A data revolution sparked by big data is now underway, to uncover valuable information from immense amounts of information to develop smarter products that better meet users’ needs and resolve what was unsolvable in the past. The rise of wearable technology will be an important part of the big data revolution. Through collecting, organizing, and analyzing usage data from large volumes of users around the clock, products can communicate quickly and effectively. This may even reveal things which no one realizes to corporations so that they may remain one step ahead of competitors!
All major technology companies such as Apple, Samsung, and Google are competing against one another to launch smartwatches, glasses and so forth to tap into the enormous business potential of combining wearable technology with big data. For example, there will be more than US$300 billion in business potential in the US healthcare sector in the next 10 years alone! How will wearable technology and big data change our lives? Where does business potential lie? Let G!VOICE provide the answers!
Wearable Devices: Extensions of the Body
Why use wearable devices? Doesn’t a smart phone solve most of these demands? You may wonder about these questions. Though mobile devices are tightly connected to our lives and we take them almost everywhere, they are still distinctly separate from your body, like a laptop or simple mobile phone: these devices require you to input commands before operation. On the other hand, wearable devices form a more direct bond with our bodies in the form of watches, glasses, clothing, or even implanted chips as extensions of our bodies.
Under these premises, we discover certain characteristics of wearable devices: button-less input (control devices at any time through sound or movement), expanded reality (such as Google Glasses superimposing data and multimedia onto existing objects), linked sensors (reflecting health, location, and other information), and more.
▲A new product proposed by NEW DEAL DESIGN, UnderSkin , is a sensor implanted into the skin that completes functions such as electronic payments, opening locks, and tracking health data.
Devices More Intimate than Mobile Phones
Wearable technology extends information to all aspects of life, not just a screen. For example, wearable glasses merge the virtual world with reality, including everything you see as sources of information. You can locate online friends on the street, easily find the books you’re looking for in bookstores, or display information about objects in real life instantly. Also, the ever-popular watches and bracelets now allow users to monitor heartbeat, running speed, body temperature, and other details about one’s body. This provides significant health and medical benefits.
▲Wearable devices allow more comprehensive understanding and management of your body.
According to statistics from PricewaterhouseCoopers (pwc), approximately 20% of adults in the US own wearable devices. These devices are estimated to become more commonplace in the future. The industry is about to face another major change: the gaming industry is combining both virtual and reality approaches everywhere, the media and advertising industry are developing a variety of more expansive channels, while new sales channels and business opportunities are emerging in the retail industry. Records kept around the clock at different times, by different devices, with different functions extend Big Data’s feelers to every corner of life. Consumer data is collected nonstop, behaviors analyzed up close, and directly applied in everyday life.
Take shopping for example; a system may recommend items you purchase most frequently and applicable discounts based upon your purchase record history. One can even link to social sites to read reviews so that the consumer can make purchasing decisions quickly. Push the item online to invite friends to purchase the item too. Not only does this generate demand, it fortifies purchasing desire. After online shopping websites, wearable technology may become the best sales tool of this generation! Other applications include health management. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a sensor ingested by the human body. It is ingested via pill form, transmitting data such as heart rate, body positioning, and activity back to a mobile phone for subsequent treatment adjustment and observation.
The Practicality of Wearable Technology?
Sensing your body temperature and linking to your home to adjust the air conditioning, then making a cup of coffee at just the right time. Wearable technology will ultimately become more closely linked to the Internet of Things to provide increasingly more convenient services. So, will wearable devices replace your mobile phone in the future? Scientists hold differing opinions, but currently wearable devices still aim to supplement mobile phone functionality. In addition to Apple, various major technology manufacturers have also launched new wearable products this year. However, this trend does not seem to have taken off completely yet on the market. Even US consumers who have already purchased wearable devices stated that they used these devices infrequently after purchase. Improving practicality and integration of these devices into daily life are the most important challenges which wearable technology faces to day. If usage rates do not improve, the future development of combining wearable technology with big data may be nothing more than just talk.
References:
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