Konig, JemmaBidois, BenManchester, RyanHead, MitchellOwen, MahonriHoskens, MerelDwivedi, AnanyAugust, LukeFredericks, JoelYoo, SoojeongTran, Tram Thi MinhPantidi, NadiaHoang, ThuongHoggenmueller, MariusCaldwell, GlendaTag, BenjaminAndres, JoshDavis, HilaryBoden, MarieZhu, HoweHarman, JoelRahman, Jessica2026-09-082026-09-082025Konig, J., Bidois, B., Manchester, R., Head, M., Owen, M., Hoskens, M., Dwivedi, A., & August, L. (2025). Navigating the challenges of wearables: a case study of research-grade devices. In Fredericks, J., Yoo, S., Tran, T. T. M., Pantidi, N., Hoang, T., Hoggenmueller, M., Caldwell, G., Tag, B., Andres, J., Davis, H., Boden, M., Zhu, H., Harman, J., & Rahman, J. (Eds.), Proc 37th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (OzCHI '25) (pp. 903-911). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3764687.3769942979-8-4007-2016-1https://hdl.handle.net/10289/18629The use of wearable devices in HCI research is becoming more common. However, it is also widely accepted that there are challenges associated with the use of wearable devices. Researchers have investigated generalized challenges, and more recently, challenges associated with low-cost commercial devices. Yet, little work has been published on the challenges of working with higher-cost research-grade devices. In this paper, we use a case study to explore the challenges associated with research-grade devices, and compare these challenges with those that have been identified by other researchers. The case study involves the use of two research-grade devices to record a series of physiological data-points. The case study identified one new challenge that is associated with research-grade wearable devices (setup complexity (researcher adoption)) and highlighted similarities between generalized challenges, low-cost device challenges, and research-grade challenges. The findings from this work can be used to further investigate challenges associated with wearable devices.enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/challenges of wearable devicescomputer scienceparticipatory studyphysiological devicesresearch-grade deviceswearable devicesConference Contribution10.1145/3764687.376994246 Information and Computing Sciences4608 Human-Centred Computing