Читать книгу Fundamentals of IoT and Wearable Technology Design - Haider Raad - Страница 23

The beginning of this decade has surely witnessed the increasing number of wearable devices where one can spot numerous variations of smart watches, health assistive gadgets, fitness trackers, and smart clothes on the shelves. The growing number of these sleek devices since then along with their expanding applications clearly indicates that wearables are thriving. But one may ask: When and how did it all begin?

Here, we are not discussing the first ubiquitous wearable technology: the eyeglasses, which dates back to the thirteenth century, nor the abacus ring which dates back to the early days of China's Qing dynasty in the seventeenth century. We are specifically addressing smart wearables that have digital computational power!

One may be surprised to learn that much of the history of wearables is found in a “smart” shoe used to cheat at roulette tables in casinos! In 1961, Edward Thorp and Claude Shannon³ built computing devices that could predict where the ball would land on a roulette wheel which could improve the chances of winning a bet by up to 44%. Obviously, Thorp and Shannon's apparatus was not illegal at the time of invention. One of devices was concealed in a shoe, while the other in a pack of cigarettes. It is worth mentioning that Edward Thorp credits himself as the inventor of the first wearable computing device. Other variations of such apparatus were designed and built in the 1960s and 1970s targeting the casino business, perhaps the most widely known is “George,” a shoe‐based wearable device designed by Keith Taft who used his toes to operate it. The smart shoe was used to gain an advantage at Blackjack tables.

Previously, in 1938, Aurex Corp., a Chicago‐based electronics firm, developed the first electronic hearing aid device, marking one of the first innovations in the biomedical wearables industry. In 1958, the world's first pacemaker was invented by Earl Bakken. One might argue that these are not “smart technologies” since they are not based on a digital computing system; however, they gave rise to their smart counterparts we know today.

On the other hand, the first “smart watch” was first launched in 1975 holding the brand name “Pulsar.” The smart watch was primarily a wearable calculator that also tells time in a digital format. The Pulsar became a widely adopted gadget by electronics enthusiasts and math geeks all over the world! Despite their drastic popularity decline, these watches are still being produced by many manufacturers to this day (Figure 1.5).

Some might argue that the iconic Walkman music player was the first ever wearable technology that truly went mainstream. The Japanese brand SONY launched the Walkman in 1979 and was followed by a triumphant commercial success as it significantly transformed the music listening routines for millions of consumers around the world. SONY's Walkman production line was discontinued indefinitely in 2010 with over 220 million machines sold worldwide.

Figure 1.5 The pulsar calculator LED watch released in 1975.

Source: Photo courtesy of Piotr Samulik.

In 1981, Steve Mann, a high school student, incorporated an Apple II (6502) computer into a steel‐framed backpack to control a photography apparatus attached to a helmet. It is also worth mentioning that Steve Mann is also known for creating the first wearable wireless webcam in 1994 and as the first lifelogger.⁴ He has also pioneered many innovations in the fields of wearable technology and digital photography (Figure 1.6).

In the realm of health care, the first practical and fully digital hearing aid device was invented by Engebretson, Morley, and Popelka. Their patent, “Hearing aids, signal supplying apparatus, systems for compensating hearing deficiencies, and methods” filed in 1984 served as the basis of all subsequent digital hearing aid devices, including those produced today.

The mid‐1990s marked the brainstorming period for wearable technology where conferences and expos on wearables and smart textiles began to see a rise in popularity. The DARPA held its forward‐thinking workshop in 1996 entitled “Wearables in 2005.” One of DARPA's galvanizing predictions included computerized gloves that could read RFID tags. However, wearables were overshadowed by the smartphone revolution between the late 1990s and mid‐2000s, smartphones were simply the consumer's gadget of choice, due to obvious reasons.

Figure 1.6 Steve Mann wearing one of his wireless wearable webcam.

Source: Glogger, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SteveMann_with_Generation‐4_Glass_1999.jpg. Licensed Under CC BY‐SA 3.0.

In 2003, the Garmin Forerunner, a watch that tracks the user's performance, emerged which was immediately followed by popular fitness trackers we all know today such as the Nike+, Jawbone, and Fitbit.

Toward the end of 2000s, several Chinese companies started producing Global System for Mobile (GSM) phones integrated within wristbands and equipped with mini displays. On the other hand, the first smart watch, Pebble, came to the scene in 2012, followed by the much‐hyped Apple Watch in 2014.

Future wearables may enable new functions and services that one could barely imagine, but it is clear to see how early wearables evolved into the fascinating devices we enjoy today.