Wearable device Types and Categories
The wearable devices come in many forms, shapes with varied applications.
● Wearable devices are clothing and accessories that incorporate advanced electronic technologies.
● Wearable devices are worn by the user for extended periods of time and the devices significantly enhance user experience.
● A plethora of such devices exists from smart rings acting as an extension of your smart phones to devices that monitor blood glucose levels etc. technologies.
Wearables are mainly classified into four main categories based on their application and use. There is an emerging fifth category presenting venture opportunities and large market growth.
1. Fitness and Wellness includes sports and activity monitors such as Nike+ fuel band,
Lark sleep sensors etc.
2. Lifestyle includes smart watches (Pebble), smart glasses (Vuzix), wearable
imaging devices (GoPro) etc. This also includes Fashion as a subcategory.
3. Healthcare includes ECG/continuous glucose monitoring, wearable patches etc.
4. Industrial/Military includes smart clothing’s, HUD.
Wearable Devices - Current Market and forecast:
Wearable computing purports to be the next big thing in consumer technology products. The global market for wearable devices is still at a relatively nascent stage and was only around 20 million units (or $800 million) in 2012. However, key technology drivers are now enabling wearable devices to enter mainstream markets. The global wearable computing market is set to rapidly grow into a multi-billion dollar industry over the next year. The key market driver for wearable computing is the soaring global popularity of smart phones from manufacturers including Apple, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, HTC, Blackberry, Nokia and Microsoft. Last year nearly 700 million smartphones were shipped globally with the Apple iOS platform (~19%) and Google's Android platform (~69%) accounting for the vast majority of market share. In terms of growth, the global market for smart phones increased by more than 40% annually to nearly $240 billion of revenues in 2012. The growth of the consumer market for wearable largely depends on how rapidly existing smartphone users will adopt wearable accessories and alternative devices to their smart phones. The global wearable computing market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.4% from around $5 billion forecast for 2013 to $9.2 billion in 2014 and more than $30.2 billion forecast for 2018. Gartner believes that smart glasses will save the field service industry $1 billion per year.
The wearable devices come in many forms, shapes with varied applications.
● Wearable devices are clothing and accessories that incorporate advanced electronic technologies.
● Wearable devices are worn by the user for extended periods of time and the devices significantly enhance user experience.
● A plethora of such devices exists from smart rings acting as an extension of your smart phones to devices that monitor blood glucose levels etc. technologies.
Wearables are mainly classified into four main categories based on their application and use. There is an emerging fifth category presenting venture opportunities and large market growth.
1. Fitness and Wellness includes sports and activity monitors such as Nike+ fuel band,
Lark sleep sensors etc.
2. Lifestyle includes smart watches (Pebble), smart glasses (Vuzix), wearable
imaging devices (GoPro) etc. This also includes Fashion as a subcategory.
3. Healthcare includes ECG/continuous glucose monitoring, wearable patches etc.
4. Industrial/Military includes smart clothing’s, HUD.
Wearable Devices - Current Market and forecast:
Wearable computing purports to be the next big thing in consumer technology products. The global market for wearable devices is still at a relatively nascent stage and was only around 20 million units (or $800 million) in 2012. However, key technology drivers are now enabling wearable devices to enter mainstream markets. The global wearable computing market is set to rapidly grow into a multi-billion dollar industry over the next year. The key market driver for wearable computing is the soaring global popularity of smart phones from manufacturers including Apple, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, HTC, Blackberry, Nokia and Microsoft. Last year nearly 700 million smartphones were shipped globally with the Apple iOS platform (~19%) and Google's Android platform (~69%) accounting for the vast majority of market share. In terms of growth, the global market for smart phones increased by more than 40% annually to nearly $240 billion of revenues in 2012. The growth of the consumer market for wearable largely depends on how rapidly existing smartphone users will adopt wearable accessories and alternative devices to their smart phones. The global wearable computing market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.4% from around $5 billion forecast for 2013 to $9.2 billion in 2014 and more than $30.2 billion forecast for 2018. Gartner believes that smart glasses will save the field service industry $1 billion per year.
This business-focused video clearly defines wearable technology, how it is different from mobile technology as well as an example of its use and business application.
- examples of wearable technology - differences between mobile and wearable technology - wearables gather and display data - just-in-time digital logistics - benefits for the individual and business |
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Welcome to the World of Wearable Technology:
In this section you have a chance to explore the different wearable technologies as they pertain to various industries. We have extrapolated on the most important areas: Health, Fitness, Lifestyle, Fashion and the missing piece... Play with the pie, keeping in mind there is a piece missing. As you explore, we encourage you to think like an Educational Entrepreneur. How could you fill in the pie? How could you adapt the existing wearable technology for educational purposes? Click the image below to explore the wearable categories or, click the link at the bottom of the page.
In this section you have a chance to explore the different wearable technologies as they pertain to various industries. We have extrapolated on the most important areas: Health, Fitness, Lifestyle, Fashion and the missing piece... Play with the pie, keeping in mind there is a piece missing. As you explore, we encourage you to think like an Educational Entrepreneur. How could you fill in the pie? How could you adapt the existing wearable technology for educational purposes? Click the image below to explore the wearable categories or, click the link at the bottom of the page.