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Wearable Computers

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Abstract:

Computer technology has played an important role in businesses throughout the years.
There has been active development of increasingly portable computer hardware. The
development originated with desktop and laptop units and is becoming increasingly
apparent in palmtop, handheld and now wearable computers. A wearable computer is a
computing device small and light enough to be worn on one's body without causing
discomfort. Unlike a laptop or a palmtop , wearable computer is constantly turned on and
interacts with the a real-world task. Information could be even very context sensitive.
Wearable computers are gradually transforming our technology by reshaping the bulky
desktop computer into a small, lightweight device as unnoticeable as clothing, which is
accessible all the time. Sometimes the location of a desktop or laptop computer is
inconvenient or inefficient. When accurate information is not available in a timely
manner, production decreases. This is a problem for many businesses throughout the
world. With rising costs and demand for increased efficiency, wearable computers give
personnel real-time access to critical information. The wearable computer provides the
ultimate in network access hands-free, heads up operation with complete mobility and
ample counting power. We have all technologies needed to make a viable wearable
computer today, the technology which adds value to the human knowledge, memory and
intelligence.
This report discusses the lightweight ultra mobile technology “The wearable computers”
thoroughly which is sure to become the worlds next mania.
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INTRODUCTION:
From ENIGMA, arguably the first digital computer ever, to the World War II code-
breaking machine designed by Alan Turing, to 1950s dinosaurs like Von Neumann’s
ENIAC and beyond, computers have inspired our imagination. Initially the computers
were massive in size and at some point, it was realized the speed of electricity might
eventually become a limiting factor in the speed of computation. Then computers were
made to work fast by giving the electricity less distance to travel. This idea still holds in
the modern computing: Cray XMP, one the most powerful computers on our planet,
features curved backplane precisely because of this principle. Thus even before
aesthetics, speed was a compelling reason to make the computers smaller.

Then came wearable computers into existence in early 1970’s , but they were not present
in the mass-culture, because IBM's PC and other, cheaper clones spread world-wide like
a wild fire. Wearcomps were more than merely an alternate exercise in supplying power
to digital computers, however. They were a new vision of how computing should be done
and Steve Mann of MIT was one of the initial developer’s. Gone were the days where
computer was seen as immutable construct that would require us to undergo strange
rituals of drilling holes in paper cards in order to run it.

The next big wave was the laptop and the main difference between laptops and wearable
computers is that the latter allows the user to have access to the computing facilities
available without disrupting with his current task and total hands-free (or at least one-
handed) use. These are very appealing properties of wearable computers which make
them suitable for many different applications.

Wearable computing has also taken one step further from mobile computing. It can be
used to replace most portable electronics products such as mobile phones, fax machines
and even cameras. As the computer is worn by the user all the time, there is a closer
association between the user and the computer. The sensors attached to the computer
allow it to 'see' and 'hear' what the user is experiencing. An appropriate intelligent system
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can analyze this information and predict what the user is doing and will try to assist him
accordingly.

Definition of Wearable Computer:

A computer that is worn on the body and accessed via voice recognition and a head
mounted display (HMD). The computer is a full PC with hard disk that is ruggedized for
the natural abuse it will receive in the work environment. The HMD (Head Mounted
Display) is worn like goggles and gives the illusion of a floating monitor in front of the
user's face.
A typical wearable computer will have a motherboard worn inside a fashion garment,
connecting all the components of the system. The components will be placed at different
parts of the body as per the user convenience; power pack and storage in shoes, display
and mic on the glasses and keyboard input on the wrist. User input to the computer is
either mostly voice driven or sensed from gestures or body motion. The display and audio
output generated by the computer will be relevant to the context and environment. The
picture displayed here, shows how a wearable computer is worn.
Characteristics of wearable computers:
Hands-free use:
This is one of the main characteristics of wearable computers. Military and industrial
application for wearables especially emphasize their hands-free aspect , and concentrate
on speech input and heads-up display or voice output. Other wearables might also use
chording keyboards to minimize the tying up of a user’s hands.

Portable :
The most distinguishing feature of a wearable computer is that it can be used while
walking or otherwise moving around . This distinguishes wearables from both desktop
and laptop computers.
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Sensors:
As the wearable computer is used in a variety of different environments, sensors are used
for the computer to gather information about its surroundings. Such sensors might
include wireless communications, cameras or microphones.
Constancy:
By default the wearable computer is always on and working, sensing and acting. It is
therefore always accessible by the user, anytime of the day, without having the need to
turn it on .Unlike the PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) ,which normally sit in one’s
pocket and are only woken up when a task needs to be done.
Proactive:
A wearable computer should be able to convey information to its user even when not
actively being used. For example ,if your computer wants to let you know you have new
e-mail and whom it is from, it should be able to communicate this information to you
immediately.
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Sulawesi Architecture:

A framework called Sulawesi has been designed and implemented to tackle what has
been considered to be important challenges in a wearable user interface. This framework
gives the wearable computer an ability to accept input from any number of modalities,
and perform if necessary a translation to any number of modal outputs. This system that
has been designed comprises of three distinct parts:

Multimodal-multimedia based Input system, gathers raw data from the various sensors

The system gathers real world information through a well-defined API. The current
implementation includes keyboard input, network input, speech recognition input, video
camera input, G.P.S. input and infrared input. Agent based core system, contains a
natural language processing module and service agents.

The core of the system contains a basic natural language processor, which performs
sentence translations. This converts a sentence into a command stream from which two
pieces of information are extracted, which service to invoke and how the output should
be rendered. A service manager is responsible for the instantiation and monitoring of the
services. The service manager also checks and queues commands to provide resilience
against system failures.
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Proactive and Wearable Output system, decides when and how to render the results from
the serviceagents. The name itself suggests that the output stage takes a modal neutral
result from a service and makes a decision on how to render the information. A
successful wearable user interface must combine different types of input and output
depending on the user’s context and needs.

Early wearable comps:

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Wristwatch videoconferencing system running GNU Linux, later featured in Linux

Journal and presented at ISSCC2000.
Hands Free
These Xybernaut HMDs connect to voice-activated, body-worn Pentium computers,
allowing the technician to review instructions while working with both hands. Evolution
of Steve Mann's "WearComp"
Steve Mann’s “Wearable Computer” and “reality mediator” inventions of the 1970s have
evolved into what looks like ordinary eyeglasses.

Input Devices:
The most commonly used input device is the chord keyboard (Twiddler). It is used when
text is the main source of input, and it requires only one hand to use it. Letters, numbers
and symbols are generated by combination of keys. Pointing devices are also employed.
They are useful for interacting with the interface of the computer.
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Example: Speech Recogniser:

A speech recognizer is used in certain applications. The main advantage is that it allows
total hand-free input. However, the present speech recognition technology poses
restrictions to the use of speech as input. Conceptual problems such as deciding which
words are intended for the computer and which or not or specifying a position in two-
dimensional space are yet to be solved satisfactorily. The quality of recognition still
needs improvement and effects of ambient noise need to be considered as well.

Some wearable systems are multi-modal. This means the system has multiple input
devices. This has the advantage over having a single input device in that it offers a
variety of ways for the user to communicate with the computer. However, this is still in
an experimental stage and more research needs to be done.

Output Devices:
Output devices generally include visual and auditory displays. A head-mounted display
(HMD) is commonly used for visual output, and earphones are employed for auditory
outputs. A HMD is a small liquid crystal display (LCD) that is worn in front of one of the
eyes. It can be used to display text, 303Wearable Computers graphics, animations and
videos. Most HMD has the resolution of 640 x 480 pixel.
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APPLICATIONS:

Augmented Reality (AR):

Wearable computing introduces new concepts ‘mediated reality’ and ‘augmented reality’,
which are very interesting to know about. Mediated reality refers to encapsulation of the
user's senses by incorporating the computer with the user's perceptive mechanisms, and is
used to process the outside stimuli. For example, one can mediate their vision by
applying a computer-controlled camera to enhance it. The primary activity of mediated
reality is direct interaction with the computer, which means that computer is "in charge"
of processing and presenting the reality to the user.

Augmented Reality combines real world scenes and virtual scenes, augmenting the real
world with additional information. The computer must be able to operate in the
background, providing enough resources to enhance but not replace the user's primary
experience of reality. This can be achieved by using tracked see-through display units and
earphones to overlay visual and audio material on real objects. This technology adds
value to the human knowledge, memory & intelligence.

An example of an AR application is a guidebook as above. As the tourist walks around

the library, his wearable computer uses sensors, for example a combination of GPS and
head tracking equipment, to detect his physical position and orientation. Some text
describing the library is shown on the display unit over the actual building. The wearable
computer assists further in enhancing the value of the real world experience, using
augmented reality.
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Augmented Memory: The Remembrance Agent:

Remembrance Agents (RAs) are wearables that continuously remind the wearer of
potentially relevant information based on the wearer's current physical and virtual
context.

Spatial Conferencing and collaboration:

Besides Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), the interaction between humans is equally
important. When networked, a wearable computer can provide a conferencing space so
that users can engage in a real-life 'face-to-face' collaboration with each other. EDO
Introduces Rugged Mini Tablet Computer at DSEi; Situational Awareness in the
Soldier’s Pocket (September 12,2005).

EDO Corporation is introducing its new MINI-T Rugged Mini-Tablet Computer at the
Defense Systems & Equipment International (DSEi) Exhibition, which is being held this
week in London. The one-kilogram, personal-digital-assistant (PDA) design offers
"situational awareness in the soldier's pocket" that is useable from the Antarctic to the
desert.
Typical PDA screens tend to be too small for situational awareness information needed in
the battlefield and thus have been limited mainly to sending messages. The MINI - T
rugged computer solves this problem with as much as twice the usable screen area as a
PDA, powered by substantially faster digital-signal processing. It includes a 6.4 inch
sunlight-readable touch screen and dual processing with a 200MHz RISC/DSP. The
MINI-T is a variant of EDO's line of wearable computer products and is the latest
addition to the company's full line of genuinely rugged portable computers, which
includes the Termite.
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CONCLUSION:
Once hand crafted, one of kind devices, wearable computers are now mass marketed and
available off the rack and the next generation may be virtually unnoticeable. What
wearable computers have to offer is job-critical information to people whose hands must
be free for other work. Still the goal of wearable units blessed with persistence and stealth
may be a decade away.

According to Thad Starner of MIT Media Labs, "The goal is to have the computer
disappear into your clothes so that no one knows you have it". Future applications of
wearable computers extend to "smart clothing", the idea that computer chips can be
embedded in a person. "There’s even a prototype for "smart shoes" that record heart
rates". In the near future, we are sure to see the impact of wearable computers on the way
we conduct business. Wearable computing may definitely be the largest technological
advancement of the century. Who knows what the future holds for such an incredible
instrument. But we can sure that this light weight ultra mobile technology will be the next
mania.
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