Wearable technology is on trend
Google Glass, the wearable computing device, is due to launch later this year
Wearable technology fired some preliminary warning shots in 2013 with the release of the Samsung Galaxy Gear andPebble smartwatches, but this year will see the arrival of a selection of truly innovative wearable devices. Most notably,Google Glass is expected to launch this year, offering head-mounted computing that could, ultimately, make smartwatches and mobile phones a thing of the past.
Alongside Google's new high-tech glasses, Fairs says that in 2014 "technology will migrate onto the body as digital services are miniaturized and embedded in our clothing or worn against our skin. We already have Google Glass and wearable fitness trackers, but a vast array of services -- from health monitoring to augmented information (telling you what's around you and helping you navigate) will become commonplace."
Fairs points to clothing with in-built solar panels, devices that scan your body for disease, and self-repairing trainers as some of the more exciting wearable technologies on the near horizon.
Tim Meyer, Head of Strategic Planning and Communications at TRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, agrees. "This year's Las Vegas CES show is revealing new wearable technology, but what we're going to see this year is the development and test-marketing of smart clothing, not just smart gadgets," Meyer says. "New fibers, new micro-sensors, and new communications protocols will allow your clothes to actually work for you and collect and process information. I suspect we'll see some fashion statements first: clothes that change shape or color. Then we'll see clothes that do computing; first step will be storing information. My socks will store today's to-do list."
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