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Wearable Technology and the Future of Emergency Management

We are getting closer to full implementation.

You may think that it is far out or just a fad for techies, but wearable technology is just one of the next big tech things coming to emergency management. This is not just about having a heart monitor, but it might be interesting to do that on emergency managers during EOC activations.  

See an article from a back issue of Government Technology on wearables, Wearable Tech Is Set to Take Off. What made me dig this article up was Apple's announcement this week of the Apple Watch.

For today the wearable that still has my attention is Google Glass. I love the idea of a hands-free device for calling up information and displaying it on the device. During a presentation it would be terrific to have your slides right there and no need to look back at the display on the screen.

I say, give it 10 years and you will see all manner of wearables in use across the first responder disciplines and in progressive emergency management programs.

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.
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