Wearable Computing: The Future of Technology?

There was a time when wearable computer seemed like a fairy tale, but now it is all set to become a reality in the near future.

According to New York Time , the future devices will have watch-like iPod screens with curved-glass displays, which can send information back and forth to bigger devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops.

Siri, the artificial, voice-controlled, personal assistant from Apple, can now interact with iPhone 4S users and Apple's iPod Nanos, which sport clock-like faces, encourage users to wear them on their wrists. Both give hint of where the future of technology lies.

Not surprisingly, the two tech giant Apple and Google are working on secret projects that could lead to wearable computers. However, there's completion rather than cooperation between them on the project.

It's reported that the Cupertino-based company has gone as far as to build prototypes. A nameless source told NYT that a small team in Apple headquarters has immersed itself in the project.

Meanwhile, Google isn't giving any impression of weakness. Its top secret Google X lab is developing computer peripherals. The company has also hired electronic engineers from Nokia, Apple and engineering universities specialized in tiny computer devices, the insiders of the lab told the N.Y. Times.

With the effort of the two companies, the new technology will come into being in the near future.

Michael Liebhold, an expert in wearable computing at the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California, predicted what the future technology looks like in a decade.
According to Liebhold, people will be able to wear glasses, and even contact lenses, with built-in , working displays. Furthermore, the future technology will blur the lines between reality and virtual worlds.

“Kids will play virtual games with their friends,” said Liebhold, “where they meet in a park and run around chasing virtual creatures for points.”