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Wearables: The Technology of Now
This essay will be split up into two different parts. Part 1 will discuss the answers to the
question: What happens after the smartphone? It is believed that wearables will be the next
technology craze that will become popular in developed countries, and part 1 will discuss the
various different kinds of wearables that companies are producing. Part 2 however, will connect
these new pieces of technology to the standard of living for those in both developed and
developing countries.
Part 1: What Happens After the Smartphone?
Now almost halfway into 2016, a new first-world question is being asked when it comes
to technology: what happens after the smartphone? While the answers are sometimes hidden
within in upcoming trends, one generation in particular seems to be the most knowledgeable.
Technology really began to advance at the boom of the millennial generation, and this age group
is growing up during some of the most significant and influential developments in technology. It
has impacted their way of life and standard of living in a way no other generation has been
affected. There is no surprise that the millennial generation is constantly on top of what
technology trends will sweep the nation. The newest trend they are beginning to adapt into their
everyday lives is wearable technology.
The beginning of this spike in popularity of wearable technology can easily be pinpointed
to the invention of the Fitbit in 2007. Fitbit was designed as a fitness tracker to advance the
consumers experiences to fitness and health through wireless technology. Essentially a plastic
box with the power to track users steps, calories burned, miles walked, heart rate, and other
criteria regarding health and fitness aspects, the device also connected to the users phones.
When purchasing the wearable, users also gain access to the app, which allows them to track all
of the fitness aspects, as well as see and compete with other users (however it also holds the
capability to have the privacy settings adjusted). When Fitbit addressed the TechCrunch 50
conference in 2008, the founders James Park and Eric Friedman hoped to get 50 pre-orders. In
fact, in one day, they took in 2,000 orders (Marshall, 2015).
However, it was not just the new trend in the US, Fitbits soon became a global trend.
Fitbit revenues totaled $745.4 million in 2014 alone, and in a third quarter of 2015, Fitbit
brought in $409.3 million, compared to $152.9 million in the same quarter in 2014. It is quickly
gaining strength, especially having a $4.1 billion IPO in 2015, as well as spending the year as the
worlds number one purveyor of wearables, shipping over 18 million fitness trackers in the
calendar year (Marshall, 2015). Fitbit overall brought in a profit of $389.9 million in 2015, with
expectations of raising to $400-$480 million in revenue for 2016 (Samson, 2016). Lets also
remember that Fitbit has yet to release a new product to its line of production, it has only
enhanced its single product. With the gadget going global, the company was able to gather a vast
amount of data and create an Activity Index. Fitbit is able to break up information by different
sub-groups, specifically by age and country location, then by most popular activities. For
example, running was ranked #1 most popular activity for millennias in the US, Canada,
Australia, as well as the United Kingdom, with the #2 spot alternating between biking and
strength training. This allows users and businesses in the health and fitness to segment their
markets in more specific ways. Through Fitbits Activity Index, they are also able to predict the
trends to watch, as they have found over the last four years that their users typically can show
what exercises are declining, which may be the next big trend in fitness, and even what may be
the next big trend in wearable technology.
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Fitness trackers are not the only popular gadgets in this new market segment for the
technology industry. Fitness trackers represented the first wave of wearable devicesbut
theres only so much real estate on the wrist or hip. So its only natural that smart watches would
co-opt that usage case, states Growler in an interview for CNET. Smart watches are easily the
next step up when it comes to innovation for this industry. Users are wanting more than just
being able to track their fitness, they want the ability to have computer capabilities, all available
on their wrists. Apple is the largest producer satisfying customers new desires to enhance their
wrist technology, with some of the largest sales in the world for their smart watches. It is
estimated that 17.1 million smart watches shipped globally last year, and the Apple Watch
accounted for 51.5% of those shipments. (Chmielewski, 2016.)
Apples smart watch is supposedly believed to be the gadget that sets the standard for
future technology gadgets, and redefine what people expect from its category, states Tim Cook
(Phillips, 2014). Apple describes their new product as an experience instead of a product. It
provides all the same capabilities as a phone, minus a camera. It is built to be a mini computer
that you can easily take with you everywhere, that also gives the sense of luxury. It possesses a
state-of-the-art activity-tracking system, that not only calculates your daily calorie burn, but how
active youve been, and also can interact with the user better.
Although many consumers ask the question: What makes this device different from a
mini computer or smart phone? Wearable technology is much more personal. The gadgets are
meant to interact with the user, not just track their motions and what the user imputes into the
device. Apple has succeeded with taking over as top seller for their smart watches, and has
already begun to create the design for the second version.
However, it is here that companies are at a standstill when it comes to innovating this
market segment. Consumers are hungry for more of these futuristic technology advancements,
but companies are struggling to find a better placement for a wearable besides a users wrist.
Google seems to be taking the lead in terms of creating new ways for consumers to wear
technology besides in a piece of jewelry. They are attempting to adapt their technology into
glasses, an undertaking titled Project Glass, which is gaining publicity in the United States for a
second time around.
Project Glass was a very difficult project for Google to implement. These smart glasses
gained very significant publicity during the beginning processes, especially being named one
Best Inventions of the Year by Time Magazine, as well as receiving a 12-page spread in Vogue
Magazine. It was without a doubt that consumers had high expectations for this new gadget.
However, the public gained insight on the project Google Glass, years before Google had wanted
to disclose it. The smart glasses they were creating still had numerous glitches and issues that
needed to be fixed before the product could actually be distributed to consumers. In 2014,
Google abruptly announced that it was terminating its Glass Explorer program. It has largely
been reported as the death knell for Glass. But maybe it is not. (Bilton, 2015). Indeed, it was not.
Google has released the statement early in 2016, which they will be graduating from their
testing grounds on Google Glass 2. They are disclosing nothing, and all work is top-secret, but
theories on what the technology will include are processing chips, removing Texas Instruments
and instead using an Intel processor, and that the display element will be larger, and be able to
move both vertically and horizontally, making it easier for users to focus in on their surroundings
(Oliver, 2015).
Google has however, begun revealing their newest partnership with Levis in their
undertaking, Project Jacquard. This project features conductive threads, specifically modified
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through Levis, paired with the high-end technology from Google. Project Jacquard is to be
looked at as a blank canvas for the fashion industry, as it offers new possibilities for interacting
with services, devices and environments. This is especially important, because unlike other types
of wearables, it can be reconfigured at any time ([Link], 2014). Other clothing items are
already being offered to consumers in todays market, but in reality they are simply just another
version of a Fitbit, just in running pants. So what makes Google and Levis undertaking so
special?
The collaborative product these two companies have created are special due to the
conductive thread they are using within the material. They two partners are able to combine
different types of yarn to ensure that this Jacquard thread is indistinguishable from any other
types in regular clothing, but has the power to change the way our society interacts through
technology. The companies have created techniques to make the interactions be discreet as
possible, but hold great power. While there is little being disclosed from the companies, many
consumers have predicted that not only will the clothes be able to sync up with users applications
on their mobile phones, but also eventually be able to have the power to charge their different
gadgets, all from having them in their pockets. Bloomberg also predicts that since textiles
include blankets, curtains, sofa cushions and automobile seats, that fabric is not just limited to
clothes. This offers limitless possibilities to this industry for more innovative and creative ideas.
They are predicting that Project Jacquard will quickly enlist a partner that can apply the
technology to furnishings than just apparel.
To the millennial generation, the term wearable to describe these interacting technology
gadgets is a brand new, innovative idea. However, wearables have been around long before the
idea of the Fitbit. While prosthetics lacked the term wearable on their packaging, that is exactly
what this wearable, user-interactive technology is and has been for numerous years. While
prosthetics are limited to a smaller target market than fitness trackers, smart watches, and
interactive textiles, recent discoveries and adaptions to prosthetics have rarely gotten the
attention in the media. With all of the innovative thinking in terms of wearables for social and
fitness aspects, what if these technology experts focused their time on reinventing prosthetics,
and other types of wearable technology that could influence the lives of people in ways other
than through their social media accounts or how many calories they have burned. If technology
has had the power to change the lives of millennias, imagine the power this machinery could
have if it was directed at creating a better standard of living for the people in developing areas of
the world.
Designers have the power to create something deeper and more meaningful than just
these glamorous gadgets that have swept the worlds attention. With the bottom of the pyramid
holding a potential market of 4 billion people, it would be a poor decision to not include these
people into the dynamics when it comes to developing their technology. While companies can
adapt their products to these markets, they first must adapt their strategies. The bottom of the
pyramid holds different needs than developed countries. Not only is the cost structure a major
factor when it comes to developing technology for this market, but also reinventing a piece of
technology to make a large influence in these peoples lives. The market at the bottom of the
pyramid is not as interested in counting calories and monitoring their heart rate, but they are
interested in making their lives easier and more efficient. Developing technology to fit this new
market could be the next step in answering the question What happens after the smartphone?
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Part 2: Redefining Standards of Living Through Wearable Technology
It is without a doubt that technology is consuming the lives of people of all ages, over all
parts of the world. Technology seems to always be adapting, increasing the effectiveness and
efficiency of work, communication, and even happiness in individuals. Technology is an
extremely dynamic industry, because there is always a way to adapt it to improve the way the
gadget is supposed to perform. However, it is now that many companies are at a standstill in
deciding which direction technology should be driven.
If examined closely, one can easily see that while technology has had a very influential
presence over the last five years, it has impacted mostly the individuals coming from an already
developed country. In developed countries, the sole reason for these technological gadgets
existence is based off consumers wants not needs. Many of the products produced by companies
were created solely for consumers pleasure, not to improve their standard of living. If
technology has had the power to make this large of an influence just based off increasing
customers pleasure, imagine the power it could withhold if it was used to solve customers
needs. If companies held this mindset when adapting their technology, they would be able to
open their product lines in new segments for developed countries, but they also would have the
possibility to tailor their products towards the 4 billion consumers at the bottom of the pyramid.
The strategy companies need to become aware in order to gain this mindset, is understanding the
the difference of the Symbolic Value rather than the Use Value (Sethi, 1989). Companies
need to use the new advertising strategy that has consumers ask how this product improve ones
standard of living, versus what does owning this state-of-the-art piece of technology symbolize?
Prosthetics, the original wearable, have taken on many innovations and adaptations in the
last decade, that are truly changing the standard of living for patients living with amputated
limbs. Some of the more basic adaptations have been using carbon fiber within the prosthetic,
making the material more life-like, and giving amputees more comfort and confidence by
allowing them to feel a sense of life in their foot. Thermoplastic sockets have also been added to
common prosthetics, which allow better comfort at the site of where the prosthesis is fitted.
These sockets are also made with titanium to give the prosthetic a longer life and better
durability.
Aside from the basic modifications to prosthetics, designers are currently adapting these
robotic wonders through the use of different types of technology within the device. Bluetooth is
one of the major new improvements that have been added, especially to artificial legs. This
addition allows the prosthetics to communicate with one another, which better enhances the
patients stride, pressure and speed when using the prosthetic legs. Ryan Blanck, prosthetist at
the Center for Prosthetics and Orthotics at Brooke Army Medical Center in Ft. Sam Houston,
Texas, is the programmability of the Bluetooth software. We can take that technology an further
develop it to adjust to a patients needs, states Blanck ([Link], 2012).
Microprocessors have also been added to prosthetics, typically for patients with above-knee
amputations. With the uses of these minicomputers in the robotic devices, doctors and patients
now have the ability to analyze key traits of the prosthetic such as how much pressure the patient
is putting on the missing limb, the fluid control unit, and joint resistance for when patients are
walking on an incline.
However, Myoelectric technology is one of the most useful advances to prosthetics when
discovered in 2007. Myoelectric technology is essentially muscle sensors placed against the skin
at the site of the amputation. This technology holds the capability of sending electric signals
from the muscle to the microprocessor found in the device. This technology allows the patient
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greater control in everyday functions, which originally past prosthetics were not able to conduct,
such as opening aluminum cans. Through Myoelectric technology, a new surgical technique has
been developed to further improve prosthetics for patients. Targeted Muscle Reinnervation
(TMR) is one of the more intensive and exciting adaptions to prosthetics, as it is technology that
allows users to control their device with their mind. This is accomplished by transferring arm
nerves remaining after an amputation to target chest or upper arm muscles through a surgical
procedure. (Kulken, Li, Lock, Lipschultz, Miller, Stubblefield, Englehart, 2009). For example, a
prosthetic arm is designed to interact with the nerves located in the users chest through a
microprocessor. When the user wants to convey an action, they think about the action, which
prompts the nerves in the chest to react. That reaction sends a message to a microprocessor in the
robotic limb, which then performs the action ([Link], 2012.) The TRM technique
has been proven successful in artificial arms and shoulders specifically. However, there are four
phases in this process, and one cannot reverse the surgery. There are also limited prosthetist that
specialize in this option, and many of them are in the Chicago area. Due to these factors, only 35
people in the world with TMR prosthetics.
While the technology within prosthetics is improving, this is also an industry that can be
predetermined to better fit the bottom of the pyramid. With the new scientific discoveries that
make these wearables more efficient, the older styles and technological framework that makes up
these devices can easily be implemented into lower-income areas of the world. The older models
are now much cheaper to for companies based in developed countries to produce, and the
demand has decreased due to the greater symbolic value they possess. However, to the
developed areas of the world, these people are still looking for products to satisfy their needs, not
their wants, making them a perfect market to implement the old prosthetics on.
One of the organizations that have succeeded in implementing this mindset into their
company, is Bhagwan Maaveer Viklang Saayata Samiti (BMVSS), providing the well-known
Jaipur Foot. This is the worlds largest organization for the disabled, and offered artificial limbs
free of charge. BMVSS is partnered with multiple universities around the world (mostly in the
USA and India), to gain the best technological knowledge to better improve their products. They
have forged a partnership with Stanford University in California, which is by far their most
successful partnership. The prosthetics they provide are light and mobile, but still lack many of
the incredible features that new models in developed countries possess. BVMSS also only offers
a handful of artificial limbs to offer free of charge, which poses a problem for those that have
rare or complex disabilities.
While the BMVSS is taking the steps in the right direction, there are many more
challenges in offering these products to lower-income areas of the world. Knowing a cultures
traditions and policies are very important factors that largely influence what type of technology
the society is ready. Some countries may not be legally permitted to allow specific technological
advances into their societies. Traditions play a major role in this as well, as some traditions are
not as accepting to someone with a defect such as a missing limb. The issue of children with
birth defects also becomes another problem. It is easy for children to grow out of their prosthetic
if one was needed in the early stages of their developmental phases. With the average monthly
income of a family at the bottom of the pyramid being less than five U.S. dollars, it would be
nearly impossible to provide another artificial limb for their child. Businesses must be able to
take that issue into consideration, because adults would not be the only one needing their product
in this market.
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Prosthetics is not the only way wearable technology is improving the standard of living
for people around the world. The Fitbit is taking on a new sustainable form, which holds the
power to impact the standard of living for individuals in developing countries. One version is
created by UNICEF, an organization funded by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Their fitness track is
directed solely at children that is encouraging physical activity while combining changing the
lifestyles of children at the bottom of the pyramid. This wearable is called UNICEF Kid Power,
and claims to have the power to save lives.
By purchasing this fitness tracker for children, they are able to earn points based on how
active they are. The more movement the children have, the more points they can earn
(approximately 2,400 steps equals one point). With these points, the UNICEF develops food
packets to deliver around the world to the serve malnourished children. UNICEF works in more
than 190 countries and territories to put children first, providing them with immunizations,
education, medicine, emergency relief, clean water, and food packets ([Link]). With
these points, children also have the ability to go on mission trips to learn about these cultures
found in the developing countries. Not only is this product helping the children of the developing
world, but it is also setting a healthy lifestyle in children in developed countries, as well as
educating them on the standard of life for others living in impoverished areas.
UNICEF is able to create this wearable with funding from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, as
well as with $10 proceeds going towards their account from every band sold. Every point is
worth 2,400 steps, and it takes 25 points to unlock a packet of food, although only 10 points if
the child is on a mission. These missions are virtual experiences, where children can learn about
the possible locations where these food packets are going too, so they have a better idea of the
impact they are making with every step. So far the organization has four virtual mission trips that
are lead by Olympic medalists: a global mission with Alex Morgan, a Uganda mission with
Tyson Chandler, a Haiti mission with Maya Moore, and finally a Burkina Faso with David Ortiz.
The UNICEF Kid Power team has sent over 400,000 food packets around the world since
launching this wearable in 2015. By combining the healthier lifestyle for the younger
generations, along with saving the lives of children in developing countries, this wearable holds
the power to make a huge impact on both top and bottom parts of the pyramid.
Progressing on the Kid Power wearable, UNICEF began taking the next step in May
2015 by pairing with Frog, a design firm, as well as ARM, a smartphone chip maker. They have
created a competition that has gone global, to create wearables for good. After a research
study, it was discovered that fitness tracker owners stop using the wearable deceives after an
average of six months (Powell.) UNICEF has a mission to take these old fitness trackers, and
convert them into a new design that can help developing countries.
While this is a developing idea, the three organizations have narrowed down their list to a
few major problems they would like to program the old wearable devices to solve for people in
different parts of the world. The first problem is an alert/response system, to warn the community
to leave due to fires or other natural disasters, since it is extremely difficult to notify an entire
community when this situation occurs. Fitness tracks may have the ability to be programmed to
monitor weather and be updated to send notifications, much like our iPhones do. Another major
issue is the errors in data collection the bottom of the pyramid has. Not only are there
undocumented births and deaths, but there is also a lack of information of specific diseases that
are most common in specific regions. If there is a way to track the day-to-day life of these
individuals, monitoring their nutrition, physical activity, water levels, etc, we would be able to
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discover patterns on why particular diseases are more prominent in specific areas. Fitness
trackers can be adjusted to gather this information.
However, wearables do not always have to be high tech. UNICEF has created a
multicolored arm measuring tape that shows at a glance whether a child is receiving enough
nutrition. Green is good, yellow is concerning, and red means a doctor needs to be seen
immediately (Farris). This allows the health issues that are affecting the people not to go
unnoticed by officials or any other members of the society.
With the many adaptations technology has had over the last decade, many people have
been questioning what will happen after the latest smartphone phase. It was easy for many to
analyze that wearables will be the technology trend of the future, but the future is now.
Wearables are already being incorporated into the daily lives of millennials from developed
countries. However, if companies were able to put as much research and development into
providing a technological gadget based on Use Value versus Symbolic Value, they would
easily open up their segmented market. By having this mindset, it will easily allow companies to
open up their business strategies, to take the leap in entering the 4 billion people market that is
the bottom of the pyramid. By creating technology that is made to increase the standard of living
all over the world, it will be the right step in order to increase the standard of living for those
found at the bottom of the pyramid.
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