Jef's web files - Wearable computing

Wearable computing

Mon, 04 Nov 2002 08:01:47 -0500

User interface must be optimized for wearable, not desktop use.

Wearable applications:

Presentations,
"Telepathy"
"Flight recorder"
"Remembrance agent"
Remote control,

Bionic Knee Hits Market

Mon, 25 Jul 2005 10:32:45 -0400

In the 70s, the idea seemed so far-fetched that it became a TV series, but the field of bionics, the integration of biology and technology, is gaining strength.

NewsCenter 5's Rhonda Mann reported Friday that a new prosthetic knee, developed using MIT research, is among those leading the way.

It was a hot summer day. John Warren, a scuba diving instructor, was filling an air tank when it exploded.

"I was standing within two feet of the tank and caught the majority of the fragments," Warren said.

His right leg was severed above the knee. His left leg was seriously injured. After being fitted with many prostheses, in February, Warren was one of the first to try a Rheo-Knee.

"Within those 60 steps the patient has to vary their speed a little bit, the knee starts learning how they move, how they walk, and at that point figures out how to adjust itself with the person," Warren said.

What makes the Rheo-Knee different is that it's the first to use artificial intelligence -- tiny sensors that analyze the knee 1,000 times per second allowing it to adjust to any step or misstep.

The Dream of a Lifetime

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 11:07:33 -0400

You've likely heard stories about the birth of the PC: of Xerox PARC as the Mecca of computing; of its creation of the Alto, Ethernet, and the laser printer; of the Homebrew Computer Club, the MITS Altair, Bill Gates and the theft of his Micro-soft Basic; of Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, the founding of Apple, and the Jobs visit to PARC that inspired the Macintosh.

But what you may not know about is the really early history. The stories of Doug Engelbart and John McCarthy, of the Augmentation Research Center, and of the early days of the Stanford University AI Lab (SAIL) are not well known. Yes, you may have heard that Engelbart invented the mouse, and that SAIL and Stanford led to companies like Sun and Cisco. But there are better stories, great and old ones from the early days of computing, about the events that led to personal computing as we know it.

In his wonderful new book, What the Dormouse Said..., John Markoff tells these stories.

Non-acoustic sensors detect speech without sound

Sun, 10 Apr 2005 19:57:04 -0400

Just think how eerie it would be, yet also how peaceful - people all around having conversations on their mobile phones, but without uttering a sound.

Thanks to some military research, this social nirvana just might come true. DARPA, the US Department of Defense's research agency, is working on a project known as Advanced Speech Encoding, aimed at replacing microphones with non-acoustic sensors that detect speech via the speaker's nerve and muscle activity, rather than sound itself.

One system, being developed for DARPA by Rick Brown of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, relies on a sensor worn around the neck called a tuned electromagnetic resonator collar (TERC). Using sensing techniques developed for magnetic resonance imaging, the collar detects changes in capacitance caused by movement of the vocal cords, and is designed to allow speech to be heard above loud background noise.

Altair Nanotechnologies achieves breakthrough in battery materials

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 10:53:02 -0500

Altair's Developments Pave the Way for a New Generation of Rechargeable Batteries

RENO, NV. – February 10, 2005 – Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTI) announced today that it has achieved a breakthrough in Lithium Ion battery electrode materials, which will enable a new generation of rechargeable battery to be introduced into the marketplace, as well as create new markets for rechargeable batteries. These new materials allow rechargeable batteries to be manufactured that have three times the power of existing Lithium Ion batteries at the same price and with recharge times measured in a few minutes rather than hours.

NASA Extension of the Human Senses project

Sun, 12 Dec 2004 17:28:01 -0500

The goal of the Extension of the Human Senses project is to advance man machine interfaces by directly connecting a person to a computer via the human electrical nervous system. This involves measuring Electromyogram (EMG) and Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and applying intelligent pattern recongition software to interpret these signals as computer control commands.
To date we have used EMG signals to eliminate the need for mechanical joysticks and keyboards. As an example of this we have flown a Class IV simulation of a transport aircraft to landing with our EMG based "joystick". We have also demonstrated virtual typing on a keypad using EMG. Our current work is focusing on using brain waves (EEG) to control computer software and the necessary algorithms to support this work.

The Right Ear Is From Mars

Tue, 14 Sep 2004 09:50:58 -0400

Belting out a few notes on key might take years of practice, and perfect pitch the right genetics, but when it comes to something as simple as telling noise from symphony, speech from music, all ears are created equal - or so it was once thought.

But in a new study, scientists have found that the left and right ears process sound differently. From birth, the right ear responds more to speech, while the left ear is more attuned to music, according to the study, published in Science on Sept. 10.

Method and apparatus for transmitting power and data using the human body

Thu, 24 Jun 2004 13:26:48 -0400

Methods and apparatus for distributing power and data to devices coupled to the human body are described. The human body is used as a conductive medium, e.g., a bus, over which power and/or data is distributed. Power is distributed by coupling a power source to the human body via a first set of electrodes. One or more devise to be powered, e.g., peripheral devices, are also coupled to the human body via additional sets of electrodes. The devices may be, e.g., a speaker, display, watch, keyboard, etc. A pulsed DC signal or AC signal may be used as the power source. By using multiple power supply signals of differing frequencies, different devices can be selectively powered. Digital data and/or other information signals, e.g., audio signals, can be modulated on the power signal using frequency and/or amplitude modulation techniques.

Organic LED Displays (OLEDs) - The Next Trend?

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 13:37:10 -0400

Wouldn’t you like to be able to read off the screen of your laptop in direct sunlight? Your mobile phone battery to last much, much longer? Or your next flat screen TV to be less expensive, much flatter, and even flexible? Thanks to a breakthrough technology called Organic Displays, this could soon be reality.

Although the technology behind Organic LED (OLED) displays is pure chemistry, the applications are much more everyday - mobile telephone and television screens, laptop and stereo displays, car navigation systems, or even billboards.

Deja View's Camwear Model 100 captures everything you see...

Sun, 11 Apr 2004 16:58:42 -0400

Deja View's Camwear Model 100 captures everything you see, records it in a buffer so you never miss that moment! Simply press the record button and the last 30 seconds of video with audio will write to a removable storage device.

The wearable remembrance agent: a system for augmented memory

Sun, 02 Jan 2005 14:03:27 -0500

This paper describes the wearable Remembrance Agent, a continuously running proactive memory aid that uses the physical context of a wearable computer to provide notes that might be relevant in that context. A currently running prototype is described, along with future directions for research inspired by using the prototype.

Nokia, Philips and Sony establish the Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum

Mon, 05 Apr 2004 11:16:22 -0400

Nokia Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) and Sony Corporation establish the Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum to enable the use of touch-based interactions in consumer electronics, mobile devices, PCs, smart objects and for payment purposes. Touch-based interactions will allow users to access content and services in an intuitive way by touching smart objects and connecting devices just by holding them next to each other. The new forum will promote implementation and standardization of NFC technology to ensure interoperability between devices and services.

Twiddler Typing: One-Handed Chording Text Entry for Mobile Phones

Sun, 04 Apr 2004 21:27:56 -0400

Abstract: Previously, we demonstrated that after 400 minutes of practice, ten novices averaged over 26 words per minute (wpm) for text entry on the Twiddler one-handed chording keyboard, outperforming the multi-tap mobile text entry standard. Here we present an extension of this study that examines expert chording performance. Five subjects continued the study and achieved an average rate of 47 wpm after approximately 25 hours of practice in varying conditions. One subject achieved a rate of 67 wpm, equivalent to the typing rate of the last author who has been a Twiddler user for ten years. We provide evidence that lack of visual feedback does not hinder expert typing speed and examine the potential use of multiple character chords (MCCs) to increase text entry speed. We demonstrate the effects of learning on various aspects of chording and analyze how subjects adopt a simultaneous or sequential method of pushing the individual keys during a chord.

Seeing-Eye Computer Guides Blind

Sun, 04 Apr 2004 20:31:07 -0400

Helen Keller once said that what a blind person needs is not a teacher but another self. Researchers are developing a system that aims to provide something close -- a computerized "seeing" assistant that will help blind people read books, access Web pages, recognize faces and navigate unfamiliar rooms.

The portable version of the system, called Tyflos -- Greek for blind -- consists of a tiny camera mounted on a pair of glasses, a laptop carried in a backpack, a headset and a microphone. Designed by researchers at Wright State University, Tyflos converts the images recorded by the camera into verbal messages conveyed to the user.

Motorola alters UWB for short-range apps

Wed, 17 Mar 2004 09:05:57 -0500

Motorola Inc. will bring a revised ultrawideband (UWB) proposal to a meeting of the IEEE 802.15.3a task group in Orlando, Fla., this week, along with what it says is proof that the new scheme offers a tenfold efficiency improvement — at very short ranges — over a competing technology vying for the nod as the IEEE UWB standard.

The altered proposal reflects Motorola's be-lief that the application sweet spot for UWB is no longer full-room networked video distribution over distances of up to 10 meters, but wireless links for handheld devices and peer-to-peer cable replacement applications within a range of about 3 meters.