A Case Study on Wearable Devices : Smart Watch

Abstract

Recent hardware advances have led to the development of wearable computing devices ranging from exercise and sleep tracking bracelets [1] to augmented reality glasses [2]. While these new technologies enable a spectrum of new applications, they also introduce security and privacy questions that are unexplored. Wearable devices are a new form of mobile computer system that provides user-personalized services. Wearable devices bring new issues and challenges to computer science and technology. The introduction of smart phones created important new risks to users privacy due to their mobility, ubiquity, and wealth of sensors-wearable computing form factors are likely to magnify these threats. For instance, while smart phone malware can hijack the sensors to spy on the user, video-capable smart glasses or smart watches are worn continuously outside the clothing where they are even better positioned to record both the user’s activities and others nearby. Beyond risks to the user’s own privacy, wearables have the potential to be maliciously deployed by the users themselves to violate the security and privacy of others. These threats will be particularly acute in coming years: as wearables gradually become widespread and unremarkable, they will challenge social norms and breach expectations about the capabilities of technology. For instance, glasses and wristwatches are socially acceptable in situations where the use of smart phones and computers might not be and they can be used to capture data of privacy expectations. In this work, we explore these implications and analyze the impact of one of the first networked wearable devices smart watches-on an academic environment. We discuss the broader implications of this technology and pose questions for future research. This paper summarizes the development process, issues in design process and current situation of wearable devices