Ten wearable technology products designed to enhance our bodies
Following the release of technology brand Samsung's first smart ring, we round up 10 recent wearable technology designs, including a smart menstrual cup and an air-purifying collar.
While the concept of wearable technology can be applied to a wide range of products, they are often designed to bring health benefits to the wearer or to blur the line between digital and physical experiences.
Read on to see 10 notable examples of wearable technology, ranging from worship-tracking prayer beads to an artificial larynx.
Samsung's Galaxy smart ring functions as a health tracker enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI). According to the brand, it will offer a simplified way to track many different body metrics and support wellness goals.
Among its features are tracking capabilities for sleep and activities, as well as period and fertility tracking. The AI function will help the ring, which comes in silver, gold and black, to provide more personalised insights.
Find out more about Samsung's Galaxy smart ring ›
Designed to stream immersive video anywhere, the Viture One smart glasses display a cinematic 120-inch screen. This appears to float in front of the user's eyes in virtual reality, letting them view content without using any other devices.
"We see one of the biggest use cases being streaming media and communicating with friends, colleagues and family nomadically," Layer studio founder Benjamin Hubert told Dezeen.
Find out more about Viture One ›
Neural Sleeve by Cionic and Fuseproject
Designer Yves Béhar's studio Fuseproject worked with startup Cionic to develop the Neural Sleeve. The bionic wearable was designed to correct muscle movements in people with limited mobility, using electric pulses and AI to do so.
The sleeve, which wraps around the leg, uses functional electrical stimulation (FES) to help with walking difficulties. It was described by Béhar as "a way to sort of remote control your own leg".
Find out more about the Neural Sleeve ›
UK-based startup Emm designed a smart menstrual cup with the same name, which can be inserted into the body like a tampon.
The cup, which is made from medical-grade silicone, has a conical shape and is fitted with smart technology that tracks your period. Built-in biosensors track the user's blood loss and flow rate as well as the length of their period and menstrual cycle.
Find out more about the menstrual cup ›
Technology company Dyson launched its Dyson Zone, which was described in UK media as "bizarre" and "an air vacuum", to filter air pollution and reduce noise in urban environments.
The wearable-technology gadget combines a set of headphones that feature active noise cancellation with a removable plastic visor. This wraps around the front of the face to filter out allergens, gases and dust.
Find out more about Dyson Zone ›
Click to Pray eRosary by the Vatican
Released by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network and designed to appeal to young people, the Click to Pray eRosary has a crucifix interface that tracks the user's worship as well as health data.
To use the rosary, the wearer makes the sign of the cross on the haptic interface of the cross, which is connected to a smartphone app. This lets users monitor the progress of each prayer and provides them with an audio prayer guide.
Find out more about the eRosary ›
Wearable air purifier Wear A+ (above and main image) was made for people suffering from allergies. It is worn around the neck like a collar and filters out irritants such as pollen and dust.
The collar also blows clean air towards the wearer, creating what tech company Respiray calls "a bubble of clean air" around their face.
Tenuto 2 is an innovative sex toy – a piece of wearable technology designed to be worn over the penis to help the user achieve and maintain an erection.
The gadget, which resembles a penis ring, has four motors that vibrate to improve circulation and two "wings" at its base that prevent blood from draining away. It was designed as a more affordable and accessible alternative to erectile dysfunction medications.
Find out more about Tenuto 2 ›
People who have lost their larynx to cancer were the target group for Syrinx, a wearable voice box. It functions like an electrolarynx, manually vibrating the neck to create a noise that the user can then form into words using their mouth and tongue.
However, the Syrinx is an update to traditional electrolarynxes in that it creates a personalised voice for each user, based on recordings of their own former voice.
Designed to be a "spatial computer", tech company Apple's Vision Pro headset lets wearers project visual applications in a 3D environment controlled by eye and hand movements.
It was created to usher in a "new era of computing", in which the computer is projected in front of the user, and can be adjusted to blot out or blend in with their physical surroundings. The interface also includes a keyboard function and can be controlled by voice commands.
Find out more about the Vision Pro ›