Wearable Tech of Things

"Internet of Things" (IOT) and wearable tech are a new force majeure across many markets, but more specifically, a category of the IOT are the wearables in the health and fitness realm.  The IOT exists as an ecosystem of connectable devices that generally do not need manual intervention to communicate with each other.  They are aware of other devices in their "sphere of influence" and they connect and communicate appropriate information to each other autonomously.  The wearable segment of the IOT differs somewhat in that it generally depends on user interaction to connect to other devices, probably due to the security issues when it comes to tracking personal biometric data, but despite this manual intervention, the wearable device markets have exploded.

This capability yields enormous dividends when it comes to driving data used for analytics and monitoring. Convenience factors multiply as devices automatically monitor things that were troublesome to do before, such as real-time heart rates, like the FitBit Charge HR, or Surge bands do.  As we are able to track data from these devices, we can use them to make better decisions based on real data rather than point-in-time snapshots of health.  This capability is transforming the health insurance industry's capability to provide specialized offerings to monitor trends in health, and adjust their insurance programs for corporate partners who take advantage of the technology to drive consumer behavior. 

The thought is that if you are wearing a device that tracks and monitors your activity, you will be more likely to be active, and aware of your general health. This reduces overall costs to the insurance companies to provide insurance, and it reduces costs to the employers for providing health care options.  However, these IOT devices do not just do health-oriented options.  They can be used to determine power outputs of biologic processes, electronically monitor and communicate status of devices through distributed networks, and they can be used across vast distances to take data metrics on complex weather patterns to improve forecasting models.  The basis of the wearable technology and IOT is that communication between smart sensors can be used to analyze and automatically react to stimuli, record and process events, and enable smarter decisions to be made. 

Currently we hear a lot of buzz about cloud computing.  The IOT and wearable or other modular-based sensor technology will be known as the "Fog."

Other excellent articles on IOT and wearables can be found here:
http://www.mouser.com/applications/article-iot-wearable-devices/
http://www.infoworld.com/article/2614798/mobile-technology/how-wearable-tech-will-fuel-the-internet-of-things.html


An excellent examples of the depth of data provided by wearable tech in fitness trackers are represented below in a product review blog by DC Rainmaker:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/
My personal favorite fitness tracker: The Garmin VivoActive

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/04/garmin-vivoactive-in-depth-review.html



Nicholas Karels is an expert within IBM Corporation on IT Innovation, and has consulted for leading companies IT in the healthcare industry. He has led patent developments in technology for cooperative communication networks, smart-interface devices, and other innovative concepts.