Circuits and systems for energy efficient smart wearables

Wearable devices and the associated push to smart health management have become an important facet of the Internet of Things. Wearable technology - with its diverse use cases, signal transduction mechanisms and unique software/processing requirements - is an ideal lens through which to study the broader Internet of Things. This paper investigates the unique challenges in wearable technology by using optical heart rate monitoring as an example. Strategies encompassing process technology, devices, circuits, systems and algorithms are leveraged to achieve the trifecta of good performance, low power and small form factor.