Previous Year Question
In the context of wearable technology, which of the following tasks is/are accomplished by wearable devices?
Location/identification of a person
Sleep monitoring of a person
Assisting the hearing-impaired person
Select the correct answer by using the codes given below.
Only 1
2 and 3
Only 3
1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. Devices such as smartwatches, fitness bands and wearable trackers can determine the location of a person or device with the help of technologies such as GPS, cellular networks, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RFID or Ultra-Wideband. Wearable identity badges and biometric devices can also be used for personal identification and access control.
Statement 2 is correct. Wearable devices can analyse data obtained from an accelerometer, gyroscope, optical heart-rate sensor and, in some cases, a blood-oxygen sensor to monitor sleep duration, body movement, waking events and estimated sleep stages.
However, sleep data provided by a consumer wearable is an estimate. It is not a complete substitute for polysomnography used in medical diagnosis, which measures several parameters, including brain activity, eye movement, muscle activity, respiration and blood-oxygen level.
Statement 3 is correct. A hearing aid is an electronic device worn on the body that receives sound through a microphone, processes and amplifies the signal and delivers it to the user’s ear through a speaker. The external sound processor of a cochlear implant is also a wearable component. Some smart wearables assist a hearing-impaired person by converting sound alerts into visual signals or vibrations.
Wearable technology includes electronic devices that can be incorporated into clothing or accessories or worn directly on the body. They may combine sensors, a processor, a communication module and software.