The concept of wearable technology has certain shades of appeal: After all, would it not be incredibly convenient to have a computer screen right in front of your eyes, as Google seeks to provide with its upcoming Glass headset? The issue with wearables right now, though, is that to get the full computing power of smart devices, the wearable gadgets have to be fairly large, conspicuous, heavy, and obtrusive. In other words, while the Google Glass could be described using lots of different adjectives, “invisible” would never be one of them.

According to an article published by PC World, however, a company called ARM is seeking to cut down on the size, weight, and obtrusive quality of wearables, all with the goal of ultimately making them “invisible” – or at least a bit more natural. ARM already makes many of the processor chips that power wearable devices, from smart watches to smart glasses, but the company is apparently working on much more miniaturized processor technology now.

The finished chips would not only be smaller than their current counterparts, but they would also utilize significantly less energy to manage computer tasks on wearable devices (nanowatts of power, according to ARM executives). By cutting down on power needs, these near-microscopic processors would make it possible for wearable device developers to greatly decrease battery sizes. Noel Hurley, the deputy general manager for CPUs at ARM, says that batteries are the heaviest part of any smart device, so giving developers the option to scale back on battery size also gives them great freedom in minimizing the size and weight of their devices.

ARM hopes that, in downsizing processor chip size and power requirements, it will be able to bring about an overall downsizing of wearable technology. This transition would in turn make wearables more…well, wearable, cutting down on the size and weight that make devices like these obtrusive and uncomfortable, and allowing tech companies the freedom to come up with wearable designs that compliment the body or meld with clothing in a very natural and convenient way.