Slashdot Mirror
Wearable Computers in Canada
JR writes "The Ottawa Citizen, in their weekly High Technology News feature, recently reported on a 'Wearable Computing' research trial currently going on at the University of Toronto. Is this the future? I hope so :) "
goto www.wearcam.org to see Steve Mann and all his various wearables... Also, to get some more info on the subject goto wearables.ml.org.
I have been planning my wearable for some time, based on a 486 biscuit PC w/ sound and vga, www.advantech.com. Yeah, I know it uses 10 watts, but its the only option in my price range...
U of T is a damn cool school for engineering.
It's a lot cheaper than American schools. (although prices are going up every year though...)
check out
http://www.engsci.utoronto.ca/design/
Naked chicks in wearable computers.
A rather good collection of links is at Wearables Central .
I wonder if the WaveRunner networking devices which are mentioned in the article work under Linux. The article does not mention how open they are, and something in the WaveRunner.com JS blew up Netscape 4.08 so I can't browse the site.
Ive been developing a wearable computer under the mentorship of Steve Mann for my High School Graduation project. The system will be completed next month, and Im glad to see that he gets this publicity :)
Eric Windisch
Slip on over to www.wearcam.org, and catch a picture of My favorite Martian circa 1980. I like the idea of a wearable computer, if it can be used to increase your effectiveness; but I wouldn't let a pic of me looking like that be posted anywhere.........
What are you going to use for a power supply and video?
Steve Mann is a funny fellow. He's vehemently anti-Microsoft and pro-Linux (the ability to view and modify the source is important to him), yet he's extremely secretive about some of his research and carefully protects his intellectual property through patents.
Maybe that's not contradictory; perhaps his main reason for patenting his inventions is so he gets credit where credit is due.
He also puts a lot of effort into publicizing his work and getting the attention of the press.
I believe he was one of the early pioneeers of wearable computing at MIT. A little birdie told me that there are personal differences between him and the Media Lab people (MIT pretty boys are getting unwarranted attention) and he's now trying to set up his own wearable computing group at the University of Toronto.
Steve Mann, has more to say in the LJ #68 pp 10-19. However, some details seem to differ from the article referenced here, unless I misread the Linux Journal text.
Laptops are heavy and perhaps it would be nice to have a discretely hidden link to the net. This would be a good during dull meetings that need some fresh ideas. People will wonder how this person all of a sudden got so smart.
I'd wear one.
Wearable computers?? Haha Get a life!
I'm sorry, you evidently have been living in a cave for quite some time now. MIT already has a very healthy populatioin of wearable computer cyborgs and numerous other places (georgia tech) are starting their own programs. Possibly the best leaps in this field are by Steve Mann whose creating something truly practical and marketable which is also what I intend to create for my colledge computer, an underwearable computer. That is a computer which is totally integrated into your clothing and not noticable to anyone else. A completely integrated computer undetectable to anyone else.
/
MIT webpage:
http://lcs.www.media.mit.edu/projects/wearables
Mann's:
http://n1nlf-1.eecg.toronto.edu/
Your cave correction team!
Myren