Q. In the context of wearable technology, which of the following tasks is/are accomplished by wearable devices?

1. Location identification of a person
2. Sleep monitoring of a person
3. Assisting the hearing impaired person

Select the correct answer using the code given below. (UPSC Prelims 2019)
Answer: 1, 2 and 3
Notes: The correct answer is [D] 1, 2 and 3. Wearable technology refers to smart electronic devices that can be worn on the body as accessories or as part of material used in clothing.

• Location identification (Statement 1 – Correct): Most modern wearables, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, come equipped with built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) or utilize cellular/Bluetooth triangulation to track the real-time location of the wearer. This is widely used for fitness tracking, child safety, and navigation.
• Sleep monitoring (Statement 2 – Correct): Wearables use sensors like accelerometers (to detect movement) and optical heart rate monitors (to detect Heart Rate Variability) to track sleep cycles. They can identify stages of sleep such as Light, Deep, and REM (Rapid Eye Movement).
• Assisting the hearing impaired (Statement 3 – Correct): Smart hearing aids are a prominent category of wearable technology. Beyond simple amplification, modern devices can sync with smartphones to stream audio directly, use AI to filter background noise, and even provide real-time transcription of speech into text on a paired screen.

Wearable devices operate as part of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, constantly collecting data and syncing it with other devices to provide personalized health and safety insights.