For some technologies, the purpose seems
clear, as it is with Nokia’s smart jacket:
The CHASE LifeTech FR jacket, designed
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modules that monitor the wearer’s heart
rate, temperature, motion, and location.
But some modules, such as body cams,
move beyond safety to also track the
completion of tasks and monitor
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monitoring to detect signs of sleepiness in long-haul drivers and other jobs for
which being alert is crucial for safety. The
LifeBand portion of the SmartCap detects
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can occur at crucial moments and be
undetectable to the actual sleeper. The
SmartCap is in use at the government-run
mining industry association New South Wales
Minerals Council in Australia and construction
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the UK.
The SmartCap plays into many of the same fears
that truckers in the US have regarding ELDs,
with concerns that the technology would force
them to live by the rules of a machine rather
than their experience and provide their bosses
with a full picture of their movements and
whether they’re taking scheduled breaks. And
since trucks function as homes for drivers, some
truckers see being monitored on the job as an
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that monitors brainwaves adds to the weight on
their shoulders.