Prospectus for Wearable Technology Industry Analysis Report IV: Three Emerging Sectors of Wearable Technology

I.The Development Trajectory of Wearable Technology
II.The Healthification of Wearable Technology
III.Commercial Applications of Wearable Technology
IV. Three Major Emerging Industries in Wearable Technology

“From infant sleep monitoring to invisibility cloaks for soldiers on the battlefield, and then to Charles Orton-Jones, technology will foster the emergence of three major prospective industries.”

• Child Care

Swallows, Amazons, Cider, and Rosie enjoyed a happy childhood. The incident when they got lost in the wilderness for several consecutive days at the age of eight seems like it happened in another era. Today, we live in the internet age; even when the little ones are asleep, their parents can monitor their heart rates and even predict their wake-up times.

The Sproutling baby monitor is worn on the infant’s ankle. The mobile application paired with the wearable anklet displays real-time monitoring data for 16 metrics, such as the baby’s sleep and heart rate, enabling parents to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their child’s activity status. Additionally, the app interface features a ring chart that indicates the recommended daily sleep duration for the infant’s age group alongside the amount of sleep already achieved that day, thereby helping parents assess whether their child is obtaining sufficient sleep.

Competition in this field is extremely intense. For instance, there is the Owlet Smart Sock, which can be worn on an infant’s foot to collect relevant physiological data and transmit it to a mobile app. This device can monitor the infant’s heart rate, blood oxygen levels, sleep patterns, and skin temperature.

For older children, technology can be leveraged to improve their behavioral habits. Paul Landau, founder of Fitbit, predicted: “In child care, wearable technology can make physical activity more enjoyable through gamification, allowing children to get a certain amount of exercise through games and challenges. For example, for many years, Fitbug has operated the Fantasy Footfall league, which uses team-based competition to complete a virtual walking challenge from Land’s End to John O’Groats in the UK.”

• Insurance

The debate over privacy is a war among insurers within the insurance industry. They seek to know as much as possible about their customers, while consumers prefer to keep themselves well-guarded at a distance. In response, insurers extend olive branches in the form of low-priced offerings to attract customer engagement.

Auto insurance companies currently use GPS tracking and telematics. One example is a program operated by the UK insurer AVIVA that relies on an app downloaded by smartphone users. But what about wearable technology? Although there are no major partnerships yet, the industry is evaluating its potential.

Nigel Walsh, Insurance Lead at Capgemini, a globally renowned consulting firm, stated, “This represents one of the most exciting opportunities: real-time data monitoring will enable us to shift away from the traditional paradigm where ‘behavior is assessed only after an event occurs.’” Just as automotive telematics systems encourage drivers to slow down and prevent collisions, cholesterol and heart rate monitors incentivize users to maintain healthy lifestyles and reduce insurance premiums.

Digital anthropologist Nik Pollinger expressed skepticism. He argued that “before the insurance industry takes an interest in the potential of wearables and the Internet of Things, three issues must be considered. First, from an aesthetic or practical standpoint, whether wearables and their tracking capabilities can meet user needs; second, the industry needs to find ways to access valid sensor data; third, if this is achieved, excessive exposure of personal data may prove counterproductive.” The last point is crucial, because just as medical insights—like whether butter is good or bad for you, or whether moderate alcohol consumption reduces or extends your lifespan—remain ambiguous, the insurance industry cannot reliably correlate these metrics with insurance premiums. It may take some time before insurance companies fully embrace wearable technology.

• Military Defense

In 2015, the U.S. military budget was $756 billion, while the UK’s was £46 billion (approximately $69.8 billion). Why has the military emerged as the leading third-party adopter of wearable technology to date, outpacing other sectors, and what lies ahead?

UK-based company Plextek, with funding from the government’s military research institution, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), has established a simulated environment to help British army medics respond to various battlefield scenarios. The system includes equipment that immerses trainees in the simulated environment, as well as components that allow instructors to configure and monitor the simulation. Plextek aims to improve training methods for battlefield medical care while providing the broader industry with opportunities for advanced medical training solutions. This virtual reality technology can significantly enhance educational outcomes and response experiences in training; all psychological side effects can be mitigated as the performance of subsequent equipment is improved.

Another key point is that soldiers cannot charge their devices in real time. One solution is to develop charging equipment. For example, Intelligent Textiles, a UK-based military equipment company, recently launched a fabric keyboard and a fabric-based charging system, enabling soldiers to continue powering their wearable gear after dismounting from armored vehicles. The company is currently developing “Spirit,” a “true wearable system” designed for the U.S. Army and Navy, featuring modular, scalable, sensor-enabled, and concealable designs.

Another aspiration is to don an invisibility cloak akin to that of Harry Potter, which would offer significant advantages on the battlefield. Currently, Professor Andrea Alù at the University of Texas has designed an ultra-thin, broadband electronic “cloak.” Professor Alù stated, “An object may be invisible to us at one point in the spectrum, but it can actually shine as brightly as a lighthouse at another point; therefore, complete invisibility is unattainable.” Consequently, we must either develop devices capable of concealing objects across diverse lighting conditions or simply maintain physical fitness to rely on strength for self-preservation.

Certainly, the benefits of wearable technology for military applications extend far beyond this, such as reducing military costs and enhancing military capabilities.