Think of the future of wearables from hearing aids

Wearable devices have become more and more integrated into our lives. A special user presented his unique experience and ideas to the world through the Atlantic Monthly website, bringing us new ideas about wearable devices.

The hearing aid user wrote in the Atlantic Monthly:

I used wearables a long time ago, when I didn't have Google Glass, Apple Watch, and Moto 360, and I didn't tell you how many steps to take, how to run, sleep, or eat. My first contact with wearables was in 1986, when I was 5 years old.

The wearable device that I have been wearing since I was a child is a hearing aid. Many people don't need this kind of thing, and many of today's wearables have some similarities to hearing aids. Soon, the microcomputer system will become part of your body, as I have experienced for nearly 30 years. Because of my experience, I can make some predictions about the future of wearables.

Of course, hearing aids fall into the category of medical devices, and consumer electronics products face very different legal regulations in the health sector, so some features can never appear on consumer products. However, apart from these, medical products and consumer wearable products have several common goals. They are all designed to enhance the human abilities, they all need to be worn on the body, and they all need to be seamlessly integrated into our own experience.

In the next few years, I think we will see the following four trends, and wearable devices will evolve from toys to tools.

1. Wearable devices will create alternative realities

Compared to additional screen devices or input devices, wearable devices will provide more functions, and devices equipped with various sensors can intervene between reality and our experience, changing our understanding of the world around us.

In the case of hearing aids, previous hearing aids simply amplified the surrounding sounds, but today's technology can take different strategies depending on environmental changes. For example, when I walked into a noisy restaurant, the device recognized the crashing sounds and the conversations in the distance, and filtered the noises to feed me up close-up voices. This acoustic experience is significantly different from objective reality. The reality that the device will change is presented to me, which is convenient for my understanding and application.

Microsoft's recently launched holographic glasses have taken similar steps, and by overlaying various images in the real world, users can see more intuitive instructions and instructions. Future wearables will be between our experience and reality, helping us understand the reality more deeply.

Google Glass

2. Algorithm revolution

Alternative reality means that our understanding of the world around us increasingly requires the processing and decision of algorithms. Or take the hearing aid as an example. The algorithm judges whether the sound coming from the refrigerator compressor or a friend’s greeting. If everything is normal, I will not hear the compressor sound; if there is a problem, I will not hear the friend’s greeting. sound.

Medical devices have used more sophisticated algorithms. Hearing aids use algorithms to determine which sounds should be amplified and which should be muted; pacemakers use algorithms to determine when to send electronic pulses to the heart; artificial pancreas uses algorithms to determine when to release more insulin. In the above case, the algorithm not only reshapes our perception of reality – they are responsible for life.

The algorithm can also implement more functions. For example, through facial emotion recognition, you can pre-empt the boss with the appropriate way. The algorithm also blocks out the annoying ads that are played on the commuter subway while preserving the posters or music you are interested in.

Future devices will become more customizable. My hearing aid has 20 independent adjustable audio channels, and my audiologist usually sets 6 to 7 of them. If the product does not provide a customized way for users, it will be abandoned by the user, and the customer experience will dominate the survival of future devices.

New future hearing aid Eargo

3. The fault becomes difficult to identify

The more we rely on wearables to deal with society, the more important the problem of equipment failure becomes. And when the device experience becomes more seamless, it is even harder to detect the problem.

Some problems are very obvious. For example, hearing aids have no sound, and this problem is easy to find and deal with. However, some issues are less obvious. Once, when I met my friends, I sat next to the air conditioner with a loud voice. I found it difficult to hear the conversation across the table. I know that hearing aids will help me reduce environmental noise, but hearing aids work according to algorithms. It's hard to tell if the equipment is faulty or the air conditioner itself is too loud. Providing overly customized devices makes it difficult for users to tell the truth of the problem, which is a major challenge for future product design.

4. Wearables will record everything

If the problem becomes difficult to identify, the device needs to record enough data for analysis. As device behavior is highly dependent on environmental context and external data feeds, the more relevant the data, the better it can help analyze the problem. For example, after an aircraft crash, the investigators first need to find the black box, because it is impossible to rebuild the scene of the accident. Only through the analysis of various data at that time can the real cause be found and the corresponding lessons learned. The challenge for wearable devices is similar.

When I told my audiologist that the hearing aid did not work well in the noisy environment of the restaurant, the audiologist could only adjust it based on guesswork and experience because it could not provide the sound source of the environment at that time. For the user, this is a trial and error process, which is obviously frustrating.

The latest hearing aids now record audio signals in specific environments for post-mortem analysis. Consumer devices can also take similar steps to gradually improve the user experience.

When I first wore a hearing aid, the doctor adjusted it with a screwdriver; now, the doctor can already wirelessly adjust it on the computer. I am convinced that similar changes will also occur in consumer wearables. At present, wearable products are still regarded as toys or luxury goods. However, as products mature, they will be able to greatly improve and enhance our daily life experience, just as hearing aids changed my life experience in 1986. We cannot ignore the existence of these trends, and wearable devices will inevitably become an inseparable tool in our lives.

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