Wearable Technologies

Smart Watches, Body Sensors, and Smart Eyewear: Types of Wearable Products

Smart watches, body sensors, and smart eyewear are the three primary types of wearable products. The most well-known wearable technology at the moment is Google Glass, a product that promises to open up new possibilities, particularly in the sphere of healthcare. This device, which clinicians around the world have experimented with, uses augmented reality and voice activation to project data to the individual wearing Google Glass. Surgeons, for example, have utilized these glasses for augmented reality to observe an illustrated step-by-step procedure projected on screens. Doctors have also showed how this device can be used to record surgery and retrieve patient details. Although there are few limitations with Google Glass such as the requirement of a smart phone between the viewer and what is being viewed, there is still room for improvement as this form of wearable technology evolve to bring clear advantages to the healthcare industry.

Smart Watches: Incorporating Social Networking, Entertainment, and Healthcare

The other wearable technology is a smart watch, which incorporates social networking, entertainment, and healthcare in one device. Currently, there are different wrist devices on the market that can be used to track vitals, beyond telling the time and having a stopwatch. For example, Apple Watch has included gamification of healthcare. Here, the device provides different games that the wearer can play with friends as a way to lower the cholesterol levels or to lose weight. Moreover, this device can collect data through participation in different activities, an aspect that will help to improve population health significantly. These wearable devices offer conveniences by further simplifying the easy task. As they continue to evolve with more research and innovation, wearable technologies have a lot to offer in the future(Mehdi,&Alharby, 2016). For instance, scientists are looking forward to inventing a functioning screen that is in the body like screen.

Collaborative Technologies

Collaborative software technologies are designed to allow data sharing among people for mutual benefits through the use of smart phones and wearable technologies. Such a system enables multiple users to interact on a topic or regarding a document to make efficient decisions. Essentially, the sharing of data can be done passively, for instance when an individual report their locations in order to update traffic statistics. On the other hand, sharing can be reported actively such as when a person adds a rating of a restaurant to a review site. The first collaborative software is a smart phone app, Waze. This is a tool that keeps track of how fast one is reaching their destination and the route you are traveling. Since it is a community-based technology, once you provide such data, you also gain access from the data sent by other users of this application(Bourgeois, 2014). As a result, Waze can provide routes according to your area and traffic and also inform the users about accidents as updated in real-time reports by the various users.

Yelp!: A Collaborative Software for Local Business Reviews

The other collaborative software technology is Yelp! Through its website or the mobile phone application, consumers are able to post their reviews and ratings of local businesses. After compiling all the ratings in their database, this software then provides the data back to customers. In essence, the software has ratings of shopping centers, restaurants and services in various parts of the country. As such, customers can search through the directory to find the best and affordable products and services. In the same way, many companies have benefitted from this application as it serves as their source of business. However, Yelp! does not collect data passively; instead, it relies on customers to take their time and provide honest insights in as far as ratings and reviews are concerned(Kock, 2010). As a result, any person searching and accessing information from Yelp! website or through the smartphone will acquire reliable and not misleading guidelines.

3-D Printing: Revolutionizing Prototyping and Manufacturing

Using 3D printers, designers can quickly test prototypes or build something as a proof of concept. Additionally, printable technologies ensure that manufacturers are brought to the desktop computer. With 3-D printing is an industrial strength as it is able to produce objects on demand cost effectively. For example, an airliner can be built using 3-D components that make it lighter and more fuel efficient. In the same way, quality of life can be improved by 3-D printed medical implants. In essence, this form of printing allows for the production of custom matched products that fit an exact body shape and size(Samuels,& Flowers, 2015). Further research is being conducted in printing soft tissues and the medical application of 3-D printing in pharmaceuticals and printing organs.

How 3-D Printing Works and Its Applications

A 3-D printer works by creating layer upon layer of the model of any 3-d object designed on a computer. As a result, a person can print virtually any 3-D model made using malleable materials such as various types of metals, glass or wax. In addition, 3-D printing has been employed in the creation of working handguns, prosthetic legs, and ears that can hear beyond the normal hearing range. Consecutively, this new technology has proved useful for prototyping the designs of products to determine their marketability. Therefore, a company utilizing this form of technology can produce goods that will ensure that they gain a competitive advantage in their industry(Bourgeois, 2014). For example, the 'Maker' has in the last five years made it possible to manufacture with the push of a button; this is a shift from the traditional factory context into the realm of the personal desktop computer.

References

Bourgeois, D. T. (2014). Information systems for engineering and infrastructure asset

management. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.

Kock, N. (April 01, 2010). Asynchronous and distributed process improvement: the role of

collaborative technologies. Information Systems Journal, 11, 2, 87-110.

Mehdi, M., &Alharby, A. (January 01, 2016). Purpose, Scope, and Technical Considerations of

Wearable Technologies: technology. Farmbiz, 2, 3, 40.

Samuels, K., & Flowers, J. (April 01, 2015). 3D Printing: Exploring Capabilities. Technology

and Engineering Teacher, 74, 7, 17-21.