Smart wearable technologies: Current status and market orientation through a patent analysis

Technology is the vital criterion to boosting the quality of life. Nowadays, innovation in smart wearable technologies (SWTs) has been coming up to different sectors and is gaining momentum to be implemented in everyday objects. The successful introduction of SWTs will present the production of new generations of innovative and high value-added products. Furthermore, this topic is gaining ground within both academic and practitioner studies with the attempt to better understand the innovation trend in order to provide a guidance for both policy makers and companies in supporting its development. Thus, the aim of this study is to analysis the development trends of SWTs. To this aim, we have built a unique database of 1062 patents included in the Thomson Innovation database and registered between 1998 and 2015. Data analysis are also conducted through citation analysis based on assignees and top IPC subclasses. Our analyses show the overall development trend for different product classes, and top assignees. This study also provides useful results for managers who can monitor their competitors in this industry in order to make decisions on technological investments and market strategies.