Wearables is one of the newest technology segments and while it kicked off and took fast root in the fitness and workout space most notably, it won't be long until wearables become a favorite tool in other industries.
"I think the security industry is one area of the wearables space that is being overlooked," Weston Henderek, director of Connected Intelligence at research firm NPD Group, told Tech Times in an email interview.
"Over the next couple of years, I expect wearable devices with heart rate monitoring capabilities to link in with other devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops to offer an additional layer of security," says Henderek. "For example, each of our heartbeats is unique and a security vendor could use this data to make all of our online transactions more safe."
In fact, a number of wearable vendors are already drafting and creating potential security tools and examining the use of biometrics such as fingerprints and heartbeats as a way to batten down corporate systems, given the increased security such technology can provide.
But enterprise security is just one of several areas wearables will likely expand into, according to another industry analyst.
"Logistics and health care are coming up in the marketplace," said Brian Ballard, chief executive of APX Labs. "Blue-collar and lab coat jobs that got skipped in the mobile revolution are the hot space for smart glasses." APX is one of 10 partners in Google's Glass at Work program and makes Skylight, a business software used with Glass.
That's not to say, of course, that wearables won't continue being a prime fitness and body-tracking technology and Henderek expects greater wearable fitness and health-care innovation over the next few years.
"We really expect wearables to penetrate deeply into various health verticals along with existing mainstream fitness tracking," says Henderek.
"Things that will be prominent for mainstream consumers will be sleep tracking and measuring breathing, as a way to help alleviate stress," he said. "I also expect that the existing fitness activity tracker products will look to put more of a focus on a holistic fitness regime, where the devices are giving deeper reminders to consumers around how to make subtle shifts to their activity levels during the day."
One thing is for sure, though. The wearables we know today will not be the ones we interact with in five years.
