PSFK Unveils Future of Wearable Technology (2): Intimate Connectivity

Editor’s Note: PSFK, a commercial creative marketing platform founded by Piers Fawkes, is dedicated to providing trend insights and business strategy services to the world’s leading enterprises. Its consulting offerings include customer research and advisory services focused on specific technologies or innovation topics. Recently, PSFK released a forecast titled “The Future of Wearable Technology,” which aims to analyze the key trends driving the evolution in form and function of personal wearable devices. The forecast outlines ten functionalities under three major themes: “Intimate Connections,” “Tailored Ecosystems,” and “Possibilities for Co-evolution.” VCBeat has compiled and translated the report, publishing it in four parts. This article is the second part of the forecast:Intimate Bonding Relationship。

PSFK Forecasts the Future of Wearable Technology (1) Development Trends for the Next Five Years

Wearable technology adds a new dimension to our personal relationships by extending and enhancing our ability to communicate and share personal details, regardless of distance. The constant connectivity of these devices creates a unique portrait of the wearer and establishes continuous links between individuals, simulating a sense of proximity, transforming how we understand one another, and enabling new forms of attention and care.

01. Remote Companionship

Wearable technology harnesses the power of haptic and other feedback systems to enable tangible connections between loved ones, regardless of distance. These tools simulate companionship and place attachment, offering a unique comfort that only the other person can provide.

Data Support

In a survey on wearable technology, 36% of U.S. respondents and 27% of UK respondents stated that they use wearable devices to “enhance the quality of their sex lives.”
——Goldsmiths Centre for Innovation and Social Technology, University of London, 2013

“A perfect storm of innovation, combining low-power wireless connectivity, sensor technology, big data, cloud services, voice user interfaces, and mobile computing capabilities, has paved the way for the development of wearable technology.”
— Johan Svanberg, Senior Analyst at Berg Insight

Hugging Simulation Jacket Allows Parents to Soothe Children via Mobile Devices

T. Jacket is a tablet-controlled coat that uses implanted airbags to simulate hugs and soothe children without physical contact. Developed based on the “deep pressure theory,” this jacket leverages the premise that applied pressure can have a calming effect on children with autism or attention deficit disorders who have difficulty processing sensory information. The airbags, located at the waist and shoulders of the jacket, inflate upon command via a mobile application, creating a hugging sensation. For children with autism, this garment allows them to experience the comfort of a hug without engaging in interpersonal interactions that may cause distress. Although initially developed for children with autism, T. Jacket holds broader potential applications, such as providing comfort to children whose parents work away from home.

Wireless Bracelets Allow Users to Feel Each Other from a Distance

TACTILU is a bracelet that enables individuals to maintain a tangible connection, even when separated by vast distances. Developed by the Pangenerator design team, it features touch sensors that translate swipes and pokes into haptic feedback on the paired bracelet. This wearable device leverages internet connectivity and Bluetooth technology to transmit interactions between wearers. Currently in its initial version, TACTILU’s developers have pledged to reduce its size by 50% in the next iteration.

Touch-Responsive Smartwatches Can Sustain Long-Distance Relationships

Bond is a compact module with a built-in touch sensor that allows wearers of paired devices to “feel” each other, regardless of their locations around the world. To use it, the user simply double-taps the sensor to wake it up, then long-presses for five seconds to record a “tickle,” and finally swipes to send it to other connected Bond devices. It also integrates with Google Maps, enabling users to leave a “tickle” at a specific location, which triggers the “touch” sensation when another device wearer arrives at that spot. Bond can be worn as either a bracelet or a necklace. This conceptual product is currently raising funds through IndieGoGo.

Additional Examples

Fundawear: Long-Distance Couples Connect Through Smartphone-Controlled Vibrating Lingerie

Hi-5 To Share: Robotic Hands Enable Runners to High-Five Their Friends Online

Touchroom: Virtual Space Enables Friends to Connect from Afar

Insights· In hospitals, patients can communicate with their loved ones through haptic feedback, letting them know when they are willing to take a phone call or indicating their emotional state.
· Points of interest in the city can be conveyed through haptic feedback, enabling wearers to synchronously “feel” when someone they know passes by one of their favorite locations.
· The cradle sensor connected to the bracelet can monitor infants' or children's restlessness and allow parents to respond accordingly.

02. Data Streaming Nursing

Implantable tracking technology is being used to remotely monitor individuals' health and physical performance, creating an information flow between device wearers and those who can access and interpret this data. These metrics are continuously captured and transmitted to create detailed profiles of the tracked individuals, enabling experts, physicians, and loved ones to develop highly personalized, real-time care plans accordingly.

Data Support

“We need to provide specific context for the data to make the experience with wearable devices meaningful and valuable. The ability to distill new insights from multiple sensor data streams will bring exciting opportunities in 2014. Wearable devices that monitor baseline performance and fitness activities offer personalized feedback, a improvement that will drive the trend toward personalized, customized workout plans. Merely measuring data and providing statistics is far from sufficient; we need to offer users education, feedback, guidance, or reminders.”
—Stacey Burr, Vice President of Wearable Sports Electronics at Adidas
46% of individuals using health trackers report that these devices have transformed their overall approach to personal healthcare or the care they provide to others.
——2013 Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
One in three people are willing to share their personal data with government health agencies or healthcare providers by using wearable health and fitness monitoring devices.
——Goldsmiths Centre for Innovation and Social Technology, University of London, 2013

Tooth-Implanted Sensors Transmit Dietary Habits to Dentists

Tooth-Implantable Sensors Can Track Users’ Dietary Habits and Transmit Data to DentistsDeveloped by a team at National Taiwan University, this device is carefully placed between the wearer’s teeth. It can be mounted onto fixed oral appliances, such as dentures or orthodontic braces. The current prototype achieves 94% accuracy in distinguishing activities including eating, speaking, coughing, smoking, drinking alcohol, and breathing. While the device currently transmits data via Wi-Fi, the development team is also exploring the possibility of incorporating Bluetooth functionality.

GPS Tracking Helps Coaches Monitor Athletes' Health

The British Lions rugby team has sewn GPS tracking software into players’ jerseys to help the management analyze various aspects of team performance. GPS is currently the optimal medium for capturing such data, and tracking technology can reveal players’ average speeds, when their intensity begins to decline, or whose condition is above or below their normal level. Certain models of GPS trackers even include heart rate monitoring sensors, which can identify potential on-field issues through detailed metrics such as distance covered at different speeds, as well as muscular force exerted during acceleration, deceleration, changes in direction, and collisions involving G-forces. All this information can be transmitted in real time to coaches, enabling them to make substitution decisions based on the data displayed on their laptop screens.

Diapers Detect Infant Health Issues and Alert Parents

Pixie Scientific has developed a smart diaper capable of detecting potential infections and transmitting the data to smartphones. After each use, parents can take a photo of a QR code-like indicator on the diaper using their smartphone. The accompanying app analyzes the image to determine whether the infant has a urinary tract infection, assess kidney health, or check for dehydration. The technology can even detect Type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, the app provides recommendations on whether medical attention is required.

“Personal data analytics is a fascinating emerging field. It is a broad umbrella term that encompasses everything from demographic data to transactional, behavioral, and even medical data. Our opportunity lies in enabling data to be truly applied in practice—thereby creating value for both consumers and businesses.”
——Genevieve Bell, Director of Intel’s Interaction and Experience Research

Additional Examples

InSite Impact Response System: Vibration-Sensing Helmet Alerts Medical Personnel via Haptic Feedback

Digital Health Feedback System: Ingestible Computers Collect Data from Inside Patients' Bodies

Sense-U: All-in-One Tracker to Help Monitor Your Posture

Implications· Through location tracking, experts and family members can determine which environments help the tracked individual achieve their most calm and happy state.
· Mental health professionals capture detailed information on work-related stress or daily data, and provide data-driven insights into lifestyle changes based on this information.
· Coaches can receive detailed performance metrics and learn how to integrate this information into their practical workflows prior to competitions.

3. Emotional Mirroring

Sensors and display technologies are embedded into clothing and accessories to convey information about the wearer and their reactions to the surrounding environment. By utilizing light, color, and transparency, Emotional Mirrors can reflect a wide range of information, from the wearer’s personal emotional state to their interactions with others. These adaptive materials create a new type of communication flow that reports information to both the wearer and those around them.

Data Support

“We are inextricably linked to the internet, which has become an integral part of our daily lives. As a result, people today are more receptive to wearable technology than ever before.”
—Namalee Anna-Marie Bolle, Artist

“These trackers enable us to better understand ourselves, our world, and the interactions between the two. Ten to fifteen years ago, people could only record everything with pen and paper. Now, individuals can sync data from wearable devices to applications in real time.”
—Ernesto Ramirez, Quantified Self Community Organizer

Gaze-Activated Skirt: It lights up simply by staring at it intently.

Fashion designer Ying Gao utilized eye-tracking technology to design two conceptual dresses that illuminate when they detect someone staring at them. Named “No(where)” and “Now(here),” these dresses employ luminous threads and embedded eye-tracking technology to achieve gaze-activated illumination. This conceptual technology enables the dresses to light up in a novel, improvisational manner under the audience’s gaze.

Visualization of Fitness Apparel Can Reflect the Wearer's Activity Level in Real Time

Radiate Athletics has developed an interactive compression garment that changes color in response to the body’s thermal output, providing wearers with an intuitive indication of their exercise intensity. To achieve real-time color changes, special atoms embedded within the fabric’s fibers receive carbon electrons; upon thermal application, their valence electrons accelerate, thereby altering the way light waves are reflected by the atoms. The resulting color shifts correspond to the activity of specific muscle groups, offering wearers a visual reference for their workout.

Clothing and Peripherals for Body Monitoring

The Ger Mood Sweater by Sensoree features an interactive light display that interprets the wearer’s emotions and displays them in real time. Sensors embedded in the garment detect physiological rhythms associated with varying levels of arousal, converting the data into different colors. For instance, if the wearer feels calm, the sweater turns blue; if they feel excited, it turns pink. Designed with a cowl neck, the sweater incorporates LED displays to reflect the wearer’s immediate biofeedback and provide a visual indicator for onlookers.

Additional Examples

Intimate Relationships 2.0: The Skirt Becomes Transparent When the Wearer Is Aroused

Lume: Color-changing clothing responds to sound and the surrounding environment

Awarecuffs: The shirt cuffs light up to alert the wearer when free Wi-Fi is available nearby.

Insights· In the workplace, wearable devices can indicate when the wearer is particularly busy and needs solitude; and vice versa.
· Share similar demands in social networks or interest-based online events to help facilitate connections and break the ice.
· Help children or adolescents in difficulty define their emotions by creating a private journal throughout the day to assist them in identifying different emotional states.


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