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Applications for wearable devices (Source: IDTechEx Wearables Report)

By Sri Peruvemba, Board Director & Head of Marketing, Society for Information Display

Are consumers becoming jaded by all the wearables products out in the marketplace now? Has all the hype and fancy buzzwords met expectations?  The jury’s still out but the wearables market, nonetheless, continues to grow.

There are currently scores of smart electronic devices on the market that can be worn on the body. As the examples in Figure 1 show, these include not only the familiar wrist-worn and clip-on fitness bands and watches, but also arm bands, head- and shoe-worn devices, and clothing. Because a great deal of the functionality tends to focus on measuring and tracking such health parameters as steps taken, heart rate and sweat output, it’s natural that these devices have initially been most strongly embraced by the makers of sports and fitness products. But which of these products will survive and even thrive? What else that qualifies as “wearable” is on the horizon? And what role does the electronic display play in driving these advances?

In the short term, the makeup of the consumer wearables market will continue to be dominated by wrist-worn devices, with the majority of product development focused on new-generation IoT-connected smart watches. Most of the smart watches are made by technology startups and consumer electronic giants that focused on technical features in their development. The smart watch on my wrist can count steps, show incoming calls and messages, display weather data, alert me about my next appointment – all useful features, but the watch itself is bulky, communicates to me via an annoying haptic buzz and will probably not win any awards for design in the traditional wristwatch industry.

And smart watches still don’t quite make the same statement that a Rolex does– I don’t see friends and colleagues parting with their traditional high-end watches. Yet, millions of not-so-great-looking smart watches have been sold in the past year.  And their novelty has worn off sufficiently that consumers are increasingly demanding the kinds ofaesthetically pleasing designs typically associated with traditional high quality wristwatches. As a result, we’re seeing such high-end brands as TAG Heuer, Bulgari and Gucci – to name a few – dipping their toes into the smart watch pool, with curved and uniquely shaped displays helping bring some of these elegant innovations to life.

Designers will also increasingly develop smart jewelry – rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets – embracing integration of smart devices that marry fashion with function. Similarly, we will see growth in development of clothing with built-in electronics, thanks to flexible devices. Not only are they thin and light, but they also conform to the body. We expect to see sensors and actuators integrated that can provide a sort of “body GPS,” telling you both where you are and if someone else is getting too close to your personal space – kind of like the forward collision warning sensor in your new car.  In addition, nanotechnology is being utilized in the clothing to provide superinsulation, with sensors noting your condition (cold, hot, dehydrated, etc.) and connectivity that can send out an SOS if you fall or are injured if you are hiking in the wilderness or by yourself at home.

The area that will really take off between now and 2019 in the wearables space is infotainment –a key component of which is augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) devices.

Many areas besides gaming can benefit from AR/VR, such as education. Using these systems, and adding haptics – touch technology that uses force on the skin to deliver tactile feedback – children in dry parts of Africa, for example, can not only learn about the rain forest, but can actually experience being in pouring rain with the combination of visual, auditory and sensory experiences. Teaching can become a much richer experience through the use of VR/AR technology, enabled by displays with excellent optical quality (more vivid colors, better viewing angles, faster response time).

Nearly all of the applications cited above must convey large amounts of information on small (even miniscule) displays, which must deliver high brightness and resolution with very low power consumption. But these tech hurdles will eventually be surmounted and we’ll continue to see – and experience – a lot of innovative wearables products!