It's a cold day outside, and winter is in full swing. The party ended a few hours ago and it was finally time to go home. Thanks to automated vehicles, you didn't have to worry about being safe to drive- but your smartphone was broken so you couldn't hail one. Shivering, you walk down the street and come to a bus stop. You look down, disappointed. You still have 5 more miles to go, and you can barely walk as it is. The forecast says it's going to get even colder within the hour. Luckily, the city's transit system is always on time. Within a few minutes, a large white vehicle smoothly glides to a stop in front of you. To your surprise, it has no wheels! It's a hovercraft, and it floats on air instead. You want to ride, but you don't have any money in your pocket. Ten years ago, you'd be in big trouble.
Luckily, you don't need money anymore. You wave your wrist in front of the payment terminal and grab a seat- your bracelet takes care of the rest. It fits snugly, and is completely customized. From the color to the style, everything was made just for you. The band may be small, but inside lies amazing technology that lets you pay for things with the flick of a wrist. No more fumbling around for loose change and dropping dollar bills, no more worrying about money being lost or stolen. The best thing about your paybracelet is that it only works for you. Besides remembering your unique biological signature, your bracelet is linked with your handprint- something that's unique to every individual and nearly impossible to fake. Using palm-vein scanning technology, whenever you go to the store to buy something, all you'll have to do is wave your hand over the palm reader. No PIN numbers, no secret codes. There's nothing to remember or write down so there's nothing to steal. You also don't need to touch anything, which will help prevent the spread of germs.
Palm-Vein Scanning
Vein scanning is much more secure than using fingerprints or facial recognition, because the veins are *inside* your body. Unlike your fingerprint, which can be lifted from any flat surface, it's nearly impossible to counterfeit your hand-vein pattern.
That's not all. It may be called a "payband", but this bracelet can do much, much more than just pay for your drink. In a resource based economy, your payband is your lifeline and best friend. It's not just for young people or old people- it's for everyone. Using your wristband, you will be able to sign in to websites, unlock doors, cars and even your home. Lost keys, just like money will become a thing of the past. You'll be able to meet up with other members of your tribe and form groups just by tapping your bands together. Your bracelet will constantly monitor your health and wellbeing, along with providing location data to your tribe's emergency center. Thanks to the two-way nature of privacy, you will always be able to see who is accessing your data and where they are. Unlike government, if a tribe is not respecting your privacy you can fire them and choose another one! The pressure of competition will naturally lead tribes to find new ways to protect privacy. Still, in case something goes wrong, you will be able to get help at the push of a button- and the police or ambulance will know exactly where you are, wherever you are. Speak into the bracelet's microphone and let them know what's wrong. Fire, heart attack, sudden fall, or downed power lines; Every second counts in an emergency, and this bracelet will undoubtedly save countless lives.
The bracelet can measure your blood pressure, heart rate, nerve function and galvanic skin response. If you place it on your chest (like a stethoscope) it can also measure your breathing rate. While the bracelet itself won't have any screens, you will be able to wirelessly connect it to your smartphone to view data and send money. Did I mention it's completely waterproof?
What about the batteries? None needed. No charging time required. Thanks to the magic of piezoelectricity, simply walking around or shaking the bracelet will be enough to power it. To supplement the piezoelectric generator, flexible solar panels will wrap all the way around the edges of the bracelet in order to power it.
http://www.gizmag.com/wearable-thermoelectric-generator/31617/
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/solarhug-bracelet-solar-powered-external-backup-battery-19-12-2014/
Payments
These bracelets use harmless NFC and RFID tags to communicate to payment readers. Like today's smart cards, they also contain a low-power microchip. If you tap your bracelet with any phone, a digital ID will pop up, giving you easy identity verification.
"Lollapalooza goes cashless"
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/lollapalooza-goes-cashless-digital-wristbands-158661
"Bpay contactless payment system"
http://www.barclaycard.com/news/bpay-band-launches.html
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20150220000004&cid=1204
Fitness and Health Band
http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/27/the-mood-ring-gets-its-quantified-self-update-with-the-wme-wristband/
https://jawbone.com/blog/up3-wearable-heart-rate-monitor/
As you can see, while the idea may sound farfetched, bracelets like this already exist! We only need to bring the separate functions together.
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