Ben Singh, University of South Australia and Carol Maher, University of South Australia
About one in five Aussies currently own a wearable fitness tracker of some kind. Yet many people doubt their effectiveness. Let’s see what the research suggests.
Wearable technology can help elite athletes, but sometimes too much data can be a problem.
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The government of Ontario’s announcement of funding of a wearable contact tracking device for workplaces raises concerns about privacy and surveillance.
Researchers are developing tattoo inks that do more than make pretty colors. Some can sense chemicals, temperature and UV radiation, setting the stage for tattoos that diagnose health problems.
Fitness information from wearable devices can reveal when the body is fighting an infection.
Nico De Pasquale Photography/Stone via Getty Images
Fitness information like resting heart rate collected by wearable devices can’t diagnose diseases, but it can signal when something is wrong. That can be enough to prompt a COVID-19 test.
Smartphone apps and wearable devices can tell when workers have been within six feet of each other, promising to help curb the coronavirus. But they’re not all the same when it comes to privacy.
Tiny fuel cells convert sweat to electricity that can power sensors in electronic skin.
Yu et al., Sci. Robot. 5, eaaz7946 (2020)
Lightweight, flexible materials can be used to make health-monitoring wearable devices, but powering the devices is a challenge. Using fuel cells instead of batteries could make the difference.
Trying a new exercise routine? Strapping on a new wearable monitor? An expert in human physiology explains the ins and outs of your heart rate and why it’s a valuable number to understand.
Interactions between people and machines continue to increase.
Tecnalia/Flickr
Engineers predict a time when people and robots physically interact all day long. For that to happen safely will require new soft materials that can do things like sense touch and change shape.
Technology can help crime victims deal with the situation - but the best solution is to avoid people being victims in the first place.
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The Rape-aXe ‘female condom’, anti-rape underwear and an anti-groping stamp are all now on the market. But they put the onus on women to protect themselves, rather than on men not to attack them.
Clara, keen as ever for some well-deserved attention.
@anmore
It can be tough to train a dog – but mainly because humans are even more prone to distraction and inconsistency than our canine companions. Wearable technology might help us be a bit more consistent.
A smartphone that bends: one day soon this could be your flexible friend.
Shutterstock/Gang Liu
Making technology such as a new smartphone that can you can roll, fold and bend requires new ways to manufacture.
Currently only half of people with depression access potentially adequate treatment, according to one research study. Digital devices could help.
(Unsplash/boudewijn huysmans)
Using smartphones and wearable devices to identify mental health symptoms and deliver psychotherapy will allow more people to access quality care, according to one psychiatrist.
SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney