
plug-in point. While the panel would not be washable, it would be removable,
allowing for washing.
Similar to the Orange T-shirt, the Electronic Drum Machine shirt from ThinkGeek includes different pads that will allow for nine different drum kits to be played. Users are able to record up to three minutes of sound and play it back through an amp, which can be connected to the shirt via a jack plug. The electronics are removable, allowing easy washing of the shirt.
Wearables toolkit
To fully realise the potential of wearable electronics, a toolkit of robust,
flexible components will be needed. Current approaches, such as a rigid device
fitted into a wristband, could progress to fully integrated, conformal
products. Thanks to the progress being made by technology developers, various
elements wearable electronic of this flexible electronics toolkit are now close
to market, as developers partner with high-profile brand owners and
manufacturers on product designs.
One company developing such flexible technology is Plastic Logic. Once known for its work in the early e-reader market, the UK company has successfully refocused to being a technology provider that works with partners to enable multiple end applications. The company has demonstrated an array of such applications for robust, flexible displays, in everything from smartphone accessories to large-area digital signage.
The company has a production facility in Dresden, Germany, delivering flexible displays using organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) at high yields. These backplanes have been produced containing 1.2 million transistors. Displays have been tested extensively for bendability, among other relevant features for robust and potentially wearable electronics.
Based on this expertise, Plastic Logic is now working with big-name firms in consumer electronics and other fields on a number of commercial demonstrator projects for wearable devices. The company has already demonstrated the potential of genuinely flexible displays in a device that included colour layers and a completely flexible substrate wrapped around a wrist.
Many other exciting developments are underway to realise the flexible electronics needed for truly wearable devices. The first generation of smart watches may fall short as a demonstration of what wearable electronics can achieve, but they have proved a consumer appetite for wearable electronics. With some commercial launches on the horizon, a revolution of truly wearable electronics could soon be underway.
Flexible electronics would help transform accessories like smart watches into conformal, convenient, all-in-one devices.
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