wearable electronics

Whether you're an athlete or someone experiencing foot pain, it's important to eliminate high-pressure areas in the soles of your shoes. An experimental insole could help, by showing where such areas are located during a variety of activities.

There may be new hope for people afflicted with Tourette's syndrome, in the form of a wrist-worn device. In a test of the technology, the majority of participants experienced a reduction in tic severity of at least 25%.

It can be frustrating when you're searching for an object, knowing that you may have looked right where it is without realizing you've done so. A new augmented reality system could help, by showing users where items are … even if they're hidden.

People such as singers, public speakers and teachers run the risk of injuring their vocal cords through overuse. An experimental wearable system is designed to help keep that from happening, by warning users as they approach their vocal threshold.

When someone is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, psychiatrists will sometimes have them place themselves in stress-triggering environments. An experimental wearable system has now been shown to make such treatment much more effective.

If someone is at risk of heart failure, it's important to monitor their vital signs on an ongoing basis. An experimental new wearable is designed to do exactly that, and it takes the form of an electronically endowed belt.

Although there already are experimental "telehaptic" systems that allow people to send and receive tactile sensations, they tend to be bulky and awkward. A new one is much slimmer and thus more practical, thanks to the use of piezoelectric materials.

Although many groups are developing power-generating "smart fabrics," the technology is often too complex to be scaled up to commercial use. Now, however, scientists have devised a method of embroidering electrical generators onto regular fabric.

Apple has announced the next-generation Apple Watch Series 8 as well as an upgraded Apple Watch SE, its entry-level wearable. The watches feature new temperature sensing tech, Crash Detection, international roaming and more detailed health tracking.

Wearable electronics could soon be powered by dead microbes. New research out of UMass Amherst has demonstrated a biofilm that generates electricity from sweat, harnessing the corpses of dead bacteria – and it's at least as effective as a battery.

One of the best ways of tracking an infant's neurological development is to observe their movements as they play. A new "smart" jumpsuit is designed to do so automatically, providing consistently accurate data via machine learning technology.

Last year, scientists at Northwestern University announced a transient pacemaker that dissolves when no longer needed. They've now improved the device, and incorporated it into a linked suite of wearable sensors.