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The New Body Art - Wearable Wireless Devices
Freddie writes: "This article discusses the status of wearable computers; the challenges faced by software and hardware manufacturers in developing effective and widely accepted wearable devices; and the commencement of a new paradigm for how wearable technology can create value for consumers and enterprises."
the Gap:all your clothes are belong to us.
We dance to all the wrong songs.
--Refused.
please Hemos, do us all a favour; s/consumers/person.
Could tissue heating via EMI/RFI be a problem with wearable electronics? Since there is only so much radiation the body can take before showing effects at the organ/body level, could wearing electronics (especially electronics with high power intake) possibly break that limit?
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
This just seems weird. I mean, I can see a practical purpuse for carrying a phone around, and maybe a palm-pilot or the like. But, I just don't like body ornamentation. I think it's silly.
Different strokes for different folks, but it seems the type of person who is into gadgeds doesn't put the same value in mere appearance.
Moderation: Put your hand inside the puppet head!
Where do I need to go to upgrade the firmware in my underpants?
http://www.kubuntu.org/
Everybody take a drink!
"Create value for consumers!"
Everybody take a drink!
"Pervasive computing!"
Everybody take a drink!
"Proactive interactions!"
Everybody take a drink!
"Oh, it IS a hard drive in your pocket."
Why is it called COMMON sense when so few people have it?
I think when you can toss your wearable into the laundry along with your collection of failed dot.com T-shirts is when these things will really be ready for long-term use.
-- q
I think we're going to see wearables as clunky nuisances in 10 to 15 years. I already do. I've got a pager, a cell, a palm, a notebook, and I'd have more if I could.
What I -need- is something I can IMPLANT! I hope somebody's working on this, I'm sick of carrying all this crap.
Luck favors the prepared, darling.
Below is a snippit of the artical, and I have personally used a device such as this. I have 2 small problems.
People are not likely to change on the spur of the moment, you need more than "new hardware" to create a change. Look at mice, and keyboard games. Quake/doom/duke/etc... People still use the mouse and keyboard because it is universal and it is what they know. Your going to have to flood the market to get a new standard out, and it will have to be eaiser to use, and more productive than the original. Otherwise it just will not float. Your need both to pull it off, not just "wow" factor.
For example, Sony Computer Science Laboratories has been performing cutting-edge research on input technologies, and two of their ideas, called GestureWrist and GesturePad, could be something we are all using by the end of this decade. With the goal being to make inputs to your wearable device as conceptually unnoticeable as possible, GestureWrist is a wristwatch-type input device that recognizes human gestures by measuring changes in wrist shape and forearm movements. Networked to a visual display, GestureWrist could serve as the user's virtual mouse.
Neck_of_the_Woods
#/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
Considering that most non-geek/tech people barely see the need for palm pilots, does anybody really see wearable computing becoming anything more than a niche curiosity item in the forseeable future?
Also, will there be some sort of backlash against technology once it is integrated literally into the fabric of our lives? (pardon the pun)
"Moving through the masses like a fish through water." syrup
though I would likely be a little more cautious about overclocking my pants.
While waiting at a dentist's office about 3 weeks ago, I was reading a (semi-old) issue of popular mechanics which featured a small article/blurb about a fashion designer that had integrated titanium fibers into a shirt. Sure it retailed for something like $5,000, but it automatically snapped back into shape when you put it near heat due to the titanium. It looked really neat, too.
Quite frankly, I think this is where the future of "wearable technology" lies. Not in big computers or paintable LCD screens for your skin, but in modification to things we currently like and use (shirts) that make them easier and more useful.
I can imagine that if that shirt were marketed at a more reasonable price (with titanium that's hard, but it's beside the point) it would become very popular. Many people would rather have a shirt you never have to iron than a screen in their leg.
To each his own, though.
... and 70% of the population will spend 10 times longer per day interacting with people in the e-world than in the physical world.
Don't worry, I already have my avatar ready, and ready to log on to the Metaverse, as soon as it is open for business.
What we are talking about is the ability for an advertiser to monitor every waking moment of your life. Big Brother is not Uncle Sam but Big Business. I can just imagine "smart clothing" being like browser cookies. Sure in the beginning it wasn't supposed to be used to track your surfing habits -- its for the user's benefit! But, gee, it works so well, why not use it for tracking consumers? I can just see the day when I walk by Starbucks and my pants will analyse the last time I urinated and determines what size of latte would be perfect for me.
With a future like this, I think I might hit the gym and go nude the rest of my life...
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
There was a scientific american on pbs a while back where they actually described people as human cyborgs. I don't think they were really cyborgs, what they really were was just people wearing computers. They actually already exist, and have been around for some years. Alec Baldwin even tried it out.
I couldn't find anything about it on the scientific american, but this another article on that website, somewhat dated. I think the guy that wrote it also envisioned wearable wireless devices.
Here is a wearable computer you can even buy, meant mainly for military, or scientific use, I'm sure you can get one. It runs a transmeta crusoe chip.
The future is close, and it will be cool.
From the article: "You quickly finish and rush to his office, reading the e-mail while simultaneously calling his secretary to let the boss know you will be at his office in 10 minutes."
Riiiiiiight. Walking and talking at the same time. I'll believe it when I see it.
But it would be nice to get something roughly Palm sized (and clip-on, not inserted, thankyoujustthesame) that would do what my current Palm and cell phone do. Wouldn't mind having it connect to a Jabra style earbud and maybe, just maybe, some sort of headsup display.
FWIW, Hello Direct, the overpriced headset people, are now selling Bluetooth printer cards and Bluetooth headsets. Same price as 802.b hardware, apparently.
"Ain't no right way to do a wrong thing."
The last thing I need is some l33t d00d DDoS'ing my gitchies and setting my ballsack on fire.
After reading the article, I was amazed that IBM didn't provide any links to it's own wearable PC prototype. The link shows a picture, has a brief blurb, and some Q&A with Russell Budd, the inventor.
Well, I've always thought that if I ever needed a prosthetic limb (mostly the forearm), that I wouldn't hesitate to cram it full of digital devices. Roll up your sleeve to expose a PDA screen, etc. I might even go for grasping apparatus for the hand if I could overcome the awkwardness of people staring at me. And no, I'm not thinking about the dildo that the villan from Kentucky Fried Movie had.
Of course, the concept of embedding a PA/GPS device in a prosthetic limb gives a whole new meaning to the term 'palm-top'.
ba-dum-bum ching... (sorry)
https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
I don't always WANT to be reached 24/7. I don't always want to have access to the world all the time. But here is the important thing. When I DO want it, I need the capability.
I can safely say I have no use for a cell phone. I used to have one. For years I carried the thing around with me everywhere I went. It seemed to be impossible to live without it. Then I did an assessment.
Turned out, the people most likely to call me on my phone, I never wanted to talk to. And the people I was calling from my cell phone, I could have just as easily called from a voice line. Call because I'm on my way and need directions? What is so difficult about getting proper directions before I left? Better doing that and having a vision in my mind exactly where I need to be going BEFORE I get in the car, rather than reacting last minute looking for streets in a residential area where I'm likely to hit someone due to lack of attention.
It would be useful, but I'm not going to be doing any websurfing while I'm driving, and I damn well hope nobody else is either. Certainly would be nice to listen to some mp3's, but I don't need internet access for that. Would be nice to have a live webcam in my car. However, the world can live without THAT feature to my website until I'm able to afford it.
Fact of the matter is, the world ISN'T connected all the time. The internet, for better or worse, is still a novelty for many people. Its making headway, but it still hasn't moved past the point where I need to be plugged in 24/7 or my life will suffer as a result.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
Likewise, I've seen a dozen companies come and go each with their own HUDs. All were available in limited quantities for OEM/prospective LARGE purchases, but the number of wearable displays available to consumers is pretty small.
So it's not like people haven't been trying. It just hasn't taken off yet. Sony's new research into gesture recognition may be a move in the right direction, but it may be a while before there's a ready solution that anybody can buy.
This sig intentionally left justified.
I think we're going to see wearables as clunky nuisances in 10 to 15 years.
How big would a computer comparable to a new Cassiopeia have been ten or fifteen years ago? That far into the future, this stuff had better fit onto a postage stamp and be embedded into your clothes. By the way, the article says all of this. Try reading it.
My other
Well, any form of radiation that we encounter has some effect on tissue heating. If we look at heat, which can be thought of as the energy level that molecules possess, and tissues which make up the body, any energy that is added to the body (especially EMI/RFI of various frequencies that have the ability to penetrate deeply) we can see where the problem might be. Any high power signal of any frequency can cook food, microwaves just do it efficently.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess? - Joshua (Wargames)
when he said body art I assumed we'd all be getting new piercings ....
Last year I did a project on wearable computers (okay, so it was in powerpoint! sue me!) and they are pretty damn interesting. Here is some linkie stuff...
/. post ;)
http://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/ Actually, this is the one where I got most of my info. I suggest you visit the old site (link at bottom right). Instructions are there for building your own non-corporate wearable system. $2000-3000 is the approximate price range. If you're really interested, poke around.
Well, that's the only link I feel like giving. Have fun. Oh, yeah, that design is called the Lizzy, but there are others.
My second ever
Now I can see the BSODs everywhere!
"What is the sound of one belly slapping?"
Great, so now I can be jacked into the web while I'm driving, which means that NOW I can look up the license plate of the bitch driving the bimbo box who just cut me off. Yeah, just bounce my laser off of her rear view mirror, and I've got a retinal scan.
I'll show her; a little hacking, and lets see how she likes her burbclave to be the target for a new Monsanto factory. Then it won't be just GM food anymore, we're talking GM Humans.
Just a little homage to Neal Stephenson. I've probably read Snow crash just a few too many times.
-- Dan
They hit close to the mark here about privacy concerns, but they still miss. It's really not about mutual trust between user and system. It's about the mistrust that users have with the powers that influence the 'system' (ie government). And unforunately, as Carnivore or Digital Angel, or any number of technological wonders have shown, misuse by big government is always a risk.
The polls may proclaim that we have a greater trust in government than ever before - but behind the scenes there is the spectre of Big Brother that just won't go away. And the current administration's actions haven't done anything to alleviate that.
Also what about when it rains or for people who fall out of boats or into fountains? Will they be electrocuted or at the very least ruin their electroclothes?
I just met a guy at MIT who will get a Ph.D. in this soon. I didn't have the heart to heckle him in person so I'm glad I get the chance to do it here.
I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
I typically keep the RF key to my car in my jeans change pocket. I can tell which button is the lock and which is the unlock through the fabric, so I don't have to take it out to use it. This is effectively wearable technology. This is also about as complex and feature-rich as wearable technology needs to get.
If the device has a proper interface, then it will not be perceived as a computer. Then it will be called a communicator, medical monitor,
entertainer, or whatever its function is.
I call the computer on my wrist a watch,
even though it is more powerful than ENIAC.
Puting electronics in clothing makes the combination expensive and vulnerable to damage. I suggest a good compromise is in accesories such as rings, wistbands, waistbands, eye frames, shoes, etc.
Advances in wearable computing mean better battery life even for the non-adventurous. Better processing power. Smaller computers that last longer. Tie that in with ubiquitous computing and we can really live in a wired world.
Although a few people say they wouldn't want to be connected to the Internet all the time, I for one would love to (as long as I don't get DDOS'd!). I find search engines like Google incredibly useful when I'm tracking down information. I like keeping notes electronically because I can grep through them for the stuff I _know_ I wrote down somewhere. I'd love to have access to the Net everywhere.
I'm a little forgetful, so I'd appreciate having a computer take care of things like reminding me about appointments. If it could also watch where I put things down, that would keep me from losing things all the time! (Big win, definitely.) A computer that could match names and faces would be a good thing, too. Phone numbers, notes, reminders, birthdays... so much data could help me when dealing with other people.
I'd like to have it in class, too. I'm a teaching assistant for an introductory CS course and while checking papers I usually make a lot of notes on how the students are doing. I'd like those notes to pop up when I'm talking to students, so that we can talk about the things they're having problems with. As a student, I have to admit that wearable computing will be a little distracting - I might be surfing the Net looking at related information instead of listening to the teacher! - but I'm sure a reasonable compromise can be achieved.
I really want to do research in wearable computing because I want computers to be so close and comfortable that we practically forget about them. I just don't know where to start. I'll be graduating pretty soon, so I'm looking at universities that do work in wearable computing - quite a few! - but it's hard to give the field a try, especially since the components are pretty expensive and practically impossible to get here in the Philippines. =) Maybe I can save up for one of those HUDs...
People don't really have to be so negative about wearable computing. If you don't like it, don't wear it! ;) I don't really mind whatever loss of privacy might accompany it. I don't care if Starbucks knows I drink hot chocolate; hey, it would be nice if they could spell my name right all the time! I don't mind if companies know my preferences, but the smart thing for them to do is also note that I don't like spam - a company that deals fairly with me will earn my respect and possibly purchases. =) If losing a little privacy comes with having a computer (and not just a computer, but the Internet!) with me all the time, in a form more portable and convenient than the laptop I bring around constantly... hey, I'm all for wearable computing. =)
<plug> So, is any wearable computing company or lab looking for new interns/students/whatever? =) </plug>