The New Body Art - Wearable Wireless Devices

Freddie writes: "This article discusses the status of wearable computers; the challenges faced by software and hardware manufacturers in developing effective and widely accepted wearable devices; and the commencement of a new paradigm for how wearable technology can create value for consumers and enterprises."

Wearables need to be washable as well

[quistas]

One of the barriers we're going to see to using truly wearable computers is that you accumulate a huge amount of grime. Now, it's no big deal for us, because we shower/toss clothes in the laundry, but for electronic devices of any sort, that kind of constant close exposure to lint, skin flakes, dirt, and grime has the potential to seriously degrade fragile devices. It's one thing to have these things work when you tie one on in your lab, and an another thing entirely to have a real device survive the day-to-day buildup of abuse and layers of crap that'll accumulate on it.

I think when you can toss your wearable into the laundry along with your collection of failed dot.com T-shirts is when these things will really be ready for long-term use.

-- q

Wearable technology

[nikoftime]

While waiting at a dentist's office about 3 weeks ago, I was reading a (semi-old) issue of popular mechanics which featured a small article/blurb about a fashion designer that had integrated titanium fibers into a shirt. Sure it retailed for something like $5,000, but it automatically snapped back into shape when you put it near heat due to the titanium. It looked really neat, too.

Quite frankly, I think this is where the future of "wearable technology" lies. Not in big computers or paintable LCD screens for your skin, but in modification to things we currently like and use (shirts) that make them easier and more useful.

I can imagine that if that shirt were marketed at a more reasonable price (with titanium that's hard, but it's beside the point) it would become very popular. Many people would rather have a shirt you never have to iron than a screen in their leg.

To each his own, though.

More Crap to Buy?!?!?

[toupsie]

Just what I need! Technology integrated into my clothing so some 5th Avenue Marketing Bastard can target me for more ads "tailored to my lifestyle". Because we all know that consumers really want more advertising targeted to just them. At least that is what those e-mail marketing SPAMs I get tell me.

What we are talking about is the ability for an advertiser to monitor every waking moment of your life. Big Brother is not Uncle Sam but Big Business. I can just imagine "smart clothing" being like browser cookies. Sure in the beginning it wasn't supposed to be used to track your surfing habits -- its for the user's benefit! But, gee, it works so well, why not use it for tracking consumers? I can just see the day when I walk by Starbucks and my pants will analyse the last time I urinated and determines what size of latte would be perfect for me.

With a future like this, I think I might hit the gym and go nude the rest of my life...

Laundering gadgets is not good for them.

[brassman]

I don't want my Palm(tm) build into my clothes; I change my clothes MUCH more often than I change my hardware.

But it would be nice to get something roughly Palm sized (and clip-on, not inserted, thankyoujustthesame) that would do what my current Palm and cell phone do. Wouldn't mind having it connect to a Jabra style earbud and maybe, just maybe, some sort of headsup display.

FWIW, Hello Direct, the overpriced headset people, are now selling Bluetooth printer cards and Bluetooth headsets. Same price as 802.b hardware, apparently.

I don't always want this.

[Restil]

I don't always WANT to be reached 24/7. I don't always want to have access to the world all the time. But here is the important thing. When I DO want it, I need the capability.

I can safely say I have no use for a cell phone. I used to have one. For years I carried the thing around with me everywhere I went. It seemed to be impossible to live without it. Then I did an assessment.

Turned out, the people most likely to call me on my phone, I never wanted to talk to. And the people I was calling from my cell phone, I could have just as easily called from a voice line. Call because I'm on my way and need directions? What is so difficult about getting proper directions before I left? Better doing that and having a vision in my mind exactly where I need to be going BEFORE I get in the car, rather than reacting last minute looking for streets in a residential area where I'm likely to hit someone due to lack of attention.

It would be useful, but I'm not going to be doing any websurfing while I'm driving, and I damn well hope nobody else is either. Certainly would be nice to listen to some mp3's, but I don't need internet access for that. Would be nice to have a live webcam in my car. However, the world can live without THAT feature to my website until I'm able to afford it.

Fact of the matter is, the world ISN'T connected all the time. The internet, for better or worse, is still a novelty for many people. Its making headway, but it still hasn't moved past the point where I need to be plugged in 24/7 or my life will suffer as a result.

-Restil

I/O

[cei]

It's been slow going in the I/O area. Ten years ago I thought chording keyboards would be the wave of the future. Sure, there's the Twiddler [handykey.com] and a couple of other alternatives to the standard keyboard that are more suitable to wearable computing, but most are not ready for prime time.

Likewise, I've seen a dozen companies come and go each with their own HUDs. All were available in limited quantities for OEM/prospective LARGE purchases, but the number of wearable displays available to consumers is pretty small.

So it's not like people haven't been trying. It just hasn't taken off yet. Sony's new research into gesture recognition may be a move in the right direction, but it may be a while before there's a ready solution that anybody can buy.

Mutual trust?

[bill]

"Gaining confidence and mutual trust between the user and system will be challenging to say the least, and ultimately may prove to be the biggest barrier to wide-scale adoption of intelligent wearable devices."

They hit close to the mark here about privacy concerns, but they still miss. It's really not about mutual trust between user and system. It's about the mistrust that users have with the powers that influence the 'system' (ie government). And unforunately, as Carnivore or Digital Angel, or any number of technological wonders have shown, misuse by big government is always a risk.

The polls may proclaim that we have a greater trust in government than ever before - but behind the scenes there is the spectre of Big Brother that just won't go away. And the current administration's actions haven't done anything to alleviate that.