Sensors and data tracking

Wearables are electronic technology or devices incorporated into items that can be comfortably worn on a body. These wearable devices are used for tracking information on real-time basis. They have motion sensors that take the snapshot of your day-to-day activity and sync them with mobile devices or laptop computers.

Different types of Wearables devices are present in the market today

• Smart Watches A watch that does more than just telling time. It provides users notifications on their calls, messages, emails, social media updates, etc.

• Fitness Tracker: Helps keep a track of the number of steps the user walks each day and continuously monitors the heart rate. Using this information, the device is able to calculate and report accurate data on calorie burn and exercise done by the user.

• Head-Mounted Display: Takes you to a different world of virtual reality. It provides virtual information directly to your eyes.

• Sports watches: The wearable devices are specially built for sports personnel who love running, cycling, swimming, etc. These devices come with GPS trackers and record information on the user’s pace, heart rate, etc.

• Smart jewelry: Smartwatches are designed as jewelry especially targeting women. This jewelry notifies the users of their text messages, calls, or emails when their phone is out of reach.

• Smart Clothing: Smart electronic devices are incorporated into Wearable Clothing to give an interesting and fashionable look.

• Implantable: These wearable electronics are surgically implanted under the skin. These are usually used for medical reasons like tracking contraception, insulin levels, etc.

The need for Wearables Technology:

Wearable technology aims to influence the fields of health and medicine, fitness, aging, disability, education, transportation, enterprise, finance, gaming, music, etc. The goal is to smoothly enter the daily lives of individuals and become a functional part of them.

The hands-free nature of wearable computing devices makes them very useful for businesses. Tracking the emergency and rescue team becomes easy thus making the workplace more efficient and safe. Hands-free access to important data and information through smart glasses and smartwatches helps researchers, engineers, and technicians to be more efficient at their work.

Gartner-Forecasts Global Spending on Wearable Devices to Total $81.5 Billion in 2021

Rise in Remote Work and Interest in Health Monitoring Driving Growth

Worldwide end-user spending on wearable devices will total $81.5 billion in 2021, an 18.1% increase from $69 billion in 2020, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc. The rise in remote work and increased interest in health monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant factor driving the market growth.

“The introduction of health measures to self-track COVID-19 symptoms, along with increasing interest from consumers in their personal health and wellness during global lockdowns, presented a significant opportunity for the wearables market,” said Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at Gartner. “Ear-worn devices and smartwatches are seeing particularly robust growth as consumers rely on these devices for remote work, fitness activities, health tracking and more.”

Spending on ear-worn devices rose 124% in 2020, totaling $32.7 billion, and is forecast to reach $39.2 billion in 2021 (see Table 1). This massive growth can be largely attributed to remote workers upgrading their headphones for video calling and consumers purchasing headphones they use with their smartphone devices.

Table 1

Worldwide Wearable Devices End-User Spending by Type, 2019-2022 (Millions of Dollars)

Device Type	2019	2020	2021	2022
Smartwatch	18,501	21,758	25,827	31,337
Wristband	5,101	4,987	4,906	4,477
Ear-worn	14,583	32,724	39,220	44,160
Head-mounted display	2,777	3,414	4,054	4,573
Smart clothing	1,333	1,411	1,529	2,160
Smart patches	3,900	4,690	5,963	7,150
Total	46,194	68,985	81,499	93,858