The use of wearable technology and its associated applications, particularly those related to health and fitness, represents a significant opportunity for the UK Armed Forces to better monitor the health of personnel.
Wearable technology helps increase data-driven findings to support decision making, ranging from tailoring training to individuals, assessing the suitability and readiness of personnel for deployment, to providing insights into the effectiveness of new equipment.
However, it also requires a flexible framework that:
- Can evolve over time as the full possibilities become better understood and requirements mature
- Can be used by individuals and local medical personnel, as well as various levels of command from small groups up to top-level command
- Can support different tools in order to provide the most value to the various user groups according to their differing requirements
Wearable technologies such as fitness trackers allow the continual collection of health and other data in a way that makes continual monitoring of personnel health and preventative actions possible.