The Stanford Wearable Electronics (eWear) Initiative Industrial affiliates program enables forward looking corporations to engage with world-class researchers on pathfinding programs leading to new product opportunities. Wearable electronics combine sensors and wireless communications to allow remote collection of vital information and more seamless human interfaces with technology. Wearable electronics needed to be flexible and comfortable to wear while providing accurate information. Myriad applications for wearable electronics from:
- Health monitoring
- Disease detection
- Robotic interfaces
- Neural interfaces
- Driverless cars
- Internet of Things
- Human clinical trials
- Implantable electronics
- Smart textiles
- AR/VR
- Displays
- Hearables
- Smart cities
- Data science/AI related to wearables
Along with the explosion of interest in wearable electronics in recent years, numerous challenges nonetheless remain before wearable electronics become a truly commercializable technology. One major challenge is the highly interdisciplinary nature of the field, which mandates the convergence of many disciplines, notably from materials, devices, system integration, software and application verification. The impact is far beyond health care. It will improve everything from the environment to defense, the economy, and energy production.