In those days, most institutions could only afford just a couple of these machines. As technology evolved, the machines were downsized to the minicomputers and workstations of the 80s and early 90s, to be followed by microcomputers, aka personal computers (PCs), signaling the democratization of computing, as more and more people were then able to […]
Wearable computing devices
In those days, most institutions could only afford just a couple of these machines. As technology evolved, the machines were downsized to the minicomputers and workstations of the 80s and early 90s, to be followed by microcomputers, aka personal computers (PCs), signaling the democratization of computing, as more and more people were then able to own computers. By the early 2000s, PCs were everywhere, with laptops to boot. Then came the beepers, followed very quickly by cell phones. At that time, cell phones didn’t do much more than allow you to talk and send short texts, except Blackberry, made by Research in Motion (RIM), which is arguably the first commercially-available cell phone to allow computer-like functionalities – such as sending/receiving e-mails. RIM’s innovation seemed to have given competitors the idea to develop the smartphones of the last five to seven years, a development that ironically left RIM in the dust. Some today believe that smartphones are destined to replace desktop PCs.
Pushing the envelope further, computer devices have been miniaturized and some are now even made to go under, with or on top, of our clothing. The latter devices are often referred to as “wearable computing devices.” A few industry experts believe that the devices could be the start of the next cycle of Web innovation.
With wearable computing devices, there is a perpetual interaction between you and the device; as you may not need to turn the device on or off. Moreover, there is the inherent multitasking capability: you do not need to stop what you are doing to engage the device. You can incorporate the devices to act like a prosthetic device as in medicine, or even make them play the additional role of enhancing your looks, as in fashion.
To be sure, task-specific, non-programmable, or somewhat programmable, devices and timers have been recorded in history. A few examples are available in Wikipedia: In the 1600s, the Qing Dynasty (China) was credited with the introduction of a fully functional abacus on a ring, which could be used while it was being worn. (Abacus is used for calculating.) The first wearable timepiece was made by watchmaker Breguet for the Queen of Naples in 1810. It was a small ladies’ pocket watch on a bracelet chain. In 1880, the German Navy was credited with the development of a wristwatch for timing bombardments in artillery, thereby obviating the need to use both hands to operate a pocket watch while timing the bombings.
There is the story of two mathematicians who, in 1961, built some computerized timing devices to help them cheat in the casino game called roulette. The device was concealed in a shoe or in a pack of cigarettes. It used the 6502 microprocessor. (Intel chips weren’t around as at that time, and certainly not AMD chips.) Micro-switches concealed in the shoes indicated the speed of the roulette wheel, and the computer would send musical tones via radio to a miniature speaker hidden in a collaborator’s ear canal to indicate the part of the wheel that should be bet on.
More general-purpose and programmable wearable computers began to surface in the 1980s. A backpack-mounted 6502-based wearable multimedia computer with text, graphics, video, and multimedia capability was developed in 1981 by Steve Mann. There was also the head-mounted display, “Private-Eye,” marketed by Reflection Technology in 1989. The device led to many other types of “wearables.”
More recently, the iPod Nano by Apple has a wristwatch attachment to convert it to a wearable computer. Moreover, there is the rumor of an Apple Project “iWatch,” which concerns the development of a watch-like device that would perform some of the tasks now being carried out by iPhone and iPad. The rumor has it that the device might be released in a few months.
And who can forget Glass by Google, a new augmented reality computer device that you wear like you do framed glasses. However, the device has been quite controversial because of privacy and ethical concerns. For example, it has rather intrusive capabilities, such as the ability to take people’s picture just by winking (your eyes). Also, other than the price tag, which stands at $1,500, some folks don’t believe that Glass will catch on. For example, in reference to Glass, Mr. Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer, said that “high-tech eyeglasses would be difficult to pull off as a mainstream product.” Others feel that the device makes people look ugly. Many who have the glasses are uncomfortable putting them on in public. Even geeks!
As one would expect, the United States military has invested in the development of wearable devices, for example, via its Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA) projects. The goal has been to develop a variety of wearable products, including computers, radios, navigation systems and human-computer interfaces with dual (military and commercial) use.
The idea in this article is that wearable computing devices, which come in various shapes, sizes, and capabilities, are actively being researched and developed, as the next big thing in computing. However, other than those devices intended for medical (rehabilitation, ambulatory intervention treatment) and military applications, the demand for these kinds of devices by the consumer has historically been lackluster. To quote Evelyn Rusli, a tech writer, “If you haven’t heard, the future is wearable computing. But how that future—seen through Google’s Glass specs—will go main-stream is still out of focus.” For me, the litmus test for mass acceptability is going to be how iWatch performs in the marketplace.
