Wearable Technologies in the Health Enterprise

Wearable technology has been on the horizon in the tech world for the past several years, but has often been viewed as a gimmick or expensive novelty item. Yet this futuristic trend has seen recent break outs in the areas of health and fitness, namely with wrist type wearables such as Fitbit and the Apple Watch.

Many of these devices are packed with everything you might find in a larger tablet, but miniaturized. Touchscreen technology combined with large amounts of memory are now being offered in a lightweight, wrist held package. These devices often offer WiFi, GPS, camera, microphone, and the GBs of storage we have grown accustomed to in our modern lives.

Yet the wearable market is poised to open into newer and broader fronts with the advent of "smart" clothing. Most smart clothing looks and feels similar to normal clothing but with sensors embedded into the fabric in such a minute fashion that the wearer is often unable to tell they are there.

Behind this smart clothing idea is the premise that they can be embedded with sensors that are then connected wirelessly to smartphones. They will then relay a variety of information to the user about their fitness and health regimens.

Recently, running socks have been launched that can track your runs better than a fitness tracker on your wrist. These socks have three pressure sensors embedded into them that track your pace, distance and time during a workout. This data can then be analyzed to give you tips on how to improve your exercise, improve exercise efficiency and help you to avoid injury. 

Whole body clothing is being developed that goes even further. These full body outfits track what muscles are being worked the hardest during your workouts. This technology is useful for people who want to efficiently work on a certain part or muscle area in their body and don't have the time to spend on traditional full body workouts.

This is a growing area that has not yet been exploited by marketing, and offers a unique position for a new businesses trying to break into the technological market. As the world becomes more connected, the devices we use daily have become so as well. This has wearable technology is traveling into new and unknown territory for marketers to adventure. 

Wearable Technologies in the Enterprise - Why Would Your Organization Not Use Them?

Wearable technologies in the enterprise are technological solutions that make good sense, period.  For instance, why not have a smart badge that could let your team leads know exactly where your employees are?  Suppose there is an emergency?  Suppose you need help within minutes or even seconds in some type of crisis situation?  Would you not want to know exactly who might be nearby to help?

There are any number of given scenarios where a smart badge would be a great help.  It would also be great to have a smart badge simply to park with a piece of expensive equipment, letting you know at all times where in the plant that equipment is.  

Of course, there's a great deal to be noted about the efficiency improvements that can come about by the use of wearable technologies in the enterprise, like smart badges.  "Frederick Taylor would have loved to have been able to monitor the efficiency of workers with wearable sensors. Tesco uses armbands to track how workers are transporting goods in their warehouse. Employees like it because it saves them from having to carry and fill out clipboards of paperwork," according to an article by Jonathan Duffy titled Wearable tech gives businesses a competitive edge.  

Of course your work crew are trustworthy folk, but visitors and vendors maybe not so much.  A smart badge would be a good thing if there are very sensitive corporate assets or systems that could be breached by unauthorized persons who try make their way into areas they clearly don't belong.  Better to keep a closer watch using the additional safety of a smart badge that can track them within meters anywhere indoors.

The benefits of mobile wallets and knowing the most appropriate one for you

We all have several cards that we carry on a daily basis. These cards range from several credit and debit cards, loyalty or gift cards, a driver’s license to membership cards for such places as the library or the sports club. If we are to store all these cards in our wallets, they would be too bulky, even though we were to put them in our backpacks, they would still be a load for us.

With all these cards to carry, we all long for that day when we will be able to hold our phone and be able to access all the cards you need for that specific day. Through a mobile app, mobile wallets are taking us a step closer to the realization of that aspiration. The mobile app can consolidate the credit, debit, loyalty and gift cards onto the phone.

However, these mobile wallets have become so many such that choosing the one that fits you well is now becoming a hurdle. One of the ways of determining the mobile wallet that suits your needs is by considering its functionality for different card types as discussed below.

Credit & Debit Cards

Primarily, your mobile wallet should store your debit and credit cards securely. Storing is not enough, but the wallet should allow you to pay with these cards using your cell phone. A good mobile wallet should enable you to store a variety of cards, such as branded cards, national and local bank cards as well as major brands cards.

Loyalty Cards

Almost every store, restaurant, boutique or supermarket you frequently visit will offer you a loyalty card. You obviously want to earn discounts and freebies from these places, but if they all give you a physical loyalty card, you will end up having a hefty stack of these cards. For this reason, you should choose a mobile wallet that allows you to store all your loyalty cards and enable you to track the points in every card.

Gift Cards

According to an article by Robert Teitelman and Lawrence C. Strauss, close to $1 billion in gift card went unredeemed in 2015. Gift cards go unredeemed because some are lost, others are forgotten while in others, unused balances left on the cards after a purchase goes to waste. You want a digital wallet that will help you spend every coin on the cards.

At Netclearance we offer the mBeaconPay, a turn-key mobile payment smart terminal and software solution which is a perfect match for all your mobile wallet need.

Wearable Technologies in the Enterprise Are Already Making an Impact

While the IoT may still be trying to find itself within the personal lives of consumers, its practical use cases for the improvement of business processes is already well in motion.

Wearable technologies now have the capability to provide a wide array of business applications - from keeping tabs on assets to optimizing workflows - to utilizing the latest Bluetooth technology for greater communication between employees. 

With awareness of the potential for enterprise wearables growing exponentially, companies are beginning to take a serious look at transformative use case possibilities for the technology that may already exist within their own business processes.

Software maker Netclearance is at the forefront of the wearable technologies revolution. Their mBeaconCard has the appearance of an ordinary credit card, yet can be mounted to high-value mobile assets. Additionally, it doubles as an employee badge that utilizes NFC technology for greater internal security. 

The range of applications for the "all-in-one" mBeaconCard is stunning since it can be customized for a multitude of processes that require movement related tracking. Components of the badge include sensors, an NFC module, a Bluetooth radio and an embedded accelerometer.

Everyday consumers may not yet require the level the level of technology where vital data is transmitted in real-time. However, new forms and functions of enterprise level wearable technology are not only yet to be uncovered, they're also clearly already having a game changing impact.

Businesses who are early adopters in the implementation of wearable technologies are quickly finding a tremendous competitive advantage in employee productivity and the tracking of valuable company assets. 

Wearable Technologies in the Enterprise Give Businesses a Competitive Edge

Wearable technologies are the next evolutionary step in computing. Businesses are already finding a multitude of ways to profit from them, and the wave is just beginning.

Wearable Sensors Enable Physioletics to Improve Workplace Efficiency

Frederick Taylor would have loved to have been able to monitor the efficiency of workers with wearable sensors. Tesco uses armbands to track how workers are transporting goods in their warehouse. Employees like it because it saves them from having to carry and fill out clipboards of paperwork.

Some Wearables Even Track Worker Health and Fatigue

The technologies are not only about efficiency. In the construction industry, now sensors can notice when a backhoe driver's head falls forward or their back slumps. That indicates they're tired or even that they experienced a "microsleep," where they actually did fall asleep for a fractional second. When operating heavy equipment, that's plenty long enough for a mistake that could cost somebody an injury or their life. Therefore, if the continues to work, they're at greater risk of an injury. Some wearables can track such longterm health indicators as rates of breath and heart beats per minutes.

Displaying Hands-Free Data

20 years ago, Boeing began using technology that allowed pilots to see critical information without having to glance down at dials. Now, many technicians from wire assemblers to plumbers can access instructions without having to use their hands to thumb through instruction manuals. Some smartglasses allow the workers to talk one-on-one with a remote expert.

An EEG headband developed by Melon may help knowledge and creative workers by monitoring their brain waves to determine when they are about to have a new idea and to track at what times of day or under what circumstances they are most productive.

Increasing Security

One obvious use of wearable technology is to monitor employee locations. Along with that, it could track visitors to make certain they remain within authorized areas. Employees with authorization could enter restricted areas with less hassle over identification. It could also keep them away from areas under construction or repair.

Protecting Police, Firefighters and Soldiers

Police are wearing technologies to track their activities to better respond to allegations of abuse. One city in California had complaints against police drop by 88 percent. And police in trouble no longer have to call on their radios or rely on a citizen to call 911 if they're unable to. The military can also track activity as well, to respond more quickly when someone attacks soldiers. Sensors can let firefighters know when they're approaching dangerous levels of heat and gas.

Many Employees Like the New Technologies

According to Goldsmiths, University of London, these new technologies improve employee satisfaction by 3.5%. That's from a survey taken of 4,000 adults in the United States and the United Kingdom. One out of every three reported that wearable technologies had enhanced their careers.

Netclearance has launched a suite of wearables for the enterprise including the mBeaconSense and the employee mBeaconCard badges that can help monitor employees and visitors. It also works as a way for employees as a way to signal for help during emergencies. Wearable technologies in business enterprises are here, and are going to become mainstream in the years ahead.