Wearable devices and natural user interfaces

As an advertisement, I find the video below really bad. However, the portrayed product features are an example of the transition towards more advanced and standalone wearable technology. Device form factors get smaller and can host software that is capable of addressing many of our communication, entertainment, and information consumption/publishing needs. Watches and other wearables, or even implants, are getting smaller, smarter, and more general purpose. Furthermore, they are getting decoupled from smartphones, in the same way that the smartphones today no longer depend on a desktop or laptop, as it was the case only few years ago.

It’s a topic that I’ve touched in the past many times, both in presentations and in posts here. I don’t claim to have a great new insight. The transition to wearable technologies and implants has been extensively discussed by many. Nevertheless, I keep coming back to this because I am such a strong believer that speech, natural language understanding, and “intelligent” digital experiences are amongst the key enablers for the wide adoption of wearable (and implantable) technologies in the very near future. There is so much that we need to get right. I am excited about all the great things we can do!

Photo credit: adafruit / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA