In recent years, the literature associated with wearable devices has grown rapidly, but few studies have used bibliometrics and a visualisation approach to conduct deep mining and reveal a panorama of the wearable devices field. To explore the foundational knowledge and research hotspots of the wearable devices field, this study conducted a series of bibliometric analyses on the related literature, including papers' production trends in the field and the distribution of countries, a keyword co-occurrence analysis, theme evolution analysis and research hotspots and trends for the future. By conducting a literature content analysis and structure analysis, we found the following: (a) The subject evolution path includes sensor research, sensitivity research and multi-functional device research. (b) Wearable device research focuses on information collection, sensor materials, manufacturing technology and application, artificial intelligence technology application, energy supply and medical applications. The future development trend will be further studied in combination with big data analysis, telemedicine and personalised precision medical application.
Keywords: Wearable device; development trend; hot topics; theme evolution.