VIII. CURRENT MARKET SITUATION AND FUTURE
TRENDS OF WEARABLE DEVICES
Though the research and development on wearable devices
has reached a stage where it can be used as normal household
items, the high cost is still holding it back. From a commercial
perspective, the prices of the product need to come down to
a level so that people can afford them [100]. There will be a
huge market in a growing aging population in Asian countriesalong with the developed countries but the price point has to
come down. As per the estimate [100], the wearable consumer
devices such as fitness trackers, smart glasses and smart
watches will be sold over 40 million in 2014 and will be
approximately 100 million in 2015. The other challenge for
wearable electronics to be successful is to sustain the interest
so that it is not only being considered as only a shiny object but
also a useful one with adequate functionality. The consumers
need to be convinced that it is not only notification but beyond
that. The data from the wearable sensors may be used for
long-term health monitoring and may predict the future health
condition. The necessary block diagram representation in such
a system is shown in figure 5 [77], [78]. The security issue
needs to be properly addressed to make the monitoring system
acceptable to the wider community without any fear and/or
anxiety.
In light of the above discussion, there is a huge glimpse
of hope that wearable device, Apple Watch, will be with us
which will be like strapping a computer on our arm [101].
The watch is expected to be personal and intimate and is
based on technology attempting to colonize our bodies. It is
designed to track our movement, listen to our heartbeat and
puts our whole body on line. The data from the wearable
devices may be used to determine the emotion of the person
Under monitoring too, an experimental platform as shown in
figure 6 has been reported [102]. Or, may be the time will
come when the whole computer may be fabricated in such a
way that it will be possible for the human to wear it as a small
device