Wearable Technology in Computer Science: Architecture, Edge Intelligence, Human-Computer Interaction, Security, and Research Directions in 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63084/cognexus.v2i1.228Keywords:
Wearable Technology, Wearable Computing, Internet of Things, Edge Artificial Intelligence, Human-Computer Interaction, Smart Textiles, Computer ScienceAbstract
Wearable technology has evolved from simple tracking devices to complex embedded computational systems that integrate into bodies, clothing, clinical pathways, industrial operations and augmented environments. This review is a follow-up to earlier discussions, taking a computer science perspective in summarizing architectures, algorithms, interaction models, security risks and future directions up to the first quarter of 2026. The literature synthesises contributions across wearable sensing, IoT, edge computing, AI, machine learning, smart textiles, human-computer interaction and privacy analytics. Increasingly, the central question shifts from whether wearables can sense and compute humans' daily activities to how they can generate reliable, interpretable, secure and fair intelligence, given energy, processing, latency, comfort and trust limitations. Modern wearables are cyber-physical systems consisting of sensors, processors, networks, cloud services, ML models and interfaces that are being used for a wide range of applications including but not limited to healthcare, sports, safety, education, accessibility, rehabilitation and XR. Despite progress in many fronts, challenges remain with respect to data quality (sensor drift, bias), interoperability, batteries, cybersecurity, consent, validation and regulation. In this review, we outline the search process, evaluate the maturity of different wearable domains and set research priorities. We argue for a computer science agenda that tackles edge AI, federated learning, digital biomarkers, human-centered design, sustainable textiles, multimodal interaction and governance-aware software development. In the end, wearable tech represents an important, full-stack computing challenge, involving multiple layers from hardware and software to data science, HCI, ethics and security.
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