Apr 14
people, research
Wearable Computing Notebook – I just bumped into an older reference to a CHI 2009 Student Research paper, Designing A Wearable Social Network by Thecia Schiphorst and Yin He.
From the paper: This paper presents a framework and design for a wearable social network based on Facebook. We begin with a discussion of social networking by isolating key characteristics of social interactions in three research areas: Social Networking Sites, Mobile Computing, and Wearable Computing. These characteristics are analyzed to suggest a design framework that can be applied to the design of social networks. Using this framework, we have designed and created a wearable social network called Patches, which extends the social interactions available in most wearable devices today.
Well worth reading, IMHO!
Mar 27
people
npr.org – [...] It’s the first day of 2100, and here’s how your morning might unfold: You stumble into the bathroom to wash your face and brush your teeth. Tiny microchips in your toothbrush and your toilet instantly analyze your health. You wrap a few wires around your head and mentally cue up soothing music and fried eggs for breakfast. When you’re ready, you issue another mental command to your magnetic car, and it leaves the garage and cruises up to your front door.
Sound crazy? According to physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, all these technologies are not only possible, they’re already in development.
Kaku has written a new book, Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100. [...] “Think of what you can do,” Kaku says. “When you meet somebody, your contact lens will identify who that person is, print out their biography next to that person’s image, and then translate, from Chinese into English or whatever.” He compares it to the technology Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator character used to identify his opponents
Mar 09
editorial, input
ZDNet – ZionEyez announces “Eyez”, eyeglasses equipped with a built-in 720p HD camera designed to stream first-person video to your favorite social site. The recorded data can also be stored on the 8GB of flash memory within the Eyez™ glasses, transferred via Bluetooth or Micro USB to a computer, or wirelessly transferred to most iPhone or Android devices.
Rich Harris at ZDNet is not impressed — “I’m usually a pretty open-minded person. In my line of work, innovation and crazy ideas are a staple. It’s part of the reason I enjoy what I do. However, I have to draw the line somewhere.” [...]
“Their press release reads as if first-person-video-on-a-website-from-your-everyday-Joe Q. Public-for- everyone-to-see‘ is a brand new idea. When you go to their website, it’s flash-heavy, enshrouded in dramatic music and provides a ‘Place Order’ link that spawns a window containing placeholder copy from lipsum.org. Sigh.
All I see so far is less revolution and more known technology with the words ’social media’ attached it. ZionEyez, the “social media company” (it says that on their website) should consider chilling out on the buzz words and concentrate more on delivering their own version of putting personal video on the internet.
Sorry guys, a product that does what most of us are already doing isn’t innovation. Also, a little website QA goes a long way.”
Mar 07
news, research, software
MIT technology review – A research team at Georgia Tech hopes to make augmented reality (AR) on smart phones more useful by developing an open standard for it.
Currently, there is no standard way to create or render AR applications, which overlay information on the live video feed from a phone’s camera. Companies such as Layar help app developers create AR functions, but they use proprietary technologies. That means, among other things, that different AR apps may be unable to talk to each other or share data. The Georgia Tech team hopes that its open standard, an enhancement of existing Web protocols, will yield a common way for every Web browser to store, transmit, and manipulate data for augmented reality services. If it does, you wouldn’t need a separate app for each AR function on your phone—one browser could show them all.
Feb 17
watch
PC World – A Canadian company has developed an awesomely hackable wristwatch called the inPulse that operates in the vein of Dick Tracy, or Inspector Gadget. The “programmable Bluetooth wristwatch” works as a display for apps that you build using the company’s free SDK on Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms and upload via the watch’s Bluetooth connection.
What’s more, since it can connect to Blackberries, Androids, and jailbroken iPhones (take that, Apple), customizable apps send you notifications about emails received, allow you to toggle through iTunes while your phone is in your pocket, or curate PowerPoint presentations with a previous and next button.
The watch is made for program-builders, and the watch makers offer the source code for the six-or-so apps that have already been created, so if you can code in C (or patch together a knowledge of C using the source code for the already created apps) you can build your wristwatch to do just about anything that’s possible with 32kB of program space, a single button, and a color OLED screen.
[Available now - USD 149.00]
Jan 06
gadget, phone, software
engadget – CES 2010 [...] Here at the Consumer Electronics Show, Looxcie ousted its new streaming service which it has dubbed LooxcieLive. In addition to the Bluetooth video connectivity to your smartphone, the service allows you to beam the vidcast across mobile networks and WiFi to any other dude or dudette on your contacts list that’s got the app installed. Those looking to get started right away will be disappointed — the service is currently unavailable, but will be live within the first half of 2011.
Dec 09
fashion, research
Technology Review – Stretchable silicon electronics that offer the computing power of rigid chips could make their way into Reebok’s athletic apparel in the coming years. The company will work with MC10, a startup maker of flexible electronics, to develop sportswear that incorporates electronics to monitor athletes’ health and performance during training and rehabilitation.
Flexible silicon transistor arrays on cloth, like this lab prototype (see image), are being commercialized by startup MC10 and could be used in wearable electronics that process information about athletic performance.
May 13
ipodnn – Future Apple handhelds [or wearable devices] could potentially offer feedback when touched, a Toshiba technology demonstration hints. At this week’s Embedded Systems Expo in Tokyo, the company is showing off an iPod touch with a special film on top. Based on a Finnish technology known as “Senseg E-Sense,” the film helps to generate small electrical field changes that can nevertheless be felt by human fingers. Resistance can be simulated when sliding open a door, for instance, and buttons can be made to feel as if they protrude.
Toshiba is presenting an even more elaborate concept via a PC trackpad, likewise enhanced with E-Sense. Using it to move an onscreen cursor over images produces the sense of different textures, such as rough or bristly surfaces. The company argues that the film is a better option than haptic (vibration) feedback, as it is less prone to breaking, and can be adapted to curved devices.
Apr 27
game, research
cnet – crave — Codenamed Cobra, that future has yet to come. But the guys at Queen’s University in Ontario are working at it. Human Media Lab’s Zi Ye and Hammad Khalid have developed a wearable computer and projector that works in tandem with a flexible screen fitted with flex-sensing wires and sensors.
To play, the mounted system projects the game onto the screen, which users can flex, tap or shake to activate an action. For instance, bending a corner back and releasing it could simulate shooting an arrow or even casting a fishing line.
Apr 19
display, gadget, input
Wearable Computing — Christian over at Tailor Made Toys has created a way-cool Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Augmented Reality Headset. The headset is composed of Eye-Trek goggles with the addition of a USB laptop webcam. On his blog, Christian says:
“First thing I should probably say here is that I built this without even thinking what its function would be. I just thought it would be cool to add a cam to the front of my Eye-Trek goggles. As it turned out these where ideal for use with augmented reality applications. I am also working on putting them to use for other software. Such as gps overlays and night vision (like being the terminator, but more scrawny).” [...] “Other idea is to have it on all day and log on to chat roulette, give them that “being john malcovich” feeling.”
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