As with so many mobile devices, a central challenge for wearable technology has been in maintaining their charge long enough to successfully track all of the activities you undertake. New research from USC Viterbi School of Engineering highlights a new method that utilizes magnetic induction that the team believe will provide reliable power, for longer.
The researchers highlight how future generations of wearables will do more than simply monitor our fitness, and will also monitor our health, provide location support for emergency personnel, and so on. To fulfil these ambitions, however, the technology needs to provide reliable power for long periods of time.
The team developed a technology that consists of a network of devices worn on the body at the same time, such as a belt, wristband, ring, and necklace. For instance, the belt might act as a central node, which would allow the other devices to operate without batteries, moving parts, or sensors. Instead, each of the devices was able to generate its own signal, with the central node receiving them.
“This set-up allows the central node to see where each device is in relation to the whole, giving us a much more detailed understanding of the body’s pose and movement,” the researchers say. “And it’s all done up to six times more efficiently in terms of battery power compared to other short-range communication systems like Bluetooth.”
Scaling challenges
Many of the wearable devices on the market today use radio-wave propagation, which uses a lot of energy. This is an inconvenience for fitness tracking devices, but if the device is used for more serious tasks, it can taken on graver implications.
This method of propagation is also expensive and requires a lot of parts to function. The researchers suggest that we’re not seeing wearables made up of multiple devices today is that each of them would require power for both sensing and communication. Whereas charging one device is a nuisance, charging multiple each day is an insurmountable hurdle.
Magnetic induction had previously been used in the development of underground sensors to help monitor some of the variables that impact climate change. The modified system is, the team believe, capable of monitoring a wide range of daily activities, both to help individuals track their actions, but also to help physical therapists monitor their patients. Indeed, the team believe the technology could even support emergency services and disaster response teams.
“Imagine firefighters in the field fighting a brush fire near Los Angeles,” they say. “If they were equipped with a device like this, we could tell very easily what each firefighter is doing and if they’re moving. We could do so far better than we can with external cameras, which might be limited by smoke or the terrain.”
