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Many technology visionaries predict the future of computing is a fully-integrated interface that will hide the hardware and enable us to use the software as naturally as we walk and talk. The ideal interface is one where the machine will be a part of our daily routine, not a bulky, heavy device that requires our patience and attention. We are ripe as a society for taking our computers off our desks and incorporating them into our outfits and bodies. Many researchers are taking this imperative to the next level by developing wearable computers. If our computers are a stylish part of our everyday outfits, they would be the ultimate user-friendly way to attain the goal of function and form in technology.

Many of these wearable devices are taking the form of headgear, i.e. eyeglasses or visors of some sort. Just think if your sunglasses, upon your arrival in Paris, could direct you to the Métro stop nearest your hotel, point out restaurants in the area, and supply you with handy French phrases and pronunciation help. Researchers are also working to utilize voice-recognition technology in these types of wearable computers, making the device completely hands-free. One such organization, the Colorado School of Mines, is working on embedding remote controls into a pair of gloves, allowing skiers, bikers, or runners to adjust their MP3 players with the flick of a finger. The idea is to make your hand your remote control.

The most common wearable computer at present is, of course, the cell phone. These devices are becoming more and more integrated into our lifestyle, with Bluetooth technology and the proliferation of wireless internet applications. The eventual wearable computer, though, will have many more uses besides communication and entertainment. Expect to see these devices being applied to military technology, health care and surgery, education, and emergency services (like Search and Rescue). The hardware is currently the huge drawback of these devices; many prototypes are far too heavy and obtrusive to be in widespread use.

And then there’s the recent scare at Boston’s Logan airport, where an MIT student wearing an electronic sweatshirt (complete with circuit board, wiring, and Play-Doh) was surrounded by armed police officers and arrested for carrying a hoax device. This incident was followed shortly afterwards by the annual International Symposium on Wearable Computers in Boston, and I imagine many of the participants refrained from wearing their innovative designs through airport security. Perhaps it will be a few more years before air travel can be safely combined with small, unfamiliar electronic devices.

Despite the controversies and setbacks, wearable computers are the wave of the future. The iPhone and the much anticipated Google phone are steps in this general direction, but we can expect to see much more practical, integrated technology that we use as nonchalantly as we put on our shoes.

Monday, October 22nd, 2007 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

By Haley January Eckels