DAGMIL, Ludivico IV Q.

11947497

Reaction Paper on the Professorial Chair Lecture of Prof. Romeric Pobre

When I hear the term wearable technology, the first thing that pops into my mind are
smartwatches, such as Apple Watch, or even those smart glasses that Google is currently
developing. However, after hearing the lecture done by Prof. Dr. Pobre, the term widened its
scope for me as it isn’t actually what I thought what it is—that it is just merely for aesthetics and
whatnot, but also a beneficial piece of innovation that can help people.

The event started with Prof. Dr. Pobre being introduced by showcasing his educational
background and other notable things he had done, also joking that no one should be mislead by
his surname as he is the complete opposite of it. With all those things said, Prof. Dr. Pobre
proceeded with his talk and divided his lecture into 6 distinct narratives, starting with the
beginning, until what the future holds.

In the beginning, he mentioned about the basic facts about wearable devices. The most
notable thing was that it was a fully-functional, self-powered, and self-contained device that is
worn in the body, ultimately highlighting the word ubiquitous, which meant “everywhere at any
time.” He then proceeded with why they pursued wearable technology, specifically venturing
towards smart clothing. The death of his mom prompted him to make use of research in Physics,
to be able to counter the number one leading cause of death, which is the Ischemic Heart Disease.
With the motivation to save lives, they ventured deeper into smart clothing to attempt to resolve
the drawbacks of the usage of the conventional diagnostic tools, such as ECG, and Ultrasound.

With all the projects they had started with the help of their DLSU, and UCDAVIS Teams—
without a doubt were very intriguing—I found the wearable vest very interesting as a Physics
student. They were able to develop a wearable vest and the ECG textrodes - textile electrodes,
for the wireless ECG—which they also developed, and if, I’m not mistaken, can be used with a
smartphone application. Knowing about this fills me up with glee as I realize that the project they
are developing can very beneficial to the healthcare sector as a mean to improve our country’s
health services. And, what’s even more fascinating about this radar-based cardiac monitoring
they are developing to be used for their vest, is it is not just exclusive to just detecting Afib, Atrial
flutter, and other cardiac arrhythmias, as it can be used to search for survivors in catastrophe,
intrusion alarm, patient monitor, and mine clearance.

As Prof. Dr. Pobre continues to embark on their quest of developing wearable technology,
it fascinates me, a Physics student, to witness the innovation they are doing with the use of the
concepts of Physics. It definitely made me appreciate the subject a bit more.

He then began with the last part of the talk which was to showcase their future prospects
such as an ultra-high performance wearable thermoelectric coolers, and wireless body sensor
networks based on metamaterial textiles.

Having to witness all of their projects, and the upcoming ones, it definitely made me feel
psyched for what the future holds as innovation continues to grow in every industry in hopes of
making our lives a bit better.
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Antiporda, Dagmil (Me), Chua, Ang, Del Rosario, and Tapiador (from left to right) with
the speaker, Prof. Dr. Pobre.

Prof. Dr. Pobre during his talk