Smart wearable technologies智能可穿戴技术
Smart wearable technologies, known mostly just as “wearables,” are electronic devices that are physically worn by individuals in order to track, analyze and transmit personal data. These “smart” Internet of Things devices can track biometric data from heart rate to sleep patterns, and are also becoming popular consumer technologies in the gaming and fashion industries.
智能可穿戴技术,通常被称为“可穿戴设备”,是指个人穿戴的电子设备,用于跟踪、分析和传输个人数据。这些“智能”物联网设备可以跟踪从心率到睡眠模式的生物特征数据,也正在成为游戏和时尚行业流行的消费技术。
What Is Wearable Technology? 什么是可穿戴技术?
It seems like everything nowadays is a smart device. Smart toasters. Smart dog collars. Smart homes. In the age of smart, there is nothing more intelligent or more innovative than the devices being produced by the wearables industry.
似乎现在的一切都是智能设备,如智能烤面包机、智能狗项圈及智能家居等。在智能时代,没有什么比可穿戴设备行业生产的设备更智能、更创新了。
Wearable devices help collect and analyze real-time personal data that informs us on everything from our health to our workouts. They’ve become extremely popular tools to help us stay informed and in touch with ourselves to the point that almost a quarter of people in the U.S. now sport a wearable device.
可穿戴设备帮助收集和分析实时个人数据,这些数据告诉我们从自身数据健康到如何通过锻炼来实现健康的一切信息。它们已经成为我们最喜欢的电子工具,帮助我们实时与自身健康数据保持数据同步。据悉,现在几乎四分之一的美国人都在使用可穿戴设备。
WHAT ARE WEARABLES? 什么是可穿戴设备?
Wearables make up a broad category that includes any device worn or attached to a user’s body. Smart watches, VR headsets and wearable electrocardiograms are a few examples. These devices support purposes related to areas like health and fitness, entertainment and everyday use.
具体来讲,可穿戴设备种类涉及非常广泛,其中包括任何佩戴或连接到用户我们身体上的智能电子设备,如智能手表、VR头显和可穿戴心电图设备等。这些设备支持与健康和健身、娱乐和日常使用等领域相关的用途。
What exactly is a wearable? Wearables are electronic devices that are worn on a person — usually close to the skin — in order to accurately relay important medical, biological and exercise data to a database.
可穿戴设备到底是什么?可穿戴设备是一种穿戴在人身上的电子设备,通常紧贴皮肤,以便准确地将重要的医疗、生物和运动数据传输到数据库。
Wearables have helped make the IoT industry the $594 billion dollar behemoth it is today (the wearables industry itself is expected to balloon to $111 billion by 2027). Apple Watches and Fitbits are classic examples of wearable technology, but those aren’t the only devices being developed today. In addition to smart watches, VR and AR technology, smart jackets and a wide variety of other gadgets are leading us towards a better-connected lifestyle. Each device’s main job is to collect millions of data points that range from how many steps you take to your heart rate.
可穿戴设备帮助物联网产业成为今天价值5940亿美元的庞然大物(预计到2027年,可穿戴设备行业本身的产值将膨胀至1110亿美元)。Apple Watch和Fitbit是可穿戴技术的经典例子,但这并不是目前唯一正在开发的设备。除了智能手表,VR和AR技术,智能夹克和各种各样的其他小型便携式设备正在引领我们走向更好的连接生活方式。每个设备的主要任务是收集数百万个数据点,其范围包括从你的步数到你的心率。
Benefits of Wearables可穿戴设备的好处
The advancement of wearables has been a welcomed tool for the insurance, healthcare and sports industries for a number of reasons. From encouraging healthier habits to optimizing physical performance, industries have reaped numerous rewards that come with wearable tech.
可穿戴设备的发展已经成为保险、医疗和体育行业的一个受欢迎的工具,原因有很多。从鼓励更健康的习惯到优化身体表现,各个行业都因可穿戴技术而获得了无数的回报。
Wearables Improve Healthcare可穿戴设备改善医疗保健
The healthcare industry is probably seeing the biggest benefit from wearable technology. Patients who wear these smart devices can measure information ranging from body temperature to blood pressure, which is then relayed to their medical team in real-time. If something looks off, doctors have a quicker way to accurately diagnose and treat a patient. The entire treatment process is now quicker thanks to the data collected by a wearable device because doctors no longer have to run a gamut of tests to determine an illness or disease. They can reference the data collected by a wearable to quickly figure out the cause of the medical mishap.
医疗保健行业可能正在从可穿戴技术中看到最大的好处。佩戴这些智能设备的患者可以测量从体温到血压的各种信息,然后将这些信息实时传递给他们的医疗团队。如果察觉到任何异常,医生就可以以更快的方法来准确诊断和治疗病人。在可穿戴设备收集的数据的协助下,整个治疗过程现在更快了,因为医生不再需要动用一系列检测来确定病情。他们可以参考可穿戴设备收集的数据,迅速找出病因。
Wearables Provide More Insights Into Sports and Fitness Performance可穿戴设备为运动和健身性能提供更多可能
Having all of this health data in real-time is, of course, helping the sports and fitness industries push the boundaries of training. Professional athletes from all over the world maximize their training regimes thanks to the biometric data captured through wearable technology. Elite athletes, from marathon runners to the Golden State Warriors and Liverpool FC, are using smart compression shirts to maximize every move an athlete makes. These smart shirts use a combination of GPS, accelerometers and biomedical sensors to constantly measure the performance of each athlete. Is Liverpool superstar Mo Salah taking the optimal route to a ball? Is NBA all-star Steph Curry maximizing his hydration levels to perform at his peak ability? How can MLB players, like Mike Trout or Kris Bryant, maximize their acceleration out of the batter’s box? Wearable technology is the key to answering these questions and unlocking the optimal potential of world-class athletes.
当然,实时掌握所有这些健康数据有助于推动体育和健身行业拓展训练的边界。来自世界各地的专业运动员通过可穿戴技术获取的生物识别数据最大化了他们的训练制度。精英运动员,从马拉松运动员到金州勇士队和利物浦足球俱乐部,都在使用智能紧身衣,以最大限度地提高运动员的每一个动作。这些智能球衣结合了GPS、加速度计和生物医学传感器,不断测量每个运动员的表现。利物浦超级巨星莫萨拉是否选择了最佳的进球路线?是NBA全明星库里最大限度地提高水化水平,以发挥他的巅峰能力?像迈克·特劳特或克里斯·布莱恩特这样的美国职棒大联盟球员,如何才能最大限度地提高他们在击球区外的加速度?可穿戴技术是回答这些问题、释放世界级运动员最优潜能的关键。
Wearables Increase the Productivity and Health of Workforces可穿戴设备提高劳动力的生产力和健康
The business world has benefited from the introduction of wearables to its workforce. Seventy-nine percent of employees who wear a smart device in the office report that the devices are instrumental to their work. Equipping a workforce with wearable devices makes sense for employers. These devices enhance communication, track employee activity, boost job site safety measures and can actually improve the health and quality of life for a workforce. A healthier, happier workforce will then lead to higher rates of employee retention, saving companies thousands, if not millions, of dollars annually.
商业界已经从可穿戴设备的引入中受益。79%在办公室佩戴智能设备的员工表示,智能设备对他们的工作很有帮助。为员工配备可穿戴设备对雇主来说是有意义的。这些设备可以加强沟通、跟踪员工活动、促进工地安全措施,实际上可以改善员工的健康和生活质量。一个更健康、更快乐的员工队伍将带来更高的员工保留率,每年为公司节省数千甚至数百万美元。
Health and Fitness Wearables健康与健身可穿戴设备
Wearables are often associated with the health and wellness sectors. Smart watches, like a Fitbit or Apple Watch, have pioneered the way we track everything from heart rates to our daily steps. Constantly checking in with them has become part of a daily routine for many.
可穿戴设备通常与健康和健康领域有关。智能手表,如Fitbit或Apple Watch,开创了我们追踪从心率到日常步幅的一切方式。不断地与他们联系已经成为许多人日常生活的一部分。
These watches inherently encourage healthier lifestyles because of the data they collect. Knowing how far you run encourages you to push yourself further to beat your old record. Seeing that you’re almost to your daily 10,000-step goal encourages you to go for a walk around the block. Even tracking your current sleep habits could lead to changes that help you sleep more soundly at night. In a sense, wearable tech is one of the best ways to gamify the health and wellness journey.
这些手表从本质上鼓励更健康的生活方式,因为它们收集的数据。知道你跑了多远,并会鼓励你更进一步去打破你的旧记录。看到你几乎达到了每天一万步的目标,这会鼓励你去附近散步。即使是跟踪你目前的睡眠习惯,也可能导致一些改变,帮助你在晚上睡得更香。从某种意义上说,可穿戴技术是将健康和养生之道游戏化的最佳途径之一。
Life Insurance Wearables人寿保险可穿戴设备
In order to promote healthier lifestyles, life insurance companies issue wearables to their customers, who then track their health data. Devices like smart watches and fitness trackers provide details on someone’s activity levels, heart rate and other important health data points. The data collected informs premium prices and can paint a more accurate picture about the overall health of life insurance customers. It’s a much more concrete method rather than relying on a vague metric, such as one’s age, when creating an individual policy.
为了推广更健康的生活方式,寿险公司会向客户发放可穿戴设备,客户会跟踪他们的健康数据。智能手表和健身追踪器等设备提供了有关个人活动水平、心率和其他重要健康数据点的详细信息。所收集的数据告知保费价格,并可以描绘出一个关于寿险客户的整体健康更准确的画面。这是一个更具体的方法,而不是仅依赖一个模糊的指标,如一个人的年龄,去为他人创建某项保险策略。
Gaming Wearables游戏可穿戴设备
Gaming is one of the biggest frontiers for wearable technology. Virtual reality (VR) headsets are the most common form of wearable devices in the industry. VR headsets, like the Oculus Rift or the Playstation VR, instantly immerse gamers in other-worldly experiences from the second they strap in. Do you want to know how it would feel to fight with Lightsabers? Maybe you really want to live out your adrenaline junky dreams of racing in the Indianapolis 500? VR wearables are bringing awe-inspiring experiences like these to gamers all over the world.
游戏是可穿戴技术的最大前沿领域之一。虚拟现实(VR)头显是行业中最常见的可穿戴设备形式。VR头戴设备,如Oculus Rift或Playstation VR,从玩家戴上头盔的那一刻起,就能立即沉浸在超凡脱俗的体验中。你想知道用光剑战斗的感觉吗?也许你真的想在印第安纳狂飙超级跑车波利斯500?VR可穿戴设备正在为全世界的游戏玩家带来令人敬畏的体验。
Wearable technologies taking off in the gaming industry are haptic devices. These smart wearables provide tactile feedback to a gamer in real time. This means that a device takes advantage of a gamer’s sense of touch by providing force or vibrations to a user. To put it simply, haptic vests, gloves or suits make gaming more realistic — a gamer can now feel actual recoil after shooting their virtual weapon or can even experience real feedback of what it feels like to dribble a virtual basketball. Though still in its infancy, haptic technology is poised to make the future of gaming, and wearables, more entertaining and realistic.
游戏行业中兴起的可穿戴技术是触觉设备。这些智能可穿戴设备实时向玩家提供触觉反馈。这意味着设备通过向用户提供力量或振动来利用玩家的触觉。简单地说,触觉背心、手套或服饰使游戏更加逼真–玩家现在可以在射击虚拟武器后感觉到实际的后坐力,甚至可以体验到运虚拟篮球的真实感。尽管触觉技术还处于起步阶段,但它将使游戏和可穿戴设备的未来变得更加有趣和现实。
Fashion Wearables时尚可穿戴设备
It only makes sense that wearable tech has started to permeate fashion culture. Athletes wear full-body suits, equipped with hundreds of little IoT sensors, to measure their every move. The data gathered will help them to better optimize their swing, shot or kick. Smart jackets are being made to automatically cool or warm the body based on body temperatures taken from sensors throughout the jacket. Smart rings are giving people a stylish way to track their steps or measure their sleep habits. Our pants might one day become smart enough to use the thermal energy our bodies naturally produce to charge our cell phones. Wearable devices in fashion demonstrate that tech can be smart and sophisticated all at once.
可穿戴技术已经开始渗透到时尚文化中。运动员穿着全身套装,配备了数百个物联网小传感器,这些传感器测量他们的一举一动。收集的数据将帮助他们优化挥杆、击球或踢腿。智能夹克可以根据从夹克上的传感器获取的体温自动为身体降温或保暖。智能手环为人们提供了一种时尚的方式来跟踪自己的步伐或测量自己的睡眠习惯。我们的裤子也许有一天会变得足够智能,可以利用我们身体自然产生的热能来给手机充电。时尚界的可穿戴设备表明,科技可以同时变得智能和复杂。
The ability of smart wearables to immerse users in virtual environments has made them a vital tool for the travel industry. With VR technology, companies can provide in-depth virtual tours of hotel rooms, local landmarks and other potential destinations. People can then make more informed decisions about where they choose to stay and visit, resulting in a higher-quality travel experience for customers.
智能可穿戴设备让用户沉浸在虚拟环境中的能力,使其成为旅游行业的重要工具。借助VR技术,公司可以提供酒店房间、当地地标和其他潜在目的地的深度虚拟旅游。然后,人们可以更明智地决定他们选择停留和访问的地方,从而为客户提供更高质量的旅行体验。
Many airlines also cater to wearable devices, allowing customers to store tickets and boarding passes in a digital wallet like Apple Wallet. If someone is wearing a smart watch, they can pull up any necessary passes for a faster entry and boarding process.
许多航空公司还迎合了可穿戴设备的需求,允许客户将机票和登机牌存储在像Apple Wallet这样的数字钱包中。如果有人戴着智能手表,他们可以调出任何必要的通行证,以便更快地进入和登机过程。
Education Wearables 教育可穿戴设备
Education has had to adapt to the digital age, and wearable tech has helped the industry catch up with the latest developments. Smart glasses and VR headsets enable organizations to train students and employees through simulations and virtual environments. Users are immersed in a real-life scenario, allowing them to spend more time learning by doing rather than listening to a lecture or presentation.
教育不得不适应数字时代,可穿戴技术帮助这个行业赶上了最新的发展。智能眼镜和VR头显使教育机构能够通过模拟和虚拟环境对学生和员工进行培训。用户沉浸在一个真实的场景中,让他们花更多的时间在做中学习,而不是听讲座或演示。
In addition, brain sensor headbands track when someone’s mind is stressed and relaxed. Educators can leverage this device to learn when students are pushing their minds too much and teach them how to remain calm while taking in new experiences and knowledge.
此外,大脑传感器头带还能追踪一个人的大脑何时处于紧张和放松状态。教育工作者可以利用这个设备来学习,当学生把他们的思想逼得太紧时,教他们如何在接受新的经验和知识时保持冷静。
Logistics Wearables 物流可穿戴设备
Another beneficiary of wearables is the logistics industry, which relies on wearable tech to develop more efficient operations. Smart glasses like Google Glass enable warehouse workers to quickly scan barcodes, pull up information from a database and make updates along the way. This process eliminates the need for workers to keep going back to a physical computer, saving them time as they organize packages and items.
可穿戴设备的另一个受益者是物流行业,该行业依赖于可穿戴技术来开发更高效的运营。像谷歌眼镜这样的智能眼镜使仓库工人能够快速扫描条形码,从数据库中提取信息,并在保持同步数据更新。这一过程避免了工人不断回到计算机更新数据的动作,因此也大大节省了他们整理货物和各类产品的时间。
Some VR glasses go as far as to help workers determine their location in a large warehouse, mapping out the optimal route to travel between two points. These glasses can also reveal the best ways to organize packages for maximized storage without crushing lighter items. All these abilities make wearable devices a must-have for logistics companies.
一些VR眼镜甚至可以帮助工人确定他们在大型仓库中的位置,绘制出在两个点之间行走的最佳路线。这些智能眼镜还可以提供货物仓储的最佳方式,比如:如何以最大限度地存储,而不会压碎较轻的物品。因此,实现上述目的使得可穿戴设备成为物流公司的必备品。