Wearable Tech: Why Architectures Matter

This paper explores the issues surrounding the evolution of wearable technology and the principle of taking a platform based approach and what could be done to make wearable technology easier to develop and more accessible. The paper suggests definitions of where the boundary lies between what constitutes wearable technology and technology that is carried rather than worn. The main areas highlighted for discussion came about as a result of the research into the issues surrounding wearable technology development. The two principle technology based issues are the generation, storage and transfer of electrical power, and the safety, security and storage of Data. The third main issue is the social framework in which wearable technology is developing and how acceptable the use of technology is in today’s society. This paper concludes by highlighting the issues in these three areas with a view to encouraging the technology manufacturers to develop solutions to the power and data questions, whilst in the meantime encouraging society as a whole to reflect and see what technology means to our future social architecture.