From fitness trackers to smart watches and wearable cameras. It’s no surprise that wearable technology is becoming a trend, or an art form in this instance!

Chris Dancy has taken wearable technology to a new level, bearing the title of the ‘most connected man on the planet’. The software developer has spent the past four years connecting up a number of wearable devices to feed the data through to a single online platform, which he calls his ‘inner-net’.

As if the ‘internet’ is now a thing of the past, Chris Dancy uses technology to record his entire life. Even when he decides to travel light, he still gears up with around 7 wearable devices.

Everything he sees is recorded by his Google Glass headset, a Memoto narrative camera hangs around his neck taking pictures every 30 seconds, and a Pebble watch on one wrist sends him alerts from his multiple smartphones whilst his Fitbit Flex on the other continuously tracks his activity and sleep.

As though this isn’t already taking wearable technology to the extreme, he also wears a Blue HR heart rate monitor, another activity and sleep tracker on his upper arm (the BodyMedia fitness tracker), and a Lumoback posture sensor, all providing real time feedback. And remember – this is the extent of his wearable tech when ‘travelling light’!

To add to this, when he is back at home all this data feeds into his ambient environment which adjusts according to his mood and his needs. He claims that his house knows his behaviours and preconditions his life based on previously collected data. If he has been stressed and hasn’t been sleeping well he will find himself waking up to a certain colour of light, a specific room temperature, and a certain type of music being played. Even on the go, Chris’ tech can show him what he previously ate at a restaurant or search for how someone made him feel the first time he met them.

Despite having to keep this system safe and secure, as well as it costing a fortune in the first place, data assisted living certainly seems to be catching on. We can already track so many aspects of life which we might not have been aware of (or would rather not!), and technology is only going to further develop this wearable tech over time. We just need to make sure that we don’t become disconnected with reality by becoming over connected with our tech devices.

However the bug is certainly spreading and ‘data-assisted living’ seems to be becoming a way of life – could this lead to the rise of the ‘inner-net’?!

Adie Blanchard – Researcher

Sources

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/mar/19/inner-net-most-connected-man-earth-fitness-trackers-data

Negocios. (2014). Chris Dancy. [image online] Available at: http://s2.glbimg.com/rE0e2zPFxMvZK1EFucThbNM2IY0=/602×400/e.glbimg.com/og/ed/f/original/2014/03/14/dancy2.jpg [Accessed: 20 Mar 2014].