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Two Scoops Of Wearable Computers
miester writes: "A bunch of engineering students were assigned to create wearable computers for their 4th year thesis at the University of Toronto." There's actually great gobs of links there to research-oriented stuff on wearables.
Here I have a whole bunch of links to further information about wearable computers and "enhanced reality" for anyone interested:
Impossible means no one's done it yet.
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Impossible means no one's done it yet.
This was more or less my opinion too, until recently. However, Prof. Mann had raised a few genuinely useful points on the topic back when I was studying under him (working on video drivers for the WearComps):
Video phones were another interesting idea that nobody actually wants; there are few good reasons to stare at the face of the person you're talking to, and several good reasons not to (say they just got out of the shower...). However, being able to have my co-worker look at the computer I'm trying to fix while I'm asking for advice _would_ be useful. Plus, the whole voyeuristic thrill of posessing another person's viewpoint comes in. This just strikes me as a genuinely neat and often useful idea that's easy to implement with wearable computers.
Data overlay on your vision is, for the most part, another failed idea - but there are a few niche markets where it's useful. Another design project group working at the same time I was developed an oscilliscope attachment to a WearComp, that let you view and manipulate signal traces without taking your eyes off of the probe you were sticking into the circuit. This is a Very Useful Thing when you're just trying to sanity-check a signal and are trying to hold a probe to a millimetre-wide trace while under the influence of sleep deprivation and caffiene.
Another point, which Prof. Mann didn't bring up but that I think will be the main selling point of wearable display visors:
Wearable computers don't currently have that kind of resolution, but when they do, notebooks will get a whole lot nicer. No power-hungry flat panel, and a better-looking display to boot.
In summary, I think that there are enough useful points to wearable computer technology that wearable computers will become ubiquitous in some form within the next few years.
The technology exists to make these things actually wearable, yet the "I'm such a StarTrek weenie I get off on the borg image" still seems the predominant aesthetic. We have www.charmed.com with their equally dubious "cyberchicks with boxes and wires sticking out in all the wrong places that aren't actually very useful for anything, but will really reel in those trekkies with the high-paying jobs" look.
:-) For me, that means extremely discrete is the top priority, with it's aesthetic design acting as a stylistic fallback measure. :-)
Really, wearables that lack style of any substance (or a practical use for that matter) and presumably are intended to sell on wank factor (for whom?) alone are not going tempt very many people. Sure, they mostly just prototypes, but almost universally ignoring important considerations when prototyping is not going to help very much.
On the other hand, if you can browse the web on what could pass on the street for expensive sunglasses - and you can use them as normal sunglasses when not browsing (ie don't need to change headgear whenever you change tasks) then we're starting to get somewhere. And this kind of subtle, miniature heads up system has been built. But it seems the "plaster-junk-to-my-face" look is all the rage with a significant portion of the people involved (there of course some notable exceptions).
Rather than developing better ways to mount a wireless webcam on your head (the last place I'm putting a webcam is on my face! Shoulder, possibly, but face?!?), pour the effort into developing things to wearables more useful as a technology, eg a miniature retina or focus tracking system to incorporate into heads-up sunglasses, thus removing the need for a mouse or control panel larger than one or two buttons. Simply look at the icon and click the button, or whatever.
These systems might be complex and difficult with today's tech - much easier to play with things like webcams, but they offer a hell of a lot more as well.
BTW, I'm not merely spouting here from a position of complete ignorance - I'm working on some miniaturised wearable stuff, but it's in a different direction, and the ultimate goal is stuff that I can actually wear yet still feel stylish
(Ie I'm only spouting from a position of mostly-ignorance
Simple test for wearables: Would you be caught dead wearing that getup in a public place where you might meet people who would recognise you? I have yet to see any wearables that satisfy this extremely basic criteria. You might think this is kinda vain, but we're talking about wearable computers here - they are going to have to attain the same stylistic standards as clothing, sunglasses, shoes etc.
Cell phones had to come a long way before being accepted, and they were greatly aided by the perception that only important people had a genuine need for them. With WAP phones already here, wearable are unlikely to enjoy such a boost.
Alright, it's about time this got posted. I just spent the past year working with Professor Mann and the 'cyborg' group at the University Of Toronto. So, I guess I'll put my $0.02 in
First off, the page is over a year out of date, even the course syllabus is slightly dated. Since Steve Mann came to UofT, the wearcomp/wearcam/eyetap/cybernetics group has grown tremendously. We've effectively taken over an entire graduate student lab with prototypes, workstations, even a Beowulf or two.
Secondly, by no means was "a bunch of engineering students assigned to create wearable computers". Every student involved with the wearcomp group has their own specific interests in the project. Some concentrate on the use of the device, others develop the technology, most of us have hacked the code (all open-source, all linux) to some degree. I personally did my 4th year thesis (along with two partners) on parallel image processing using code designed for wearcomps and eyetap (and running on that aforementioned Beowulf). I also took Professor Mann's course, which, if nothing else, is an eye-opener to what his concepts really are and where he's heading with this technology
For those of you with concerns about the wearability of the devices. Currently, the most widely-used wearcomps can be fairly discretely worn around the waist. However, the eyetaps used are slightly more conspicuous, being mounted on hard hats, baseball caps, etc, with a modified webcam, a small screen, and a fairly large mirror used as a diverter. There are more discrete versions of the eyetap in existence, which are often used by Professor Mann (in fact, he's rarely seen without them), embedded into a larger pair of sunglasses (slightly more stylish than the ones seen on the webpage) or regular lenses.
Where is all this going? Beats me. Bear in mind that when Steve Mann started building wearable computers, he wore 200lbs of equipment in a backpack and had an antenna sticking out his head. In the 20 years that have elapsed since then, the whole system weighs in at about 10lbs in its case, and it's getting smaller all the time. As for uses, of course the first application that comes to mind is internet usage. But after 20 years, Professor Mann's gotten a little bored with just checking e-mail. The concept of a "mediated reality" is the predominant use envisioned for the eyetap. Imagine a meeting around a table in your local Second Cup (or Starbucks for all the non-Canucks out there), where each person is wearing a covert wearcomp. The entire meeting can take place without anyone else in the room able to access the information being shared. You could project flow charts, xterms as whiteboards, etc, to each other using the wearcomps, and nobody but you would know. You could be walking down the street, and another user could have left you a message 'written' on a store window reminding you to bring donuts to the morning meeting. These are the types of uses that could develop, where reality isn't interrupted by the computer (unlike cell phones, pagers, PDAs, etc.), but enhanced, and augmented.
Anyway, I can think of at least 5 other people who will be starting their posts with "I've worked with Professor Steve Mann for x years...", I'll let them do the rest of the talking.
- In hell, treason is the work of angels.