Assessment of Wearable Technology for Integrated Decision Support

Abstract : Over the past five years, research and development of commercial wearable sensors have grown exponentially. Wearable sensor technology will allow future operational forces to identify and increase early warnings of chemical and biological (CB) threat exposures well before the onset of mission disruptive symptoms, providing for faster recovery, better incident management, and restored mission capabilities after agent exposures or attacks. Currently, army forces at all levels cannot monitor CB exposures of individual soldiers in real time over wide areas of operation. Wearable technology has the potential to make each soldier a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives point sensor, giving commanders an unprecedented ability to conduct continuous surveillance in real time over wide areas of operation with little to no interference by equipment. Unfortunately, today, most commercial-off-the-shelf wearable sensor technologies fall short of Department of Defense mission needs. This report is intended to guide CB defense program stakeholders forward in wearable science and technology, drive future investment strategies, and characterize the benefits and limitations of near-term wearable technology against CB threats.