TC 124 - Wearable electronic devices and technologies

IEC 63203-301-1:2024 specifies procedures and definitions for the test method of electrochromic films for wearable equipment. This document deals with the colour changing range in visible light and the electrochromic properties of transmittance, response time and evaluation method of long-term stability. This document excludes applications of electrochromic films to displays.

IEC 63203-402-2:2024 specifies test methods for measuring and evaluating the performance, reliability, and accuracy of the step counting feature in any wearable device that can count steps (e.g. activity and fitness trackers, smart bands, smart shoes, and smart insoles).
These standard test methods exclude the evaluation of data associated with travel distance or calorie consumption.

IEC 63203-402-3:2024 specifies terms, a measurement protocol, and a test to evaluate the accuracy of wearables that measure heart rate with a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor. While this document can be used to measure a variety of different devices claiming to report heart rate, care will be taken when testing in countries that differentiate between heart rate and pulse rate. This measurement protocol is not intended to evaluate medical devices associated with the IEC 60601 series or ISO 80601 series.

IEC 63203-201-2:2022 specifies the provisions for conductive fabrics and insulation materials used for electronic textiles and measurement methods for their properties.
Conductive fabrics covered by this document are basic materials in electronic textiles and are mainly used as conductive traces, electrodes and the like in clothes-type wearable devices. This document does not cover high-resistance conductive fabrics used for antistatic purposes and heater applications.
Insulating materials handled in this document are materials used for electrical insulation of conductive parts in electronic textiles. They include materials for covering the conductive parts, and general fabrics constituting the basic structure of clothes‑type wearable devices.
This document does not define the required characteristics of the conductive fabric and insulation materials; rather, it specifies measurement methods for general and electrical properties of the conductive fabric and insulation materials.

IEC 63203-401-1:2023 specifies a measurement method of tensile strain for stretchable, resistive strain sensors. This document describes characterization procedures for evaluation of the gauge factor, linearity, response characteristics, and hysteresis of unimodal tension sensors but is not appropriate for assessment of the physical properties of the sensor material such as the elastic modulus, elastic limit, and Poisson's ratio.

IEC 63203-204-1:2023 specifies a household washing durability test method for e-textile products. This document includes testing procedures for e-textile products with electrically conductive components and sensors to collect the data of the user. This document does not cover safety or heat-generation test methods. Products containing components other than those listed in this clause are not covered by this document. This second edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
a) Subclause 3.2 on conductive textiles has been deleted.
b) Subclause 3.3 on leisurewear and sportswear has been deleted.
c) Subclause 3.2 on washing procedure has been added.
d) Figure 1 has been updated.
e) The optional measurement of conductive tracks has been added in 4.1 to the checklist before carrying out washing durability test.
f) Additions have been made to the list in Clause 6.

IEC 63203-402-1:2022 specifies test methods for wearable glove-type motion sensors to measure finger movements. The measurement methods include goniometric parameters related to the finger postures and flexion dynamics. Glove-type motion sensors are the type of gloves considered within the scope of this document for testing and measurement. This document describes direct and indirect measurement methods. In the direct measurement method, the angles of the joints of each finger are directly measured by a goniometer. The indirect method uses a measurement device such as a servomotor-based angle-measuring device. This document is applicable to angle measurement of all gloves with glove-type motion sensors without limitation of the device technology or size.

IEC 63203-801-1:2022 specifies the ultra-low power physical layer (PHY) of SmartBAN.
As the use of wearables and connected body sensor devices grows rapidly in the Internet of Things (IoT), wireless body area networks (BANs) facilitate the sharing of data in smart environments such as smart homes, smart life, etc. In specific areas of digital healthcare, wireless connectivity between the edge computing device or hub coordinator and the sensing nodes requires a standardized communication interface and protocols.
The present document describes the following physical layer (PHY) specifications:
packet formats;
modulation;
forward error correction.

IEC 63203-801-2:2022 specifies low complexity medium access control (MAC) for SmartBAN.
As the use of wearables and connected body sensor devices grows rapidly in the Internet of Things (IoT), wireless body area networks (BANs) facilitate the sharing of data in smart environments such as smart homes, smart life, etc. In specific areas of digital healthcare, wireless connectivity between the edge computing device or hub coordinator and the sensing nodes requires a standardized communication interface and protocols.
The present document describes the following medium access control (MAC) specifications:
channel structure;
MAC frame formats;
MAC functions.

IEC 63203-201-2:2022 specifies the provisions for conductive fabrics and insulation materials used for electronic textiles and measurement methods for their properties.
Conductive fabrics covered by this document are basic materials in electronic textiles and are mainly used as conductive traces, electrodes and the like in clothes-type wearable devices. This document does not cover high-resistance conductive fabrics used for antistatic purposes and heater applications.
Insulating materials handled in this document are materials used for electrical insulation of conductive parts in electronic textiles. They include materials for covering the conductive parts, and general fabrics constituting the basic structure of clothes‑type wearable devices.
This document does not define the required characteristics of the conductive fabric and insulation materials; rather, it specifies measurement methods for general and electrical properties of the conductive fabric and insulation materials.
The contents of the corrigendum of October 2023 have been included in this copy.

IEC 63203-201-1:2022 specifies provisions and test methods for measurement of properties of conductive yarns. Conductive yarns covered in this document have conductivity of a level that can be used for transmission of electric signals, supply of electric power and electromagnetic shield. They do not include high-resistance conductive yarn used for anti-static and heating use. Conductive yarns are the basic material in electronic textiles and are mainly used as conductive traces in clothes-type wearable devices, as well as with secondary processing (woven, knitted, embroidered, nonwoven, etc.) to provide conductive fabrics.
This document does not define the required characteristics of the conductive yarn; rather, it specifies the handling and measurement methods for general and electrical properties of conductive yarn.

IEC 63203-406-1:2021 defines the terms, definitions, symbols, configurations, and test methods to be used to specify the standard measurement conditions and methods for determining the contact-surface temperature of wrist-worn wearable electronic devices intended to be worn directly on a human wrist and that can be worn continuously during use. The conditions of the test do not consider perfusion and results are therefore considered conservatively. The temperature increase is induced by the thermal energy of wearable electronic devices during operation. This document gives the general procedure for the test method applicable to various wrist-worn wearable electronic devices for use by ordinary persons which in the context of this document is a healthy human adult.

IEC 63203-101-1:2021 provides terminology frequently used in literature related to wearable electronic devices and technologies in the IEC 63203 series. This list includes wearable electronic devices and technologies, near-body wearable electronics, on-body wearable electronics, in-body wearable electronics, and electronic textiles.

IEC TR 63203-250-1:2021(E) reviews the use cases of conductive snap fasteners applied as electrical connectors for e-textile products available on the market and provides guidance on future standardization works.

IEC 63203-204-1:2021 specifies a household washing durability test method for leisurewear and sportswear e-textile systems. This document includes testing procedures for leisurewear and sportswear products with electrically conductive components and sensors to collect the data of the user. This document does not cover safety or heat-generation test methods. Products containing other components than those listed in this clause are not covered by this document.

IEC 63203-201-3:2021 specifies a test method for determination of the electrical resistance of conductive fabrics under simulated microclimate within clothing. The microclimate is the climate of the small air layer between the skin and clothing having a specific temperature and humidity. This test method can be applied to conductive fabrics including multilayer assemblies for use in clothing.