Active Components in Wearable Technology: A New Era of Innovation

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Wearable technology is a common thing in today’s world and it comes in different forms. They are worn on the wrists, legs, eyewear, earpiece, arm bands,footwear, smart textiles among others.

These technologies are installed in different devices and are used for different purposes.

In most applications, wearable electronics are used for tracking and monitoring the activities of the body.

In overall, they improve the quality of lives regardless of the areas in which they are used.

Do you know that active components are the driving forces for the effective functioning and operation of the wearable technology?

These are the the components that directly determine the behavior of the electric current.

Several active components are installed in wafers to form integrated circuits. From there they are embedded into wearable devices to perform different functions.

In this guide we are going to discuss the impact of the active devices in the wearable technology and how they have paved way for a new era of innovation.

Table of Contents

A brief overview of wearable technology

As the name suggests, the fact that they are wearable means that they are designed to be worn on different parts of the body.

However, some of them are not directly worn, instead, they are embedded into other clothing pieces which you will eventually wear.

For others, it may go deeper beneath the skin. They are implanted into the body or even tattooed on the skin.

What matetrs is there must be a direct connection between the device and the body.

How do these wearable devices work?

As we have stated, there is a connection between the body and the wearable device. They work just like any other computer.The devices have sensors, processors and display elements. They collect data, process it, analyze and display to the users.

What is the history behind the wearable technology?

Wearable technology is traced back in the 1500s where a German inventor Peter Henlein wore one in the form of a necklace. Later on in the 1800s, wearable hearing aids started becoming popular in the market.

Sony invented the first transistor radio in 1955 and it was among the first portable electronic devices. Its model paved way for the invention of the wearables.

A wristwatched became the first known wearable device and was invented in 1904.

Later on in 1977, Hewlett Packard (HP) introduced a multirole wristwatch. This was a watch that had other functionalities such as a calculator, timer, calender, and alarm. From there, the pace for the wearable has been on an upward trajectory. Major electronics manufacturers have been releasing high-end wearable that are embedded with numerous functionalities.

Take an example of your smartwatch. It is packed with many functions other than just timing. For example, it can record or count the steps that you take while at the same time recording your heart pulse rate.

Electronics manufacturers are also outdoing themselves when it comes to inventing the best wearable. They are coming up with better devices every other day.

Also, the development of the electronic components is accelerating the growth of wearable. The components are becoming better as days go by and this has a similar impact on the devices in which the components will be used.

Active components driving the innovations in the wearable devices

Image source Freepik

The latest innovations in the wearable are powered by the high-spec microprocessors.

These chips have the capacity to process send and receive data fast and efficiently.

Also, modern chips have numerous extra features that improve the overall functionalities of the wearable technologies. These features include artificial intelligence(AI), internet of things (IoT), among others.

Smart wearable devices are derived from these extra feature such as IoT on chips. You can easily connect the smart wearable to other devices for data communication. The use of networking ICs ensures that the devices utilize different types of networking protocols such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, GPRS among others. Right now, most wearable devices allow you to synchronize connection with most smartphones and computers.

The artificial intelligence and machine learning give wearable devices human-like features. They are able to collect data and and study the behavior of the wearer.

We have witnessed the innovation of wearable technology through the invention of the smart clothing. Here, different pieces of clothing are embedded with chips that do the same functions as other wearable devices.

Data collection and processing features have also been enhanced in the wearable devices. Most of them are able to collect data in the real-time then transmit it to other devices. This is in addition to the enhanced data storage capacities of the devices. The innovation in this area has made it possible to expand the storage capacities of the wearable technologies.

Size is another aspect of innovation in the wearable technology. These devices are increasingly getting smaller over the years. Since they are wearable, the smaller the device, the more comfortable and convenient it is to wear. IC chips are credited for the miniature nature of the wearable technology. This is possible because a single chip is able to house many active components. This makes it easy to implement the small design on a device without compromising the performance.

What about safety? Thanks to the new era of innovation, safety of the wearable technologies has been enhanced. Most wearable devices have numerous safety features. For example, they have advanced power management IC chips that protect the devices from all types of power-related hazards.The sleek design of the wearable devices also play key role in enhancing the safety of the device. They are designed not to cause any type of harm or injury to the user under different circumstances.

In addition to safety, the new era of innovation has witnessed enhanced security of the wearable technologies. The fact that the devices are part of IoT means that data security should be prioritized. By incorporating security chips, manufacturers have been able to protect these devices from attacks by hackers. Safety features also control access of the wearable devices. This is evidenced through the use of passwords, unique codes, biometric identification among other features.

There has also been a great improvement in the user interface (UI) of the wearable technology. This has been made possible by incorporating display driver ICs into the devices. Users can now read data directly on the devices as they are embedded with display panels.

Innovation of smart wearable electronics

You probably are used to hearing about smart homes.The new era of innovation has paved way for the smart wearables. These are smart or ‘intelligent’ wearable devices that can execute more functions and have high levels of autonomy.

According to a market research on the wearable technology, the global the smart wearable market was estimated to be $45.9 billion in 2022. However, it is projected to hit $137.7 billion by the year 2030. This just shos the huge potential that this market is holding.

The main diving force behind the growth of smart wearable are the active components. As the chips continue becoming better, it is easier for manufacturers to implement smart ideas on the smart wearables.

Let’s take a look at some of the common smart wearables in the market:

Smart jewelry

Here, a combination of fashion and technology elevates the purpose and functionality of ordinary pieces of jewelry.

Smart jewelry are packed with different smart features such as smart phone connectivity, fitness tracker,sleep tracker,text notification, among others.

Smart clothing

Still on the wearable technology, we have pieces of clothing that are embedded with smart chips. These clothing are fitted with advanced sensors that different data types about the wearer such as body temperature. Some heated clothing are ftted with such smart wearable devices.

Smart shoes

Just like smart clothing, smart shoes are integrated with chips and senors that give the wearer better experience. They also have sensors which detect and record different parameters. For example they can record the number of steps that one takes when walking or running. Some have GPS sensors that monitor the location and altitude of the place.

Future innovations in the wearable technology

We have just discussed some of the innovations that wearable technology that have been brought by the active components. The good news is the more research is done in this field meaning that the innovations will keep coming up.

One trend that is expected to dominate the wearable technology is the invisible wearables. As we have just discussed, wearable devices are getting smaller and smaller. Some have become too small to be noticed by the naked eyes. Invisibility will be a major gain as it will be easier to incorporate these technologies into clothes without being noticed.

Another trending topic in the wearable technology is energy efficiency. The world is focused on shifting towards sustainability, so are the wearable devices. We expect to see more energy-saving wearable devices.

Artificial intelligence is another trending topic when it comes to the innovation of wearable technology. The devices will feature more of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.

Are you building wearable devices, you should buy active components that will drive your innovation to the next level.