TREND 3 From Wearables to Augmented Humans
The One-Sentence Definition
This trend harnesses artificial intelligence (AI, Trend 1), the Internet of Things (IoT, Trend 2), Big Data (Trend 4), and robotics (Trend 13) to create wearable devices and technology that help to improve the physical – and potentially mental – performance of humans, and help us lead healthier, better lives.
What Are Wearables and Augmented Humans?
Perhaps the most prevalent examples of wearables today are fitness tracker bands and smart watches – small, easy-to-wear devices that typically monitor our activity and provide insights that help us lead healthier, better, more productive lives. However, the term “wearable” doesn’t necessarily mean something that you strap onto your wrist or wear elsewhere on your body; it also extends to “smart” clothing, such as running shoes that can measure your running gait and performance, advances like robotic prosthetics, and robotic wearable technology used in industrial settings.
As technology gets smaller and smarter, the sheer range of wearables is going to expand enormously – and new, smaller, smarter products will emerge to supersede the wearables we’re familiar with today. For example, we already have smart glasses, but these are likely to be replaced by smart contact lenses (see practical applications later in the chapter). And after that, smart contact lenses will likely be replaced by smart eye implants.
Advances like this lead many to believe that humans and machines will eventually merge to create truly augmented humans – “transhumans” or humans 2.0 if you like, where the human body is “souped up” like a sports car to achieve enhanced physical and mental performance. This would transform the world of medicine – some believe disabilities as we know them today won’t exist in the future – and, eventually, may even challenge our understanding of what it means to be human.
Sound far-fetched? Not at all when you consider that we already have advanced robotic limbs that can replace human limbs and, thanks to AI, be controlled by the wearer’s thoughts (more on this coming up). And we won’t just be looking at physical augmentations, either. AI for the human brain is already in development. Companies like Facebook are racing to develop brain–computer interfaces that could, in theory, allow you to type your Facebook status update using your mind instead of your fingers (telepathic typing, to use the vaguely creepy technical term).1 Similarly, Elon Musk’s Neuralink company is working on a brain–computer interface that would help people with severe brain injuries. Musk, who has spoken openly about his concerns for the human race as machines become increasingly intelligent, believes merging with machines and enhancing our human capabilities may be the best way to stop us being wiped out by our intelligent creations, or turned into their “pets.”2
So in the future, we may find ourselves permanently attached to our smart phones, but in a more literal way – because the technology could be implanted into our bodies and capable of constantly scanning our thoughts, emotions, and biometric data to understand what we want to do next. AI chips implanted in our brains could help us make smarter, faster decisions. And physical augmentation could make us stronger, faster, and who knows what else. No longer satisfied with manipulating the world around us, it seems humans are on a quest to manipulate themselves.
How Are Wearables Used in Practice?
It all started with smart watches and fitness trackers. These now commonplace wearable devices are designed to help us lead healthier lives – and research suggests it actually works. One study found that participants with an Apple Watch linked to health and life insurance reward schemes increased their activity levels by a third, potentially amounting to an extra two years’ life expectancy.3 Smart watches also now have the ability to spot heart problems; the Apple Watch Series 5 has the ability to take an ECG, recording your heartbeat and rhythm in the same way as a hospital machine would, and is considered an approved medical device by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration.4
Soon, capabilities like this will be par for the course for all smart watches, fitness trackers, and other smart devices. But there are many other exciting (and occasionally downright weird) advances to get to grips with the world of wearables, from smart clothes, to technology that physically augments the human body, to the eventual merging of the human brain with computers.
Let’s take a look at each category in turn.
Smart Clothes for Smarter Lives
Clothes are becoming more intelligent, with a view to making our lives better and more convenient. These smart clothes are otherwise regular garments that have been enhanced with technology – such as sensors or high-tech circuitry – which allows them to perform functions way beyond protecting our modesty or keeping us warm and dry. Here are some of my favorite examples of smart clothes already on the market:
Designed for athletes and serious exercise fanatics, Under Armour’s Athlete Recovery Sleepwear is designed to improve muscle recovery and deliver a better night’s sleep by absorbing the wearer’s body heat and releasing infrared light.
Ralph Lauren’s PoloTech t-shirts are fitted with biometric sensors that monitor heart rate and other metrics and deliver workout insights to your smart phone or watch, including tailored workout advice.
Designed for runners, Sensoria Smart Socks monitor pressure on your feet while running and send data to your smart phone. (Not all smart socks are for fitness enthusiasts, however. Siren’s Diabetic Sock and Foot Monitoring System monitors the wearer’s temperature to detect early signs of inflammation, which can lead to foot ulcers in diabetics.)
Wearable X’s Nadi yoga pants vibrate at various points (such as the knee or hip) to encourage you to move or hold positions. By syncing with an accompanying app, the pants give additional feedback on your yoga positions.
Fashion tech startup Supa has a smart bra complete with heart rate sensor and AI that tracks your workouts. Naturally, it syncs to an app so you can keep track of your health data over time.
Looking beyond workout gear, Tommy Hilfiger wants you to wear its casualwear so much, it’s introduced a whole line of clothing that tracks how often you wear items and gives you rewards for frequent usage. The clothing line includes hoodies, jeans, and t-shirts, all with embedded chips that send info to an accompanying app.
Google and Levi’s have collaborated on a smart denim jacket, called Jacquard, that connects to the wearer’s smart phone. With a tap or swipe of the sleeve you can control music volume on your phone, screen calls, get directions, and receive updates on your Uber ride.
Smart socks that monitor your baby’s heart rate as it sleeps? Sounds like the perfect gift for any anxious new parent (which, let’s face it, is every new parent). The Owlet Smart Sock not only monitors heart rate and breathing interruptions, it can also identify potential health issues like sleep irregularities, heart defects, lung disorders, or pneumonia.
Wearable Technology that Physically Augments Humans
From prosthetics that help restore amputees’ motor functions to industrial equipment that helps employees work smarter and safer, wearable technology goes way beyond everyday smart watches or clever yoga pants. Let’s look at some of the amazing ways wearable technology is physically enhancing the human body.
Improving