Wearable technology is one of the fastest growing sectors of the technology industry. So fast that it surpasses the investments in research made for the development of smartphones. From fitness trackers to virtual and augmented reality headsets, wearable devices are on the rise, and will soon be everywhere around us and on us.
Engineers at the University of Arizona have introduced a new concept which allows us to develop wearable devices perfectly adapted to a person. Devices that use wireless power transmission to operate 24/24, without ever having to recharge.
Symbiotic wearable devices
This new category of wearable devices is based on the body scan of who has to wear them. The devices are 3D printed and equipped with all the necessary functions, especially the positioning of sensors that allow the continuous monitoring of otherwise inaccessible points of the body.
Stuart Tucker, PhD student in biomedical engineering and first author of the article, explains better:
To measure body temperature more accurately we should place a sensor in wearable devices that pass under the armpit. To measure how a bicep deforms during exercise, we could place a sensor directly on wearable devices that target the bicep. Thanks to this new development, we will be able to use wearable devices to collect data that no smartwatch, for example, could collect.
Wearable, personalized and precise
Since the new wearables are customized to each user, they are also much more sensitive. Scientists tested the device's ability to monitor parameters such as temperature and exertion as a volunteer jumped, walked on a treadmill, and used a rowing machine.
In the rowing machine test, subjects wore multiple devices, tracking the intensity of the exercise and how their muscles deformed in precise detail. The wearable devices created were so precise that they could detect changes in body temperature induced even by minimal gestures.
A future all downhill
Tests like this show us very clearly what the next direction of “w“. I see it all in contraptions that do a great job without using adhesives whatsoever, powered by a wireless system several feet away. What if the user goes out of range of the system? The team also incorporated a small battery into these wearables that keeps them running for a while even beyond the perimeter of the wireless charger.
Philipp Gutruf, assistant professor of biomedical engineering is certain: “These devices are designed to require no interaction with the wearer. You just turn them on, then you forget about them and they do their job.”
Teknolojia inayoweza kuvaliwa ni moja ya sekta zinazokua kwa kasi zaidi katika sekta ya teknolojia. Kwa hivyo, kwa haraka, inazidi uwekezaji katika utafiti uliofanywa kwa maendeleo ya simu mahiri. Kutoka kwa vifaa vya kufuatilia mazoezi hadi vichwa vya sauti vya hali halisi, vifaa vinavyoweza kuvaliwa vinaongezeka, na hivi karibuni vitakuwa kila mahali karibu na sisi. Wataalamu wa Chuo Kikuu cha Arizona wametengeneza kifaa cha kuweza kuvaliwa ambacho kinaweza kuendana na mwili wa mtu. Vifaa vya umeme vinavyoweza kuendeshwa bila waya kwa masaa 24 bila malipo ya umeme. Symbiotic Wearables: Hii ni aina mpya ya vifaa vya kuvaa, na ni msingi wa skani ya mwili ya mtu ambaye ana kuvaa. Vifaa hivyo vimechapishwa kwa 3D na vimejengwa kwa vifaa vyote vinavyohitajika, hasa nafasi ya sensorer ambazo huruhusu ufuatiliaji wa kuendelea wa sehemu za mwili ambazo haziwezi kufikiwa. Stuart Tucker, mwanafunzi wa PhD katika uhandisi wa biomedical na mwandishi wa kwanza wa makala, anaelezea vizuri zaidi: Ili kupima joto la mwili kwa usahihi zaidi tunapaswa kuweka sensor katika vifaa vya kuvaa ambavyo hupita chini ya mkono. Kwa mfano, kwa kupima jinsi biceps inavyozidi kubadilika wakati wa mazoezi, tunaweza kuweka sensorer moja kwa moja kwenye vifaa vinavyoweza kuvaliwa vinavyolenga biceps. Kwa sababu ya maendeleo haya mapya, tutaweza kutumia vifaa vinavyoweza kuvaliwa kukusanya data ambazo hakuna saa ya akili, kwa mfano, inaweza kukusanya. Wearable, Personalized na Precision: Kwa kuwa vifaa vipya vinaweza kuvaliwa vinaweza kubadilishwa kwa kila mtumiaji, pia vinaweza kuonekana kwa urahisi. Wanasayansi walijaribu uwezo wa kifaa hicho cha kufuatilia vipimo kama vile joto na jitihada wakati mshiriki alipokuwa akiruka, akitembea kwenye treadmill, na kutumia mashine ya kupiga makasia. Katika jaribio la mashine ya kupiga makasia, watu waliovaa vifaa vingi, kufuatilia nguvu ya mazoezi na jinsi misuli yao ilivyobadilika kwa undani. Vifaa hivyo vilivyoundwa vilikuwa sahihi sana hivi kwamba vingeweza kugundua mabadiliko ya joto la mwili yanayosababishwa hata na ishara ndogo-ndogo. Majaribio kama haya yanaonyesha waziwazi mwelekeo ujao wa <unk>w<unk>. "Kama unavyoona, vifaa hivyo vinafanya kazi vizuri bila kutumia viambatisho vyovyote, na vinaendeshwa na mfumo wa wireless ulio umbali wa mita kadhaa.""" Namna gani ikiwa mtumiaji anaondoka nje ya eneo la mfumo? Timu hiyo pia ilijumuisha betri ndogo katika vifaa hivi vinavyoweza kuvaliwa ambavyo vinaendelea kufanya kazi kwa muda hata nje ya mzunguko wa chaja ya wireless. Philipp Gutruf, profesa msaidizi wa uhandisi wa biomedical ana uhakika: <unk>Vifaa hivi vimebuniwa bila kuhitaji mwingiliano na mtumiaji. Wewe tu kurejea juu yao, kisha wewe kusahau kuhusu yao na wao kufanya kazi yao. <unk>