Wearable tech – will it take off?

As Google prepares to release Google Glass to a commercial market, the question everyone is asking is, will they take off?

Change is an inevitable thing, especially in the fast paced world of technology, and wearable tech is being hailed as the next step in technological evolution.

In the last twenty years the way we listen to music for example has changed drastically due to rapid advancements in technology.

Our music devices have become increasingly smaller and have travelled from vinyl record players, to cassette players, to CD players, and now to MP3 players or iPods.

Now it’s the twenty-tens, and we’re being faced with the prospect of wearing technology, not only on our face as glasses with the knowledge of the internet accessible through it, but in contact lenses, wrist watches, clothing and even jewellery.

Hailed as the next megatrend, wearable technology is set to alter the way we interact, the way we access information, and the way we work each day.

Although it may seem a bit James Bond like for some, 83% of people who have used a wearable tech gadget believes that it has enhanced their life.

And people are starting to tentatively explore the phenomenon, with 65,000 tweets mentioning wearable tech in September last year when a new smart watch was unveiled.

One of the biggest advocates of the trend is the sport industry, with 96% of the wearable market in the last year being due to activity trackers and wearable devices to measure fitness.

Originally wearable tech was used in sports to track distance and an athlete’s speed and performance.

This has evolved into wearable devices being used to set comprehensive performance data, and to use this to monitor the athlete for trends, spikes and dips in their performance, therefore being able to predict future performance based on the results.

Indeed, 14 out of 20 teams in the English Premier League make use of wearable tech devices to consistently monitor player performance.

For everyday usage, logically being able to wear such a device whilst exercising is practical, motivating, and more accurate than just making estimations.

It remains to be seen if Google Glass will be popular, with the current price – $1,500 – being a little too high for the average person, and the concerns raised over whether eye contact will be a thing of the past, privacy issues, and whether they need to be factored into the law when it comes to using them whilst driving and travelling.

However, despite this, it is predicted that by 2017 an estimated 64 million shipments of wearable tech devices will take place, showing that despite the current generation being of split opinions on wearable tech, this futuristic technology almost certainly has a place in our futures.