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As we advanced in the previous post, the applications of wearables are multiple and the number of different devices that are available in the market is increasing.

In this post we will enter into a detailed enumeration of those uses. For this, we have classified them according to the economic sector that has developed them or to which they are directed: sports and wellness, entertainment, health, industry, and security.

We present the first two below.

Sport and wellness

This sector, along with entertainment, is the one that has had more social visibility in the world of wearables.

These devices, concentrated totality in the pursuit of physical activity and emotions, are currently the biggest portion in sales and it is expected to continue to be the main sales during the next years.

There are a lot of differences between devices, from simple systems for measuring the exercise, to complexes with a multitude of options for athletes. We can find wearables with accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses, GPS, barometric sensors, optical monitors of cardiac activity, electric bioimpedance, light sensors…

Its application is focused on the physical and mental improvement of the user, which is specified in:

• New habits: allow the user to be constant, marking times and patterns, which allows new habits to be generated, generally of a healthy type.
• Social motivation: because social connections are a source of motivation, the devices and applications dedicated to this sector have taken advantage of this to exploit and alter the habits of their users.
• Positive reinforcement: the devices allow the monitoring of micro-goals or mini-goals, which offers an incentive for users to continue on the path to their goals.

These systems help to control the form of training and the exercises performed, so that the user can know if he is performing the exercise as it should be with the desired intention and without injury.

• Facilitate and help the improvement of physical activity by putting the user in contact with networks of the same activity in order to involve and continue carrying out the activity.
• They allow to completely personalize the goals of each user so that they reach their objectives in a totally personalized way.

Entertainment

In this sector we consider companies dedicated to content development. Therefore, not only is it included in the world of video games, but also media, cinema, etc.

Wearables allow the communication and entertainment industry to send and receive information in real time for the purpose of the user and/or improve their lifestyle combining fun and immersion (in 2016 appeared gaming suits that allow the player to physically perceive what happens in the game), and incorporating a more interesting sensation improving the physical and visual experience (for example, glasses / games).

After the incorporation of the virtual and augmented reality and the advances that have had during the last years, a great amount of available devices exists for the industry of the video game (as much in consoles as in mobile devices, i.e. Pokemon Go) that take advantage of the game experience learning from it.

Amplified experiences: it is about applying the same previous concept to other fields such as art, television, cinema and other types of entertainment systems. So that the user has a much more complete experience within a traditional activity (that is, improvement of the cruise services, airplanes …).

Currently the market is not focused only on the early ages or generation of millennials, but the public of any age.

In the next post we will finish this topic talking about health, industry and security.