The wearable PC
 

Howdy y'all. I've got something you guys might be interested in. :D I posted this article today as a way to get the general attention of the FOSS and MID communities in hopes that someone might be interested in creating a wearable PC in the near future. Given that I now know that Nokia is lurking this forum (wahoo! :D) I thought I'd post it here to A) bring it to their attention in hopes they might do something with it, and B) get feedback from you guys on the idea.

The article was written for the purpose of saying "This can be done, so let's do it!" while showing that it is indeed possible to create such a device. Now, given that ultra portability is one of the focuses of the MID market, and especially with the NITs, I figure, since we're already working towards a device that is essentially one step short of a full blown PC in a MID form factor, why not take the additional step and create a wearable PC? What do you guys think?

Now I'm not trying to brag up my site, so don't mistake me for that, but rather I'm trying to kick up some interest in this idea, because I've wanted a wearable PC for years, and now that the technology has reached a level where that's possible, I think we should move ahead and make it reality. :) Plus, I know I'm not the only one who'd be interested in such a device. ;)

Re: The wearable PC
 

We had an interesting discussion about that subject here a while back. Apparently there was a presentation of a device that integrated into your clothing... I can't remember if it had been marketed or not. Fun concept, but practicality remains to be seen.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Integrating directly into clothes is not something I really believe in (I tend to change my clothes every day ;) - but of course there is the trend towards mobile devices and computers converging into ... Well, or lets say mobile devices gaining most of the capabilities of traditional computers.

Then again, I personally wouldn't look at this from a technological standpoint, but rather from user need / human behaviour. The technology will come one day anyway, it's more about what do you with them and how.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Given how rude people already are with their cell phones I shudder at the idea of people having on visors.

And the idea of driving while one of these things are on is the scariest **** I've read. Really.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Yeah, that's why I suggested the one screen idea as an alternative to the two screens. Some people will want full immersion, but that's definitely a bad idea when you're on the move. Hence an ability to go one or two screens would be preferable. Of course, even if you included anti-idiot devices in the unit to keep people from driving and using one of these, they'd still do something idiotic anyways and wrap themselves around a tree, or someone else. Heck, they do it all the time with cell phones. Which means an anti-use law would likely go into effect for these too, which is fine IMHO. If you're driving, you pay 100% attention to what you're doing, period.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Finns ... :D

Re: The wearable PC
 

I'm waiting for the contact-lens heads-up-display a la Vernor Vinge's "Rainbows End"

Re: The wearable PC
 

codeMonkey: lol. I doubt that'll be happening anytime soon.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Why not take it to the next level: Direct Neural Interface*...


* Powered by MS WinDNi or iBrain OSxx :eek:

:rolleyes:

Re: The wearable PC
 

I think a better choice is an EyeTap, or perhaps a variant with a variable-opacity LCD shutter to block external light when desired. These have three benefits over typical HMDs, like the one you linked:

• Ability to sense what you're seeing
  • For head-motion tracking, as an input.
  • For recording. (Glogging, or simply as a camera-phone substitute.)
  • Perhaps most significantly, and certainly the main reason, is the ability to allow accurate video overlay. Anything from face recognition and showing appropriate info (from PIM) when a face is matched, to overlaying an edge-detect enhanced IR view, to weapons targeting info.

    Come with me if you want to live.

• Ability to allow largely unrestricted vision by simply not displaying anything, but leaving the headset on. (Of course, some HMDs already have this.)

I think a binocular eyetap would be quite safe for walking around and such, though the designs I've seen don't have enough viewing angle for driving with the display off. The design could be adapted to larger viewing angles, at the cost of physical compactness, or one-eyed versions, as used now, would probably be adequate.

As for displaying while driving, it could actually make driving safer if used for driving-relevant info (speedometer, tachometer, and warning lights), or other info that the driver would be accessing anyway, but would be looking down for, such as HVAC/stereo controls. Even unrelated and distracting activites like SMS would be safer when looking up than looking down.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Holy **** Benson, that eyetap looks freaking awesome! :D

Re: The wearable PC
 

Thaat it does; of course, most of the really cool applications require a lot more iron than an rx-51 to do real-time, and specialized OS, too. :(

Re: The wearable PC
 

They're on the way. ;)

Re: The wearable PC
 

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives...zix_920av.html

check two of the options listed ;)

i have been toying with this idea mentally for years, but the issue is always bump into is not one out output, but one of input.

anything thats not a keyboard is basically to imprecise. and any kind of keyboard like input is to bulky and hard to use at a moments notice.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Seen you're talking about FOSS for the 'pc part' you might also consider other OMAP35x things like the pandora (down the road you should be able to get the pcb only)/or the beagleboard.
While it are only rumours, the N900 should be using a similar architecture but things like the beagleboard seam like a fun place to start.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Twiddler and similar seem like the main options at present, but there's a really cool glove-input scheme called the KITTY (youtube) that leverages one's existing typing skills. While it's rather non-intrusive (you can wear the gloves (or finger-spirals, in late models) all the time), I'm a bit concerned about durability if you do; on the positive side, they should be quite affordable to replace.

Another option I'd seen, but can't find, is a split QWERTY where you kind of half- or fully-cross your arms to type. You could mount one half on the bottom of each wrist (spacebar toward hand), or mount them on your upper arms. I still think the best notion in this line is a single half-board mounted on the back of the right forearm.

And there's always plain bluetooth or USB keyboards in any size from 5.5" thumbboards up to fullsize; the former can be carried in a pocket and used just as conveniently as a standalone pocketable device is now.

Of course, most computer use involves pointing as well as keyboard input, and I haven't seen anything that seemed like a good wearable solution for both, or for switching readily...

Re: The wearable PC
 

I Googled Chording keyboard and found this: TextWriter

The really cool thing is in the upper left corner of the page:

"The TextWriter BlueTooth already works in our labs with the Nokia N770, N800 and N810 devices."

Kinda spendy and no word on availability...but I want one! :D

Re: The wearable PC
 

Wow, that glove is kinda crazy. I can't even begin to imagine what you'd have to do to learn how to use that. But the concept is interesting.

Re: The wearable PC
 

reminds me of the old microwriter concept from the early 80's which used to interface to BBC micros amongst others...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwriter

Re: The wearable PC
 

That KITTY device looks great, especially for being inconspicuous. I'm interested in making something similar, if just for simply controlling the media player, and maybe hooking up to some text-to-speech for reading my email. It seems like it'd be pretty easy to hack up a USB numpad into a glove, although it'd be neater to have it work via bluetooth. Textwriter also looks cool, since they're apparently planning to start production of USB models.

Another great project is Chordite; he was also working on a hand-based chording keyboard, but doesn't seem to have posted anything recently. Apparently his work was based on this work. Still, it's an interesting blog of the design process.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Ok, now I'm getting even more excited about the prospect of a wearable PC. :D

Re: The wearable PC
 

Pen with camera or USB stick. Watches with running Linux in a small ARM... surely a lot of gadgets are computers each with moderate functionality... but PC... hmm, bit big and bloated huh ;)

Re: The wearable PC
 

Saw this today: neat concept!

Re: The wearable PC
 

:confused: integrated into the world around them? seems to me, humans have been quite integrated into the world around them for thousands of years WITHOUT electronics. ;) the man on the bus talking on his cell phone, the teenager playing his nintendo ds in the mall, and the child watching a movie on an airplane are totally disconnected from the world around them.

this kind of technology might actually cause people to submerge even deeper into the virtual electronic world and blind them from the world around them. they'er going to use this kind of device to ESCAPE the world around them--to play games, chat with their friends, and check their e-mail. internet access makes the world around you irrelevant. wherever you are, the internet is the same.

hey, don't get me wrong. i love being submerged, disconnected, distracted, what-have-you. i just found it a bit amusing and thought-provoking that they would make a statement like that. they were "thinking about how a person could be more integrated into the world around them" by manipulating the world around them with this augmented reality--projected images from the internet, an inorganic, cold, digital surreality. a strange concept, i think. a strange connection to make, and an interesting--possibly absurd, possibly revolutionary--way of thinking about gadgets and the internet....

Re: The wearable PC
 

Hey, I've been tinkering with this idea some more and came across a rather interesting way to hack the bluetooth connection to get the effect I want. :D

Currently the bluetooth device can only do single connections at a time. That's not a problem. Keyboards and mice (or other control devices) only really need to transmit and the device only really needs to receive. Video devices only need to receive but not transmit. If my assumption is right, you should be able to pair two devices and make the bluetooth transmitter think they're one. That way you can connect two devices at once, and get both your video for your display visor (vudu style) and take your input from a mouse, keyboard, or other improvised control device.

Re: The wearable PC
 

The tablet can handle multiple bluetooth devices at ones.

I have had my N800 connected to the net via my phone using bluetooth, at the same time as im typing stuff using a bluetooth keyboard.

Re: The wearable PC
 

when I go to the gym everyday, or so, about one in five patrons is wearing a ipod touch, watching videos, music of course, sometimes surfing, about another twenty percent,or so, have iphones strapped to their arms, doing all the above plus talking...kinda annoying...anyways in California a lot of the people wear mobile computers already ...most from Apple

Re: The wearable PC
 

Yeah, but this isn't a mobile device like what we have now. It's got full hands free IO and either a HUD of some kind or a visor display. What we have now is ok, but we need to take it up a level, sort of like the IBM wearable pc ad from the 80's.

Re: The wearable PC
 

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22838/

We just got another piece to the puzzle. :D

Re: The wearable PC
 

and i think vuzix has a new pair of glasses on the way...
http://www.vuzix.com/iwear/products_wrap920av.html

Re: The wearable PC
 

Ooo. I like. :D Now we just gotta have someone mate these together. ;)

Re: The wearable PC
 

bumped into this, and thought some may find it interesting:
http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/07/0...ve-from-nokia/

Re: The wearable PC
 

Hurga, hurga. I think Nokia might be liking the whole wearable PC idea. :) This so utterly cool. I can't tell you how long I've waited for this. :D

Re: The wearable PC
 

http://www.elektex.com/
I emailed these guys and asked them to update their software for Nseries devices because I bought a cloth keyboard from them and it has a lot of bugs when trying to use it with the N95 8GB.
I asked them also why they don't start making accessories for Nokia?
They replied (a different company responded to me the company that bought them) that elektex went out of business and there are companies right now in negotiations with them to license the technology.

The other thing that they can do is take the tablo concept
http://www.veoh.com/videos/yapi-7c0yzkphnFg
http://www.slashgear.com/hantech-sis...nally-2644675/

and stick the "clip on" part onto some http://lumusvision.com/ glasses
and the pc can be some velcroable object you can put right underneath your shirt or on top of near the chest using a magnetic clip on.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Well, thought I'd bump things again to give another update. Given the links you guys provided, I wrote a followup article to my wearable PC article. Given the responses it's gotten, far more than I ever expected (like 5x's more, with lots of positive feedback!), it's looking a lot like the whole wearable PC concept is really picking up momentum and should be a rather lucrative growth market for the near future for OEM's. I just hope some of them are paying attention. :D

Re: The wearable PC
 

The problem I have with the vuzix devices is that, like many geeks, I wear eyeglasses, and these devices are patently not usable over glasses.

These look so cool that I might consider contacts and buy one though...:)

Re: The wearable PC
 

iirc, one can get prescription insert for vuzix and similar products.

Re: The wearable PC
 

Please don't tell me that...Because now I have to start figuring out how to cost justify it to my wife...

:D

--vr

Re: The wearable PC
 

HAHAHAHA. Well, I see the Vuzix and other devices as the "early adopter" stuff. IE, the stuff that we will use to get the ball rolling, and then from there things will expand out to accommodate more people. But you gotta walk first before you can run, and we're not even walking yet. We're kinda doing the baby crawl right now. But in the next year or so I figure, assuming that this stuff keeps rolling at the pace it is now, we should be into walking. After that it's just a short jaunt to running. :)

Re: The wearable PC
 

check these out
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2633/...9dd5693587.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mclightning/3728770735/