Jun 20
fashion, people
MAKE Magazine – Phillip Torrone’s personal odyssey through the history of wearable computing:
“For decades I’ve wanted interesting, beautiful, and (sometimes) functional electronics on the most personal geographies of all, myself. When I think of “living in the future,” it’s what springs to mind: subtle LEDs, lots of polished metal. In this week’s column I’m going to share some milestones, mistakes, and projects in the world of wearable electronics. From geeky watches to wearable music players — I’ve always wanted to utilize my wrist real estate to my shoes for electronics of some kind. Many of the “wearables” I’m going to share are from my project archives, some are now “real,” and others are products that are out now. I think we’re finally entering an era where wearable electronics can look good and work well”…
Apr 22
people, research
Wearable Computing Notebook – I was reading a Business Week article mentioning Bruce Thomas, Director of the Wearable Computing Lab at the University of South Australia and did a Google search to learn more about his lab and work. I saw a few references to a Personal and Ubiquitous Computing Magazine. Seems like this has been around since 1997 and has been published in hard-copy form by Springer. I also found a Facebook page for the magazine. There is also a twitter account: @personalubicomp
From Facebook: Personal and Ubiquitous Computing publishes the latest international peer-reviewed research on mobile information devices and the pervasive communications infrastructure that supports them. The journal carries compellingly-written, timely and accessible contributions that illuminate the technological, social and design challenges of personal and ubiquitous computing technologies. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing is an essential resource for researchers and educators who wish to understand the implications of ubiquitous computing.
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
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