Wearable electronics

The wearing of electronics began in the XNUMXth century as Chinese wedding rings with abacuses.

XVII century. Chinese abacus wedding rings (1) allowed wearers to make calculations long before calculators were invented. 

1. Chinese mini counter

1907 German inventor Juliusz Neubronner invents the ancestor of the GoPro camera. To take an aerial photograph, he attaches a small camera with a timer to the rushing pigeons (2).

1947 Bell Telephone Laboratories produces the first working type of junction transistor. It was built by John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain.

1952 The first commercial use of a transistor in a wearable device was the Zenith hearing aid. The device contained three Raytheon germanium transistors.

3. Regency TR 1, Texas Instruments

1954 The first miniaturized and portable transistor radio was the Regency TR 1 by Texas Instruments (3).

1958-1959 Jack Kilby built the first integrated circuit, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000. Almost simultaneously, Robert Noyce was solving the interconnection problem in integrated circuits—it is widely believed that the idea of ​​the integrated circuit came to him independently of Kilby, but he built it a few months later. Noyce was one of the founders of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel.

1960 The first "wearable" in the modern sense of the word was a portable computer created by mathematicians Edward O. Thorpe and Claude Shannon. They have hidden in their shoes a time measuring device (4), which is used to accurately calculate where the ball lands in a game of roulette. The calculated probable number was communicated to the player via radio waves.

4. Edward O. Thorpe and Claude Shannon's laptop computer, installed in shoes.

With great success - Thorp increased his casino winnings by 44%! Later, subsequent scientists tried to design even more accurate devices of this type. This led to the introduction in 1985 in the state of Nevada, which is the gambling capital of Las Vegas, a law prohibiting the use of such devices.

1961 Launch of serial production of digital integrated circuits.

1971 Clive Sinclair earns fame and fortune by selling inexpensive public electronic calculators. The British market quickly dominates, also exporting them overseas in bulk.

1972 The Hamilton Watch Company manufactures the world's first electronic watch, the Pulsar P1 Limited Edition (5).

5. Limited Edition Pulsar P1

1975 The first Pulsar calculator watch hits the market. It has become a popular tool for technology and science lovers. These early "smart" watches reached their heyday in the mid-80s, and although their popularity later declined, many companies still make models of calculators.

1977 Created the first portable vision system for the blind. The inventor known as K.S. Collins, designs a head-mounted camera that converts the image into a 1024-inch square 10-dot sensor array worn over a vest.

1979 creates one of the legendary devices of modern civilization - the Walkman cassette player. The prototype was designed by Akio Morita, Masaru Ibuka, and Kozo Ohsone, and its key element was a mode switching mechanism made of flat but wide aluminum and magnesium fittings, which made it possible to achieve a low weight of the device, small dimensions, and at the same time high strength and durability ( 6 ).

6. Sony Walkman Professional WM-D6C

This device was received surprisingly well throughout the world in the 80s, almost completely displacing earlier models of portable cassette recorders from the market. The original design has been reproduced in thousands of versions by other manufacturers, and the name "player" has become synonymous with a small portable cassette player. In the early 80s, a song was even written about him - "Wired for Sound" performed by Cliff Richard.

80-s years. The mass production of microprocessors has prompted various experiments in the field of wearable electronics. For the predecessor of a number of solutions - incl. Google Glass glasses - Steve Mann, a researcher and inventor specializing in digital photography, walks by. In the early 80s he initiated his EyeTap project (7). His projects then looked rather clumsy - in some, the author imagined himself as a motorcyclist with a TV over his head. However, Mann wanted to create a machine that would record what the user saw with their own eyes, while at the same time allowing them to see without a camera.

7. Steve Mann with his inventions

Mid 80-x (video) are becoming commonplace. Mountain bike enthusiast Mark Schulze created the first known helmet cap by combining a camcorder with a portable VCR. It was clumsy and heavy, but undeniably ahead of its time in terms of idea.

1987 Invention of digital hearing aids. Unlike previous versions, these small computers could be programmed to suit the user's needs and lifestyle. Over time, they have acquired new features, such as the ability to self-adjust to different environments, such as noisy restaurants, and eliminate background noise.

90-s years. With the boom of laptops, the first wave of wearable devices enters the market. The most famous example of this period was Reflection Technology's Private Eye (8), a head-mounted display very similar to what would later become Google Glass.

8. The device of a private investigator

Inventor Doug Platt adapted this display to run on a DOS computer, creating one of the world's first wearable computers. Columbia University students used the Platt system to create the first known "augmented reality" solution. Both inventions were research projects that did not leave the university, but inspired new creators of wearable electronics.

1994 Developed the first "wrist computer" designed by Edgar Matias and Mike Ruicci of the University of Toronto, as well as Mike Lamming and Mike Flynn's "Forget-Me-Not" device at Xerox EuroPARC, which records and stores interactions with people and devices. in the database for subsequent requests.

1994 DARPA initiates the Smart Modules program, which aims to find a friendly approach to laptops and wearable electronics. Two years later, the agency organizes the "Wearables in 2005" seminar, bringing together visionaries from different industries to find the best solutions together. Probably the name of these workshops was the first use of the name "wearable" in the context of this technology.

DARPA announced, among other things, the development of digital gloves capable of reading RFID tags, emotion-sensitive brooches, and TV cameras. However, the newly awakened interest in wearable devices faded into the background after a few years due to the fashion for mobile phones.

2000 The first headset appears.

2001 The first music player model is born.

2002 As part of Project Cyborg, Kevin Warwick convinces his wife to wear a necklace that has been electronically connected to his own nervous system via an implanted electrode array. The color of the necklace changed depending on signals from Kevin's nervous system.

2003 The Garmin Forerunner appears - the first watch in the modern sense that tracks the user's sports achievements. It is followed by other devices such as Nike + iPod Fitness Tracking Device, Fitbit and Jawbone.

2004 Inspired by surfing in Australia, Nick Woodman decides to build a small, rugged camera that takes a series of photographs of his exploits. The first GoPro model (9) hits the market in 2004.

2010 Oculus VR introduces the first prototype of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality viewing glasses. They were produced thanks to the collection of $ 2 on the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. The consumer version of the Oculus Rift CV437 was released on March 429, 1.

2011 Google is developing the first prototype of a device now called Google Glass (10). This technology is based on research into military head-mounted displays since 1995. In April 2013, Google Glass is part of a group of users called Glass Explorers who were asked to try out the concept. In May 2014, the equipment officially went on sale with a starting price of $1500. A few months later, the company stopped selling Google Glass Explorer, mainly due to a lack of utility apps. However, in July 2017, the return of the device in an Enterprise business version was announced.

2012 The first smartwatch by today's definition is the Pebble (11). A Kickstarter fundraising campaign for the smartwatch has raised $10,2 million. Pebble sparked consumer interest in wearable technology, which in turn paved the way for today's Apple and Android smartwatches.

September 2013 Intel is building the extremely power-efficient Quark processor, designed specifically for the next generation of devices—wearables, jewelry, and clothing—also called ultra-mobile. In this case, energy saving and small dimensions are more important than efficiency.

April 2014 Google offers a platform for wearable electronics, so far mainly for so-called smart watches called Android Wear. This is a modified version of the most popular operating system for mobile devices. The interface is based on a mobile "assistant" - the Google Now application, which presents notifications from the application and information that the user may need at the moment (for example, weather forecast). To promote the new system, the search engine mogul has partnered with many electronics manufacturers, including Asus, Broadcom, Fossil, HTC, Intel, LG, MediaTek, MIPS, Motorola, Qualcomm and Samsung.

January 2015 Premiere of HoloLens (12), Microsoft augmented reality glasses. In addition to the device itself, the capabilities of the Windows Holographic platform were also presented. The heart of the device is a quad-core 64-bit Intel Atom x5-Z8100 processor with a clock speed of 1,04 GHz, and graphics support is provided by a specially developed Intel chip called the HPU (Holographics Processing Unit). Two cameras were installed in the glasses - 2,4 MP (2048 × 1152) and 1,1 MP (1408 × 792, 30 FPS), as well as Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1 modules. Power is provided by a 16 mAh battery.

12. HoloLens glasses - visualization

April 2015 Apple Watch enters the market running the watchOS operating system, which is based on the iOS system used in the iPhone, iPod and iPad. It allows, among other things, to display messages from the phone, answer incoming calls, control music or the camera. In the App Store, you can find downloadable apps for Apple Watch that enhance its functionality. It is compatible with iPhones from iPhone 5 and above with software above iOS 8, with which it connects via or Bluetooth.

Some types of wearable electronics

SmartWatch

This name is defined as an electronic mobile device of the touch screen type, the size of a wristwatch, that performs all the functions of a traditional electronic watch and some of the functions of a smartphone, such as displaying messages from the phone, answering calls, or controlling the phone. music player, as well as additional functions, such as measuring the pulse or the number of steps taken. Most often it works on the basis of the Android Wear, iOS or Tizen operating system.

Gadgets of this type can have such applications as: camera, accelerometer, vibration signal, thermometer, heart rate monitor, altimeter, barometer, compass, chronograph, calculator, mobile phone, GPS, MP3 player and others. Manufacturers also install various types of wireless communications in them, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and IrDA. Pebble was the forerunner of today's smartwatches. Currently, the main player in this market is Samsung with its Gear and AppleWatch models.

Smart glasses

Smart glasses are worn like ordinary glasses, and they function as a display on which additional information is displayed using augmented reality technology - for example, maps with driving routes, weather forecasts, information about attractions. The best-known smart glasses are Google Glass, although cheaper competitors such as GlassUp, EmoPulse, ION Smart Glasses, Samsung Smart Glasses, and Vuzix M100 have emerged. Some require pairing with your phone, but most can work alone.

Fitness trackers

This is a general term. The most common are the so-called wrist training bracelets. However, we are talking about any type of device that measures health parameters - for example, on the chest, ankle or even neck - and monitors the user's body.

Most models measure heart rate, but some also record steps, reps, breaths or calories burned. The most famous brands are Nike Fitband, Fitbit, iHealth and Jawbone. These devices help organize the user's workouts, achieve weight loss goals, and compare their own athletic performance.

Fitness and health monitoring bracelets

smart clothes

are created in many research centers of universities and industrial laboratories. Depending on the design, such clothing should perform the functions of a mobile phone, a computer and a diagnostic kit that checks the health of the person who wears it. For example, it can also control body temperature.

T-shirts or sweatshirts (like the Google design) are equipped with sensors that analyze organ function, breathing rate and monitor lung capacity. They also measure our steps, gait rhythm and intensity, etc. The data is sent through a special module to the mobile application of the user's smartphone. Likewise with shoes.

Sensors built into shoes should track every step a runner takes and record it in a special system. The corresponding software then analyzes the data: running speed, the power with which the foot is placed, and various overloads. This information is transmitted to the smartphone and the software provides the runner with tips to help him improve his running style.

Wear of electronics - not by people

More and more popular are those that are designed specifically for ... pets, including farm animals, and even wild ones. Among them are GPS collars, activity trackers, gadgets that track heart rate, breathing, and other parameters. Wild animals equipped with sensors and transmitters, and even cameras, can help ecologists study their environment by providing data from the areas where they live.

Jaw collar with whistle