CIT595 Project

A Study ofWearable Computing

By: Fatima BoujarwahLaxmi NairKok Sung Won

Abstract

As computers move from the desktop, to the palm top, and onto our bodies and into our everyday lives, infinite opportunities arise to realize applications that have never before been possible. In this paper we focus our attention on three applications, from the plethora of wearable computing possibilities. We will first discuss general everyday use wearable computers, this will include such devices as wearable electronic fabrics, wearable digital watches with enhanced capabilities, wearable handbags and so forth. Next, we will explore a number of medical wearable devices including navigations systems for the blind and real-time American Sign Language recognizers. A study of the several generations of wearable computing prototypes used in a military context is also presented. The paper concludes by presenting several possible future trends in wearable computing and the technology that will be necessary to realize them.

i

ABSTRACT

1 INTRODUCTIONI

1

2 WEARABLE COMPUTING IN EVERYDAY USE4

2.1 Wearable Computers you can Slip Into: Fabrics4

2.2 Architecture and Design5

2.2.1 Hardware Design6

2.2.2 Software Design7

2.3 Interface7

2.3.1 Display7

2.3.2 Input Devices8

2.4 Source of Power8

2.5 Aspects of Wearable Computing and everyday living8

2.5.1 Enhancements to Daily Activities8

2.5.2 Trends and Fashion9

2.5.3 Supporting Technologies9

2.6 Glimpse into Wearables of Today10

3 MEDICAL APPLICATIONS11

3.1 Why is it Interesting?11

3.2 Applications11

3.3 Design, Architecture, Interfaces13

3.4 Important Things to Consider16

3.5 Future Trend of Medical Wearable Computing17

4 MILITARY APPLICATIONS18

4.1 Design Considerations18

4.2 Auxiliary Applications19

4.3 Architecture and Interfaces20

4.4 Summary23

5 CONCLUSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS24

BIBLIOGRAPHY27

APPENDICES29

Appendix A29

Appendix B30

ii

1 Introduction

A thought..."'Man-computer symbiosis' is a subclass of man-machine systems. There are many man-machine systems. The hope is that, in not too many years, human brains and computing machines will be coupled together very tightly and the resulting partnership will think as no human brain has ever thought and process data in a way not approached by the information handling systems." Man-Computer Symbiosis, J.C.R. Licklider, March1960.

To date, personal computers have not lived up to their name. Most machines sit on a desk and interact with their owners only a small fraction of the day. A person's computer should be worn, much as eyeglasses or clothing are worn, and interact with the user based on the context of the situation. With the current accessibility of wireless local area networks, and the host of other context sensing and communication tools available, coupled with the current scale of miniaturization, it is becoming clear that the computer should act as an intelligent assistant, whether it be through a remembrance agent, augmented reality, or intellectual collectives. It is also important that a computer be small, such as something we could slip into our pocket, or even better wear like a piece of clothing. It is rapidly becoming apparent that the next technological leap is to integrate the computer and the user in a non-invasive manner, this leap will bring us into the fascinating world of Wearable Computers!

A wearable computer is a computer that is subsumed into the personal space of the user, controlled by the user, and has both operational and interactional constancy, i.e. is always on and always accessible. Most notably, it is a device that is always with the user in an unobtrusive manner, and into which the user can always enter and execute commands.

Wearable computing will now be formally defined in terms of its basic modes of operation and its fundamental attributes.1. Constancy: The signal flow from human to computer, and computer to human, depicted in Figure 1a runs continuously to provide a constant user interface.

19

Figure 1a. Constancy.

2.Augmentation: Traditional computing paradigms are based on the notion that computing is the primary task. Wearable computing, however, is based on the notion that computing is not the primary task. The assumption of wearable computing is that the user will be doing something else at the same time as doing the computing. Thus the computer should serve to augment the intellect, or complement the senses.

Figure 1b. Signal flow between human and computers.

3. Mediation: Unlike hand held devices, laptop computers, and PDAs, the wearable computer can encapsulate us. It does not necessarily need to completely enclose us but the concept allows for a greater degree of encapsulation.

Figure 1c. Encapsulation.

4. Other important attributes of wearable computers include: Not monopolizing of the users attention Unrestrictive to the user Observable by the user Controllable by the user Attentive to the environment Communicative to others.

Now that we have a clearer understanding of what a wearable computer is we should examine some of the forms of wearable computers. We will first discuss general everyday use wearable computers; this includes such devices as wearable electronic fabrics, wearable digital watches with enhanced capabilities, wearable handbags and so forth. Next, we will explore a number of medical wearable devices including navigations systems for the blind and real-time American Sign Language recognizers. In the penultimate chapter we will study several generations of wearable computing used in a military context. We will conclude by presenting several possible future scenarios for wearable computing and the technology necessary to realize them.

2 Wearable Computing in Everyday Use

Wearables with expanded utility, increased accessibility and improved ergonomics should supplant the desktop as a preferred interface for computing. For example, as displays get embedded in eye glasses users will be free from maintaining the static neck and back position required by computer monitor for data entry. The wearable computer may eventually look like a black box, at most the size of a deck of cards, enclosing a powerful yet energy efficient CPU that is also a large capacity data storage device. While the technology is still novel, a few researchers and hobbyists have adopted wearable computers into their everyday lives. Lets start by looking at an interesting category of Wearable computers the ones you actually wear!

2.1 Wearable Computers You Can Slip Into: Fabrics

Computerized clothes will be the next step in making computers and devices portable without having to strap electronics to our bodies or fill our pockets with a plethora of gadgets. Researchers are using silk organza because it is ideal for computerized clothing because it is made with two fibers that make it electrically conductive. The first fiber is just an ordinary silk thread, but running in the opposite direction of the fiber is silk thread that is wrapped in a thin copper foil. Secondly its fibers are spaced appropriately, so that the fibers can be individually addressed. [5] A strip of this fabric can basically function as a ribbon cable. Ribbon cables are used in computers to connect disk drives to controllers. Apart from this, DuPont has created a new fiber called Aracon, that is made of Kevlar, is very strong, conducts electricity, and can be woven into ordinary-looking clothes.[19] Additional components, such as LEDs, crystals, piezo transducers and other surface mount components, if needed, are soldered directly onto the metallic yarn. Chipmaker Infineon has already developed chip packaging which allows wearable computers to be washed, even in the heavy-duty cycle of an automatic washing machine. [19]

Figure 2. A fabric broadband.

2.2 Architecture and Design

There are two types of wearable computers today; multi-purpose consumer platforms and ones used in vocational work. We will first delve deeper into an interesting prototype of the former. The MIThril 2003 is a proven, accessible architecture that combines inexpensive, commodity hardware, and an inter-process communications software layer to facilitate the development of distributed real-time multimodal and context-aware applications.

The goal of the MIThril project is the development and prototyping of new techniques in human-computer interaction for body-worn applications. Through the application of human factors, machine learning, hardware engineering, and software engineering, the MIThril team has constructed a new kind of computing environment and developed prototype applications for health, communications, and just-in-time information delivery. The MIThril hardware platform combines body-worn computation, sensing, and networking in a clothing-integrated design. The MIThril software platform is a combination of user interface elements and machine learning tools built on the Linux operating system.2.2.1 Hardware Design

Figure 3. Vest-based configurations for the MIThril system.

MIThril 2003 employs a Linux based PDA, such as the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500. The Zaurus SL-5500 is a complete embedded Linux system. It provides a 206-Mhz StrongARM processor, 64 MB SDRAM, 16 MB Flash, CF and SD expansion slots, full duplex audio, qVGA color touch screen, and an integrated QWERTY keyboard. The CF card slot enables a rich variety of peripherals to be attached, including cell-phone modems, image and video cameras, Bluetooth and 802.11b (WiFi) wireless, and even head mounted displays. A sensor hub is used to interface the Zaurus SL-5500 with the Phillips I2C multi-device serial protocol used on the MIThril body bus. The MIThril2003 PDA configuration supports wireless IP networking through the CF interface using the 802.11b wireless protocol. This low-cost wireless networking capability is a crucial enabling feature, allowing us to implement multi-node, distributed wearable applications. With wireless connectivity, data can be streamed to off-body resources for a variety of purposes, including data logging and storage, visualization/display, and signal processing. [3]2.2.2 Software Design

The software design is composed of - the Enchantment Whiteboard, the Enchantment Signal system, and a Real-Time Context Engine. These tools provide the foundation for developing modular, distributed, context-aware wearable and ubiquitous computing applications. Enchantment Whiteboard is based on a client/server model in which clients post and read structured information on whiteboard server.,.

Figure 4. Whiteboard example of Echat.

2.3 Interface

2.3.1 Display

The displays for wearable devices can either be translucent or miniature opaque. The SportVue MC1 is a very lightweight, wireless system consisting of two small components: a Head-Mounted Display and a Motorcycle Sending Unit. The rider sees a virtual image, just above the horizon, which shows real-time speed, RPM and gear position on the HMD. The image is within your normal field of view and is focused out near infinity, requiring little or no focal adjustment. [23] This is an ideal example of a see through display. Another such example is the DataGlass 2/A which is a light weight monocular that easily connects to your computer's monitor port with a color resolution of SVGA or VGA. [23] The eyepiece incorporates a see-through prism optic allowing the user to see the real world at the same time as the computer's display. Pioneer has also been working to develop a new kind of ultra-thin electroluminescent (EL) display screen that would be like electronic paper that could be fitted into a jacket sleeve or the body of a handbag. These are just a few of the display options and techniques.2.3.2 Input Devices

The Input devices used in current day wearables can be broadly divided into speech recognition and hand/keyboard type. Sensory's ICs and embedded software for speech recognition are used in consumer electronics, cell phones, PDA's, Internet appliances, interactive toys, and automobiles today. One example of hand/keyboard type of input is the Twiddler2 which is a pocket-sized mouse pointer plus a fully-function keyboard in a single unit that fits neatly in either the users right or left hand. Going one step further is the light glove, which is a new human interface device that you wear on the underside of your wrist. Light from the device (visual or infrared) scans the palm and senses wrist, hand and finger motion. This data is translated into either on-screen cursor control or key closures. In addition, this device works as a long distance on/off switch for virtually all electronics. [23]

2.4 Source of Power

A wearable computer is expected to stay with its user 24/7 and be of service continuously. To actually achieve this it is necessary to have a constant supply of power. It would defeat the purpose, if it was necessary to charge our wearables every couple of hours. The body consumes energy at a surprising rate. One idea that is being explored is the possibility of this power being stored, providing a constant power supply to the wearable computer. One of the plausible solutions is the use of shoe inserts made of piezoelectric materials like PVDF. These can be used to recover some of the power in the process of walking. Research done at IBM indicates that 5W of electric power can be generated by a 52 kg user walking at a brisk pace.

2.5 Aspects of Wearable Computing and everyday living

2.5.1 Enhancements to Daily Activities

Photographic and Shared memory: One can have a perfect recall of previously collected information. In a collective sense, two or more individuals may share in their collective consciousness, so that one may have a recall of information that one need not have experienced personally.Synergy: The goal of wearable computing is to produce a synergistic combination of human and machine, in which the human performs tasks that it is better at, while the computer performs tasks that it is better at. Over an extended period of time, the wearable computer begins to function as a true extension of the mind and body, and no longer feels as if it is a separate entity. Synergy, in which the human being and computer become elements of each other's feedback loop, is often called Humanistic Intelligence (HI).Quality of life: Wearable computing is capable of enhancing day--to--day experiences, not just in the workplace, but in all facets of daily life. It has the capability to enhance the quality of life for many people. [18]

2.5.2 Trends and Fashion

Nobody wants to walk around flaunting all those circuits and wires. For this reason theMIThrill project designed a garment which embeds the wearable computer into a fashionable piece of clothing. Figure 5 shows one of the proposed designs:

Figure 5. Wearable computers need not be mundane.

2.5.3 Supporting Technologies

a) Automatic Speech Recognition: Recognizers can either process isolated-word speech requiring the user to pause after each word or can deal with natural continuous speech.Keyword spotting is the process of detecting specific words or phrases in a stream of speech.

b) Structuring Audio: This structure provides "handles" into the recording which can help the user efficiently access its contents. Rather than provide indices at arbitrary locations in the recording (for example at equal time intervals in CD players) access may be improved by finding events of interest in the audio recording.

c) Speech Synthesis: Speech synthesis is flexible since arbitrary prompts may be generated at run time by an application.

2.6 A Glimpse into the Wearables of Today

HP introduced a BlazerJet last year. The Blazerjet knows where the bearer is, and, using an Internet connection, it can download information about restaurants, ATMs, bus stops, etc., so that the bearer always has access to relevant information about the nearest surroundings. Levi's has come up with a new line of mobile jackets which are outfitted with

Xenium GSM phone and a Rush MP3 player.

Xybernaut has come up with a Mobile Assistant V which is a super light weight wearable computer which can take on the roles of a quality-control inspector with speech recognition software and diagnostic equipment instantly communicates defects to an up-stream co-worker to correct a deficiency in the manufacturing line.

2.7 A Peep into the Future

A hypothetical scenario in the future could be played out as follows: Robert Langdon keeps an audio record of all his meetings in his wearable computer using a wand interface device to annotate the recordings or highlight the meeting notes. With his glasses, he uses the integrated screen to receive information about a meeting topic and can scroll through content. His daughter Rachel, a 19 year old uses her wearable wherever she goes. She has a six petal ring for her interface. The system allows her to listen to her music, check her mails and even play her favorite video game wherever she is.3 Medical Applications

As computers move from the desktop, to the palm top, and onto our bodies and into our everyday lives infinite opportunities arise to realize applications that have never before been possible. Medical applications are some of the most important and interesting uses for such technology. Current data modeling efforts are making possible the real-time presentation of meaningful and useful information to both the wearer and their designated collaborator; i.e. family members, physicians, coaches, etc. By creating devices that are intimate to the body, it is now possible for them to know our state of mind, and our vital health stats, and respond or have other aspects of the environment respond, in intelligent ways.

3.1 Why is it Interesting?

Designing wearable computers for health applications has proven to be one of the most important fields of wearable computing research today, and could revolutionize the way medical care is currently provided. Wearable computers are being designed that can help give patients increased independence, while still being closely monitored, and improve patients quality of life, via devices that help patients with impaired vision, translators that assist patients with hearing impediments to communicate, and other critical functions. These devices, if efficient and easy to use could prove invaluable to the patients and the physicians that use them.

3.2 Applications

Many wearable physiological monitors exist today. It isnt uncommon to see a person wearing a heart rate monitor when exercising, a pedometer when dieting, or a watch with ambient temperature sensors. These devices are becoming wirelessly connected to information hubs, and therefore more independent of professionals for their interpretation. In addition, they are making it possible to transmit information back to caregivers quickly and seamlessly.

The popularity of these basic applications, coupled with the development of smaller, more efficient devices has spurred interest in the creation of more complex physiologicalmonitoring tools. The new focus has become the development of technology that will allow healthcare providers to remotely monitor patients with more high-risk conditions, such as diabetes, epilepsy, and heart disease. Such wireless technologies would allow that the patient to have complete freedom of movement and pursue a normal life despite the need for continuous monitoring. Depending on the patient and the treatment, feedback might be sent to the sensors/actuators (i.e. instructions to increase the sampling frequency, insulin pump control, pace maker tuning, etc.), or directly to the patient in the form of audible or visual signals. [16]

Not only can this technology be used to give patients more freedom, but also to improve their quality of life. For example, a great deal of work has been done in developing aids for the visually disabled. Several types of aids have been created for patients with varying degrees of visual disability.

One approach is designed to help those who suffer from impaired vision, which cannot be corrected with eyeglasses. These aids use wearable computers and augmented reality techniques to assist users to adapt their physical senses and augment them. The essence of this technique is in the remapping of the users visual input. This line of technology could prove priceless to the more than 2 million Americans who are afflicted with this condition. [14]

Another approach addresses the mobility of blind patients. The goal is to create navigation systems that would essentially act as electronic Seeing Eye dogs. As such, the accuracy of such systems is crucial, even a small error could cause the user serious injury. Ideally, such a system would constantly guide the blind user to navigate based on static and dynamic data. Environmental conditions and landmark information would be processed and transmitted to the user via detailed explanatory voice cues.[1] Once again, such a system could immensely increase a blind patients quality of life, by granting them increased independence and safe mobility.Hearing impaired patients have also been considered in wearable computer technology. Research has been done in the creation of devices that can perform real-time American Sign Language recognition. [13] These devices would greatly facilitate hearing impaired individuals communication with anyone they might encounter in the course of their daily lives, be it in the work place, or in their daily tasks. Figure 6 shows the prototype used to test this technology.

Figure 6. Real-Time American Sign Language Recognition Using Desk and Wearable Computer

Based Video. (source: http://web.media.mit.edu/~testarne/asl/asl-tr466/main-tr466.html)

3.3 Design, Architecture, Interfaces

Each of the abovementioned applications requires a unique set of hardware components. They do, however, have a couple of definite common requirements. It is critical that the hardware be compact, streamlined, lightweight, and energy efficient. Possibly the most important design requirement is that the user interface be easy to use, ergonomically suitable, and application appropriate.

Contrary to popular belief many of the devices discussed can be implemented using technology that is currently available. For instance, existing hardware allows for the entire American Sign Language Recognition system to be embedded unobtrusively into a cap, as a wearable computer. A match-stick sized camera, such as the Elmo-QN401E can be set in the front seam above the brim, and the brim can be made into a reasonably good quality speaker by lining it with a PVDF transducer. Finally, a 104 based CPU, digitizer, and batteries can be placed at the back of the head. A system with these componentscould perform highly accurate ASL recognition using Hidden Markov Models without being conspicuous. [13] A discussion of Hidden Markov Models it outside the scope of this paper.

Figure 7. A Platform for Wearable Physiological Computing. (source: ScienceDirect Interacting with Computers: A Platform for Wearable Physiological Computing)

A great many different vital stat monitors are currently being designed and tested. One implementation that has proven effective is BodyMedias SenseWear Armband shown in Figure 7. This device is comprised of five different sensors: a 2-axis accelerometer, heat flux, galvanic skin response, skin temperature, and near body ambient temperature. The unit also acts as a receiver for standard heart rate monitors and can communicate wirelessly with scales, blood pressure cuffs, and other medical systems. It is designed such that the data collected can be transmitted via a 916 MHz wireless body-LAN connection to a wireless communicator unit with a power output of less than 1mW. The unit is extremely light, weighing less than 3 ounces, can store 14 days of continuous data while running on a single AAA battery. In addition, a Texas Instruments Mission Specific Processing chip transforms the raw physiological data into snapshots of the users lifestyle.BodyMedias device, therefore, allows for the study of the users energy expenditures, physical activity, and many other factors that can be very informative. [16]Many other such devices exist that monitor such things as blood sugar, brain activity such as seizures and other important physiological factors.

One fascinating example is a Smart Textile developed by Sensatex that is invaluable for healthcare, and creates multiple means for collecting information from the body. This system permits the capture, monitoring and interpretation of the physiological information that it collects. The Smart Shirt System, shown in Figure 8, incorporates the Wearable Motherboard Smart Shirt, a novel electro-optical garment funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and an advanced communications and data management infrastructure. Together, this integrated solution provides an extremely versatile networkfor sensing, monitoring, and information processing. [24]

Figure 8. Sensatex Smart Shirt. (source: www.sensatex.com)

Perhaps the most potentially revolutionary of the technology discussed is the navigation system for the visually impaired. The technology is still in its infancy, and therefore the focus has been in using commercial off the shelf hardware to achieve the desired functionality. One such unit is the Drishti, created at the University of Florida. This unit used a backpack to hold the hardware components. Once assembled, the pack weighed 8 pounds, and consisted of a Xybernaut MA IV wearable computer, with a Pentium 200MHz processor (Appendix B, the Xybernaut V has since come on the market as discussedin section 2.6 of this document), Trimble PROXRS Differential GPS Recievers, and a

802.11 wireless LAN connection. The software components were crucial in this design, and included ESRIs ArcSDE spatial database engine, which acted as a gateway to manage geographic information system(GIS) data sets, ESRIs NetEngine, used to traverse and analyze the complex networks, ESRIs map server ArcIMS to serve the GIS data sets over the internet, and IBMs ViaVoice, which implements Javas Speech API to provide a spoken dialogue user interface. The data flow between these elements is shown in Figure 9. The ultimate result being the creation of a unit that calculates a path for the user, that can be programmed to avoid crowded areas, streets, and circumvent dangerous situations like the crossing of busy streets. [1]Error!

Figure 9. Drishti: An Integrated Navigation System for Visually Impaired and Disabled. (source: IEEE Wearable Computers, 2001. Proceedings)

3.4 Important Things to Consider

These devices are meant to improve the users quality of life, if through their use, the users posture is affected by the weight of the device, radiation produced by the device while in use harms the user, or the wearable device proves detrimental to the users health in any way, the benefits may be negated.3.5 Future Trend of Medical Wearable Computing

It is the goal of wearable computer supporters that patients never have to be confined to a hospital bed due to monitors and other medical equipment. If patients are physically able to be mobile, the need for bulky apparatus should not prevent them from being active. Much work has been done in creating wearable heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital stats monitors, but there is much room for improvement and advancement in the technology that is currently available. In addition, technology is currently being created that allows for paramedics to wirelessly relay critical patients vital stats to the hospital before their arrival. [10] Such technology could vastly improve the care of critical patients. The common thread in research for future wearable computers with medical applications is the concern for the efficiency of data acquisition and analysis techniques, and increasing the wearability of the devices.4 Military Applications

4.1 Design Considerations

Unlike its civilian counterpart, a wearable computer in the military context would have to meet many additional stringent criteria to fulfill the operational requirements it has been designed for [6]. For example, it would have to be more rugged and robust to withstand knocks and shocks. Furthermore, wearable computers are supposed to be force multipliers, enhancing the operational effectiveness of the soldiers. Therefore many military wearable computers are designed with the total integration of man and system (into a "man-system") in mind. [6, 15-17] It is the common consensus that soldiers equipped with wireless communication, navigation, sophisticated sensory devices and information interchange would operate better in hostile environments. [15] For example, by transmitting the imagery from the bore-sighted thermal weapon sight to the helmet display, the soldiers could fire around corners or out of foxholes. Figure 10 shows the factors that have to be considered when designing wearable computers for soldiers.

Figure 10. Design considerations for wearable computers in military context. (source:

http://www.eee.bham.ac.uk/wear-it/Workshop/2002/Presentations/Paul%20Gee.pdf)

From Figure 10, it is clear that the requirements for a wearable computing system are very demanding. What is not so obvious is that to meet all these criteria, the ancillary technologies supporting it would also need to advance and develop in tandem. For example, new electronic fabric, such as that discussed in section 2.1, would need to bedeveloped from the field of material science to support the development of interactive camouflage. [7] An interactive military uniform would change color when a soldier is standing in jungle overgrowth, for example, or against a brick wall or it might be designed to repel radio signals to avoid radar detection. But this is only possible with the advancement of nanotechnology; hence we can see that the advancement of wearable computing is intertwined with many other fields. This multi-disciplinary nature is even more pronounced in a military context.

4.2 Auxiliary Applications

Besides the obvious advantage it may provide soldiers in the battlefield, wearable computers can also be useful for a host of other areas. For instance, let's say that a soldier is looking at his Humvee, the engine is not turning over and the repair manual is 6,000 miles away. With a wearable computer, he can access online diagnostic aids and quickly locate the fault.

The Quantum3D Expedition [22] uses augmented reality to provide a wearable computing training resource for the military (Quantum3D). Using accurate simulations of fabricated situations, including visuals, surround sound, and voice command, the Expedition wearable computer design provides immersive training for the armed services and emergency response workers. As well as being able to reconstruct hazardous situations, it is particularly suited to rehearsal of future missions. Squad level interaction based on a distributed network of individual soldiers all equipped with the Expedition training system is envisaged. With the ability to work within a correlated virtual world, squads will be able to plan missions via the wearable interface, rehearse their course of action prior to the actual training exercise, conduct virtual training exercises while engaging intelligent computer generated forces, and review the action afterwards with unit scoring and performance assessments. Figure 11 shows the complete Expedition system, one can see that the supporting framework for the architecture is standard hardware like the IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol and ruggedized notebook.4.3 Architecture and Interfaces

One of the requirements of a wearable computer for military purposes is not to degrade the fighting ability of the soldier; the interfaces have to be carefully thought out. In the first round of design, the obvious approach is to attempt to integrate these computing or electronic devices into the combat webbing of the soldier. [6] This is shown in Figure 12, e.g. the heads up device (HUD) could present topographical information to the soldier or the radio mouth piece could allow communication to headquarters while at the same time allowing the soldier free usage of his hands. In fact such navigation systems could be extended to firefighters, humanitarian aid relief workers etc, to help navigate their environments. The technology could be used by fire-fighters to communicate with each other in smoke-filled buildings when hand or radio communication is not possible.

Figure 11. The Quantum3D Expedition. (source:

http://www.microvision.com/documents/IEEESpectrumCA.pdf)This straightforward approach solves the problem of having to come up with radical new designs and may be readily implemented. Working prototypes using serial port PCMCIA cards for global positioning system (GPS), wireless LAN card for networking and digital signal processing hardware for audio communications [6, 8] have already been tested in the field. The architecture supporting these interactions is a proprietary wireless LAN network which is resistant to jamming and interception efforts [12]. However to the soldier already burdened with 70 pounds of gear, the main drawback of this design would be the amount of additional dead-weight. [17] Furthermore it is not modular by design as each wearable unit is a highly specialized system designed for a single task only.

Figure 12. Integration of computing devices into soldiers webbing. (source:

http://www.eee.bham.ac.uk/wear-it/Workshop/2002/Presentations/Paul%20Gee.pdf)

Therefore in the second iteration, the keyword is miniaturization. For those familiar with the Nintendos Wii console game, it has two wireless remote controls that track any arm movements to provide the player with an interactive gaming experience. Yet although detecting motion is critical to the success of the $250 game, the job depends on$3 sensors no larger than the size of shirt buttons. The designer of the Micro-Electro- Mechanical Systems (MEMS) motion sensor in Nintendo's Wiimote, Benedetto Vigna, intends to bring this technology into wearable computing [8].

Motion detection begins with a device called an accelerometer, a cantilever hewn from silicon and teetering between two electrodes. Apply a 1-volt field, and the cantileversbeam will vibrate; accelerate the package, either by pushing it in one dimension or by rotating it, and the beams tip will trace an ellipse. The eccentricity of the ellipse measures acceleration. Place two such accelerometers at right angles, and you can track acceleration in a planeadd a third, and you can track it in space.

Although the implementation of MEMS for military wearable is still in its infancy, MEMS motion sensors have already been deployed in many other areas successfully. One of the first applications of the 3-D sensor was in laptops, where sensors guard against damage from a fall. In the split second of free fall that comes before the collision with the floor, the sensor tells a controller to park the read/write head safely away from the hard drive. In the automobile industry, the airbag in a car inflates in the same direction as the collision that it cushions and this is determined by a MEMS sensor. Therefore the immediate realization of MEMS in a military context would be damage control. The U.S. army has already begun developing an ultrasonic tourniquet in an effort to stop life-threatening bleeding during combat [20]. By incorporating the technology of MEMS sensors, the constriction of the tourniquet could be regulated by the pulse rate received by the sensors.

One can immediately see several advantages MEMS technology could introduce to wearable military fatigue, for example, its light weight, non-intrusive monitoring of soldiers welfare etc. But the main disadvantage is that it is a passive system, it does not provide feedback to its wearer and is only activated under certain circumstances. Thus further insight and breakthrough is needed.

In the third generation, the focus will still be in miniaturization however this time it will be in the nanometers-scale but with the additional dimension of interaction from the wearer via suitable interfaces. Effectively this will capture the benefits of both the first and second generation designs. First and foremost, wearable devices must adapt themselves to the human form, factors such as weight, power consumption, thermal effects, and packaging would have to be considered too [9], and nanotechnology will be an enabling tool to achieve these goals. Secondly with the aid of nanotechnology,scientists envision a military wearable that is highly modular in nature, in which soldiers would strap on/attach different components to their standard equipment to tackle the requirements of a particular mission.

4.4 Summary

The potential value of a wearable computer to an infantryman was quickly recognized by military organizations and law enforcement agencies. As well as providing command/control communication and navigation functions, a wearable could give access to tactical information assisting with distinguishing between friendly and hostile forces, and potentially offering strategies for dealing with dangerous scenarios. Naturally much of this research has been classified as confidential, however examples of collaboration with non-military researchers can be found in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Singapore. The U.S. Army in particular have funded the Land Warrior program [12] which initially provided positioning and targeting information, battlefield communications, and thermal sight imaging from the soldier's weapon. The objective was to merge the soldier and the technology into a cohesive, combat-effective system (once again the concept of man-machine symbiosis as mentioned in the introduction). While the wearable computer has not as yet fully met this objective, the impact of wearable computing in military applications is promising and far-reaching.

First generation prototypes of wearable computers for military applications have already been tested on the field. These devices typically consist of binding existing hardware with proprietary software. To truly breakthrough the traditional mold of just attaching electronic devices to a soldiers webbing, development in other fields, for example material science and nanotechnology have to advance simultaneously. With a feasible framework in place, the focus of the next generation of military wearables would be one more level up the hierarchy in which each individual soldier would be seamlessly assimilated into a mesh network (via wireless signal embedded in their camouflage fatigue) providing them information of exact locations of friend and foe etc [6, 17].

5 Conclusion and Future Directions

It has been seen that wearable computers have begun to revolutionize the way we interact with computers. A great deal of work has been done in an effort to create computers that are easy to use, comfortable to wear, and provide the user with a variety of different functionality. In our discussion we saw that computers are being used in a military context to enhance the operational capabilities of military personnel, in health care, to improve the quality of life of both visually and hearing impaired patients, and those who have medical conditions that require constant monitoring, and lastly in our everyday lives to make us more productive. Despite the fascinating projects being done in these three fields, this paper has only skimmed the surface of the world of wearable computing. Much research has also been done in many other areas such as tourism, logistics, and entertainment.

Figure 13. Evolution of the existential computer source: [11]

Wearable computers have come a long way since their inception. We see that these new wearables are a far cry from the clunky and downright silly versions of the past, which often required users to be wrapped in wires, tied onto their stomachs. Despite all the progress, wearable computing today must be described as a very exciting field very much in its infancy and the future of it is absolutely immense. Before wearable computers become more popular, they not only must get smaller, cheaper, and more powerful, but also more flexible. Limitations imposed by factors such as battery life,processor power, display brightness, network coverage and form factor have also conspired to delay the widespread introduction of wearable computers.

One also needs to consider the various ethical and health related issues of wearable computing. If the wearer is not in control of this information, then the lack of privacy and lack of control over personal information is a definite problem. Is it safe to have a computer attached to you constantly? Does the virtual world offered by wearable computers become too immersive, thereby distancing its user from interactions in the real world and losing the human touch? These are a few things one may want to ponder over.

The future of wearable computers is very promising. A great deal remains to be done in order to truly merge man with machine. In this paper we discussed strictly non-invasive applications of wearable computing. There has been much discussion of invasive wearable computing devices; examples are insulin pump therapy for diabetics [4] and a brain implant to facilitate communication with speech-incapable patients [2]. Although in such situations invasive procedures might be the only option for a patient, it is not hard to foresee that invasive wearables might be the next fashion fad or mandatory form of identification (e.g. embedded RFID chips), often foisted upon us without our consent, and sometimes even without our knowledge or our awareness. It is anticipated that this line of research will generate similar controversies to that of stem cell research in that it raises many ethical concerns. For example it is not hard to conceive a cyborg (a human who has certain physiological processes aided or controlled by mechanical or electronic devices) in the near future. Should we grant these cyborgs equal rights? And if so are they then liable to perform citizenship duties? These are but some of the issues that have to be addressed given the current direction of wearable computing research.

In general, however we expect the main focus of future research in wearable computing to be on miniaturization, efficiency in data acquisition, pervasiveness and power consumption. This is a truly multi-disciplinary field of research which requires other disciplines as diverse as nanotechnology, optics, and mechantronics to advance in tandem. The wearable computing industry has doubled its growth from $134 million in2004 to $272 million in 2007 [21], and this impressive trend will persist as companies and governments continue to invest heavily into it. Wearable computers as impressive as they are today will only become smaller, faster, and have even better battery life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Abdelsalam, H. et al., 2001. Drishti: An Integrated Navigation System for Visually Impaired and Disabled. IEEE Fifth International Symposium on Wearable Computers. P 149.

[2] Bakay, R. E., and Kennedy, P. R, In B. Siuru, A Brain/Computer Interface,Electronics Now, March Issue, pp 55-56, 1999.

[3] DeVaul, R., Sung, M., Gips, J., Pentland, A., Media Laboratory, MassachusettsInstitute of Technology MIThril 2003: Applications and Architecture.

[4] Doyle, E. A., Weinzimer, S. A., Steffen, A. T., Ahern, J. H., Vincent, M. and Tamborlane, W.V, A Randomized, Prospective Trial Comparing the Efficacy of Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion with Multiple Daily Injection Using Insulin Glargine, Diabetes Care, vol. 27, pp 1554-8, 2004.

[5] E. Rehmi Post, Margaret Orth Smart Fabric, or Wearable Clothing. FirstInternational Symposium on Wearable Computers. 13-14 Oct. pp 167-168. 1997

[6] Gee, P., "Combat Modular Wearable Computing," IEE Eurowearable Workshop2002, QinetiQ presentation, Sept. 2002.

[7] Hart, S. D., Maskaly, G. R., Temelkuran, B., Prideaux, P. H., Joannopoulos, J. D., and Fink, Y., External Reflection from Omnidirectional Dielectric Mirror Fibers, Science 296, pp. 511-513, 2002.

[8] IEEE Spectrum, Benedetto Vigna: The Man behind the Chip behind the Wii. http://spectrum.ieee.org/mar07/4956

[9] Knight, J. F., Baber, C., Schwirtz, A., and Bristow, H. W., The Comfort Assessment of Wearable Computers The Sixth International Symposium on Wearable Computers, pp 65-72, 2002.

[10] Konstantas, D., et al., 2002. MobiHealth- Innovative 2.5/3G Mobile Services and Applications for Healthcare. Proceedings of the Eleventh Information Society Technologies (IST) Mobile and Wireless Telecommunications Summit.

[11] Mann, S., Smart Clothing: The Wearable Computer and WearCam PersonalTechnologies, vol. 1, no. 1, March 1997.

[12] Murray, J., "Wearable computers in battle: recent advances in the Land Warrior system," Proceedings of Fourth International Symposium on Wearable Computers, Atlanta, GA, pp. 169-170, Oct. 2000.

[13] Starner, T., et al., 1998. Real-time American Sign Language Recognition Using Desk and Wearable Computing Based Video. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, v 20, n. 12: 1371-1375.

[14] Starner, T., et al., 1997. The Case for Augmented Reality Through WearableComputing. Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.[15] Sung, M., DeVaul, R., Jimenez, S., Gips, J., and Pentland, A., A Shiver Motion and Core Body Temperature Classification for Wearable Soldier Health Monitoring Systems 9th IEEE International Symposium of Wearable Computers (ISWC'04), Arlington, VA, October, 2004.

[16] Teller, Astro, 2004. A Platform for Wearable Physiological Computing. Interacting with computers, v16, n 5: 917-937.

[17] Zieniewicz, M. J., Johnson, D. C, Wong, C., and Flatt, J. D., "The Evolution of Army Wearable Computers," IEEE Pervasive Computing, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 30-40, Dec. 2002.

[18] http://about.eyetap.org/fundamentals/

[19] http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2005/tc2005038_5955_tc119. htm

[20] Deep Bleeder Acoustic Coagulation (DBAC). http://www.darpa.mil/sto/smallunitops/dbac.html

[21] Microvision Gilder Tech Report. http://www.microvision.com/documents/GTR- October05.pdf

[22] Quantum3D Incorporated, 6330 San Ignacio Avenue, San Jose, CA 95119, USA.,Quantum3D product literature, www.quantum3d.com. [23] http://www.redwoodhouse.com/wearable/[24] Smartshirt System http://www.sensatex.com/

APPENDICES

Appendix A

Contributions:ALL: planning abstract introduction conclusion editingFatima Boujarwah: Medical ApplicationsLaxmi Nair Everyday ApplicationsKok-Sung Won Military Applications

Appendix B

Figure Unlimited Mobility with the MA IV.(source: http://www.xybernaut.de/produkte/engl/e_ixma4.html)

Xybernaut MA IV Pentium 200 MHz processor 64 MB main memory 512 KB L2 cache 1MB Video RAM 2.12GB hard drive 2 PCMCIA slots lUSB port Full duplex sound card VGA Head mounted display monaural headset 2 button built in pointing device MS Windows 98 OS Weighs 1.75 pounds

The Xybernaut MA IV wearable computer served as a central element in testing for the NASA Haughton-Mars Project.