With the growing acceptance of multimedia and the Internet, desktop computers are becoming all-purpose information appliances, incorporating everyday devices such the telephone, fax, answering machine, and television. However, these computers are still confined to the desk and are not available to the user during most of the day. By designing a networked, multimedia computer that can be worn as clothing or is built into the user's clothes, the power of computing can assist everyday tasks. Following the trend of desktop computing, the networked wearable computer can replace most portable consumer electronics including the wristwatch, cellular phone, fax machine, palmtop, compact disk player, camera, camcorder, and health monitor. Using ``heads-up'' displays and earphones, wearable computers can provide an improved interface for these features by overlaying graphics, text, and sound on the physical world (see Figure 1). In addition, such augmented realities enable a new range of applications that are location and context specific. For example, hypertext interfaces can be extended to the physical world to aid in on-site repair, construction, museum tours, and interactive games.
Figure:
Due to the ``sharing'' of images between the user's two
eyes, monocular displays such as the Private Eye seem to overlay the
display on the world as shown. The insert shows the device being
worn. For a binocular effect, beam splitters can be used to combine
both the real and the virtual for both eyes.
Wearable computers allow a much closer association with the user. In replacing the consumer electronics listed above the sensors added allow the wearable to see what the user sees, hear what the user hears, sense the user's physical state, and analyze what the user is typing. If this information is combined into a user model, an intelligent agent may be able to analyze what the user is doing and try to predict the resources he will need next or in the near future. Using this information, the agent may download files, reserve communications bandwidth, post reminders, or automatically send updates to colleagues to help ``smooth'' the user's daily interactions. To use a metaphor, such an agent would act as a butler/confidant, who always stands behind the user's shoulder, knows his employer's personal preferences and tastes, and trys to streamline interactions with the rest of the world.
Figure:
Different styles of wearable computing hardware.
By maintaining a community of wearable computing users (Figure 2) we hope to encourage a diversity of applications and styles. Often the physical interfaces are customized to address the variability in physiology between users. Software interfaces are also adapted to work habits and primary applications. In addition, the networked community of users itself offers research opportunities in computer supported cooperative work (CSCW).