Technology is moving off the desktop and on to the body. While technology already plays an essential role in our daily lives, new wearable technologies have the ability to take the relationship between people and technology even further. These emerging technologies could allow people to interact better with technology and, at the same time, enable more meaningful experiences by extending the reach of interpersonal and machine-to-person communication. The advantages of this new generation of wearables are many, e.g. they are hands-free, always-on, environmentally-aware, constantly connected, and attention-getting, there are also many drawbacks such as the constant urge to check the information the devices are providing. Even more important are the significant concerns regarding data privacy as well as moral, social and ethical issues.

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1
GT
BRIEFING
November
2014:
Wearables:
Fab,
fashion
or
func@onal?
www.globaltrends.com

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2

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3
19+
million
wearable
compuCng
devices
will
ship
in
2014.
In
2018
shipments
will
increase
to
about
112
million.
(Source:
IDC)
Forrester
Research
predicts
that
the
interest
in
wearable
devices
will
probably
rise
in
2015
but
could
decline
as
early
as
2016.
(Source:
New
York
Times)
Photocredit:
hTp://diginomica.com/2014/06/12/assuring-­‐trust-­‐wears/#.VEEndOe7nMM

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4
With
NO
regulaCon
personal,
behavioral
and
medical
data
may
potenCally
be
sold
to
third
parCes,
such
as
employers,
insurance
providers,
and
other
companies,
without
the
users’
knowledge
or
consent

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5
Fitbit,
the
fitness
tracker,
is
collaboraCng
with
the
luxury
brand
Tory
Burch’s
Photo
credit:
hTp://www.fitbit.com/
Photo
credit:
hTp://www.nyCmes.com/2014/10/09/technology/
personaltech/fashion-­‐and-­‐funcConality-­‐meet-­‐in-­‐smart-­‐
jewelry.html?_r=2

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6
Wearables
as
a
crime-­‐figh@ng
tool
Google
Glass
will
be
issued
to
detecCves
of
the
Dubai
police
force
so
that
they
can
uClize
the
device's
facial
recogniCon
technology.
The
American
police
force
has
also
shown
interest
in
using
Google
Glass
as
a
crime-­‐fighCng
tool.
(Source:
InternaConal
Business
Times)
Financial
services
made
easy
Spain’s
Banco
Sabadell
has
created
a
banking
app
for
Google
Glass
that
displays
the
nearest
ATM,
allows
the
viewing
of
accounts,
and
supports
24/7
video
conferencing,
while
others
are
tweaking
their
mobile
banking
apps
for
smart
watches.
(Source:
Bank
InnovaCon)
Transforming
workplaces
Service
technicians
on
top
of
a
wind
turbine
are
tesCng
smartglasses
to
access
work
orders
and
take
photos
while
keeping
their
hands
free.
In
potenCally
dangerous
areas
like
construcCon
sites,
smartwatches
are
being
tested
to
monitor
heart
rates
and
provide
safety
and
locaCon-­‐based
alerts.
(Source:
InformaConweek)
Improving
lives
through
wearables
Wearable
device
Endotheliometer
will,
when
fully
developed,
be
able
to
measure
one’s
overall
health
and
could
potenCally
be
used
as
a
rouCne
diagnosCc
tool.
It
measures
acCvity
within
the
endothelium,
the
condiCon
of
which
declines
with
age,
so
the
device
could
monitor
one’s
mortality,
aging
and
illness.
(Source:
PSFK)

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7
(Photo
credit:
hTp://www.flickr.com/photos/25958224@N02/81228568630
Mark
Gasson
from
the
University
of
Reading
holding
the
computer
chip
that
was
injected
into
his
hand.
(Photo
credit
and
source:
hTp://www.businessinsider.com/
microchip-­‐implants-­‐in-­‐healthy-­‐people-­‐2014-­‐7)
Neil
Harbisson
who
was
born
without
the
ability
to
see
color,
is
a
cyborg.
He
decided
to
“hack”
his
own
body
with
a
“eyeborg.”
It
translates
color
informaCon
into
sound
and
now
he
effecCvely
hears
colors
instead
of
seeing
them.

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8
Click
here
to
read
the
full
briefing:
Wearables:
Fab,
fashion
or
func@onal?
In
November,
look
out
for
trends
in
ac@on
on
10
Key
Trends
to
Watch
for
2015

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9
This
presenta@on
is
adapted
from
the
GT
Briefing
October
2014:
Waste:
Avoiding,
Managing
or
Designing
it
out.
Electronic
copies
of
the
briefing
and
of
our
The
Global
Trends
Fieldbook:
From
Data
to
Insights
to
Ac@on
are
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and
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Trends
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