The Evolution of Wearable Technologies: From Fitness Tracker to Intelligent Companions

The development of wearable technologies has turned personal devices into the intelligent companions to individuals that can easily adjust to everyday life and do not seem like a mere activity tracker. Early fitness trackers were mainly known to count the number of steps, check the heart rate, and promote better health habits. With the development of sensors, wireless connectivity, artificial intelligence and miniaturised electronics, the functionality of wearables has grown significantly beyond mere health data in the long term. The wearable devices in the modern world are able to read patterns in behaviour, make customised suggestions, real-time decision support, and even anticipate possible health risks. The connection to smartphones, cloud environments, and the Internet-of-Things systems has allowed them to be constantly monitored, to enhance their interaction with the users and provide them with adaptive functionality based on their needs. As wearables move to the next stage of their development, they are transforming into proactive, context-aware assistants which can improve productivity, well-being, safety, and the quality of life, in general. In this chapter, the author examines this extraordinary journey with the most important technological discoveries and design changes that led to the creation of wearables as smart digital assistants.