Contents


Preface

Wearable technologies are networked devices equipped with microchips and sensors, capable of tracking and wirelessly communicating information in real time. The rapid adoption of such devices in the past decade has made them the most attractive innovation in the word of technology. From fitness activity trackers to Google Glass, miniaturized wearable devices have shown great potential to be embedded in various domains including healthcare, robotic systems, prosthetics, visual realities, professional sports, and entertainment and arts. Since their first innovation in the 1960s, a wide variety of wearable devices have been developed. These include single functional sensors such as temperature, pressure, and strain detectors, to multifunctional wearable systems capable of monitoring two or more

The wearable technologies market is expected to grow 80% from now until 2021, with revenue increasing from \$220 million to approximately \$12 billion. This is attributed to the wide variety of services these products can offer potential customers. For instance, wireless headset technologies, such as Elinka, OldShark, and Goodaa Sunglasses, can provide users the ability to enjoy music as well as answer phone calls while keeping their hands free during walking, biking, or driving. Fitbit fitness watches can continuously monitor heart rate, track activity, and even provide on-screen workouts with no need to be manually configurated on a daily basis. With innovations on the horizon, the future of wearable devices will go beyond answering calls or counting our steps to providing us with sophisticated wearable

gadgets capable of addressing fundamental and technological challenges.

This book investigates the development of wearable technologies across a range of applications from educational assessment to health, biomedical sensing, and energy harvesting. Furthermore, it discusses some key innovations in micro/nano fabrication of these technologies, their basic working mechanisms, and the challenges

**Dr Noushin Nasiri**

School of Engineering,

Macquarie University, Sydney NSW, Australia

Head of NanoTech Laboratory,

Faculty of Science and Engineering,

factors simultaneously.

facing their progress.
