By now most people are pretty familiar with wearable devices, at least the more popular ones like smartwatches and fitness trackers. But there are plenty of other kinds of wearable devices that have never caught on. Devices that track our sleep patterns or hydration levels for instance. Or devices embedded into smart clothing.
There are plenty of reasons why wearables haven’t fully been accepted by society yet. Ranging from price points and privacy concerns to societal norms and fashion faux pas. Given enough time, however, and it’s likely that wearable devices will become ubiquitous. Once the perfect storm of style, substance, and functionality arrives. A storm that may finally be upon us thanks to coronavirus.
As BGR puts it:
“COVID-19 has some specific signs, but not all patients exhibit them. And the most common ones are also common to the flu. Add to that the fact that the novel coronavirus is infectious even in people who have no symptoms, and that the incubation period is quite long, and you end up with a huge problem. Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, and Iceland proved how critical it is to conduct large testing campaigns. But finding COVID-19 patients early is difficult without tests. That’s where a wearable company might help, as researchers are trying to determine whether a smart ring can help them predict the outbreak of COVID-19 in healthcare workers.
The Oura Ring is the device in question. Unlike other wearables and smartwatches, the ring can monitor a few additional health parameters. The device can ‘capture body signals like resting heart rate, [heart rate variability], body temperature, and calorie burn,’ according to the company. One thing that stands out is the fever sensor, which can detect changes in temperature [as] we already know that fever is a common COVID-19 symptom.”
Considering that we may be headed towards an Orwellian future where we carry around Immunity Passports and pass through temperature scanners in airports it makes sense that we would turn to a wearable device that tracks our temperature. Either to prove to ourselves or public officials that we’re not sick. For peace of mind or freedom of access.
While some people may balk at this level of data tracking it’s sadly become a necessary evil in the fight against this deadly virus. For the more information we have (about symptoms, recovery times, how the virus is spreading) the better off we are.
Perhaps the Oura Ring can help us achieve that goal then. Or at least get the ball rolling and get people to see the value that wearable devices can have in helping to combat COVID-19 and any other future health concerns that we may have.
Is the Oura Ring the Greatest Idea Ever?
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