Wearable computers - Types, Applications & Future?

Wearable Computers
17MX105 - HARIHARAN.G
17MX106 - KALAIYARASAN.D
17MX107 - KEERTHANA.R.A
17MX108 - KIRUBHANANDHAN.R

Contents:
• What is a wearable computer?
• History of wearable computers.
• Modern Military suits.
• Zypad
• Google Glass
• Oculus rift VR
• Microsoft Hololens
• Fitness bands & smart watches.
• Constraints / Limitations in making a wearable computer.
• Project Soli
• Project Jacquard - Future of smart Clothes?

What is a Wearable computer?
• Wearable computers, are “miniature
electronic devices” that are usually worn on
our body, or on top of clothing.
• In many applications, the user's body is
actively used as the device's interface.
• This usually includes : the skin, hands, voice,
eyes, and arms. Wearables are also capable of
reacting to any movement or attention.

History of wearable computers
• The first wearable computer could possibly be
as early as the first abacus on a ring, a 16th-
century abacus ring, made by Breguet for the
Queen of Naples in 1810.

• Earlier, at Casinos & game clubs, timing
devices were hidden in shoes to cheat at
“roulette” by Thorp and Shannon in the 1960s
and 1970s

• However, a computer is not merely a time-
keeping or calculating device, but rather a user-
programmable device for performing complex
calculations & data management.
• By this definition, the proper wearable computer
was invented by Steve Mann, in the late 1970s
• Steve Mann, a professor at the University of
Toronto, was hailed as the,
“Father of the wearable computer”, by
Harvard University.

Evolution of Steve Mann's WearComp wearable computer from backpack based systems
of the 1980s to his current covert systems.

Modern Military suits
• Later, wearable technology was used for the
development of “smart” military suits.
• They can be helpful for the following applications:
1. Improve Aiming Capabilities.
2. Monitoring the physical state of soldiers.
3. Better communication between other fellow
troops.
4. Providing 360-degree battlefield awareness.

ZYPAD
• The ZYPAD is a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
designed to be worn on a user's wrist and offers
features similar to laptop computer. itdebuted in
2006.
• It was developed by Parvus, at Eurotech.
• It was referred to as a "Wrist Worn PC".
• It was able to run either Linux or Windows CE.
• It was very bulky & heavy (290 grams).
• It was mainly used for military applications.

Google Glass
• Google Glass uses an (OHMD) optical head-
mounted display designed to be attached with
any pair of normal eye glasses.
• It displays information from a smart phone on
that over head display which gets simulated as
another separate layer for our human eye’s
point-of-view.

• We can get search results from the Internet
accessing via natural language & voice
commands.
• Google started selling a prototype of Google Glass
in the US on April 15, 2013, for a limited period
for $1,500.
• However, it received a great deal of criticism and
legislative action due to privacy and safety
concerns.

………GOOGLE GLASS DEMO VIDEO…….

Microsoft HoloLens
• The HoloLens is a head-mounted display unit
connected to an adjustable, cushioned inner
headband, which can tilt up and down, as well
as forward and backward.
• On the front it includes most of the sensors
and other hardware, including the cameras
and processors.

• The visor is tinted ; in which the projected
images are displayed.
• Along the bottom edges of the side, a pair of
small, speakers are present.
• The HoloLens contains an internal
rechargeable battery, with average battery life
rated at 2–3 hours of active use.
• It also features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for
wireless connectivity.

• It also features a bunch of sensors like accelerometer,
gyroscope, and a magnetometer for position sensing.
• A depth camera for 3-D depth sensing.
• a 2.4-megapixel camera, 4 microphones for voice
input on the front.
• In addition to an Intel Cherry Trail Processor,
It also has a custom-made Microsoft Holographic
Processing Unit (HPU)
• It has 1GB RAM and 64GB flash memory containing
the Windows 10 operating system.

• Through the use of the HPU, it receives gesture
& voice commands.
• Virtual elements such as windows, menus & tiles
can be "pinned" to walls or physical objects
within the real environment ; or can be "carried“
along , following the user as they move around.
…………………..(Include demo video)…………………….

Fitness Bands & Smart watches
• A fitness tracker, is a device used for
monitoring and tracking fitness-related
metrics such as distance walked or run,
calories consumed, and in some cases
heartbeat and quality of sleep.
• These data are automatically then synced
wirelessly, to a computer or smartphone for
better analysis.

• Smart AI assistants like Siri, Alexa, Google
Assistant are now integrated into these smart
watches.
• Having them on the wrist all the time makes it
much more natural & convenient to use.
• They can be used to perform basic tasks like
answering calls or replying to text messages
without even taking the phone out.
• Also they can be used to quickly search for any
queries or set remainders or to-do lists.

• Based on the data collected & synced from
these fitness trackers, they can also be used
for Health care applications.

Constraints & limitations in making a
Wearable Computer
• The biggest challenge is to integrate a lot of
these technology into a very small form
factor.
• And since it is always attached to our body,
electrical or thermal dissipations might lead to
hazardous results.
• The next biggest constraint would be the
“Battery capacity” & Battery life.

• Due to it’s size restrictions, bigger capacity
batteries cannot be included inside.
• Since most of the smart watches need to be
actively synced to our mobile phones ;
meaning that Wi-Fi & Bluetooth should
remain turned ON for most time.
• This might lead to even more battery drain.
• So, it’s essential to design the internals in a
way it is as much energy efficient as possible.

• Another constraint is the input interface.
• The average screen size of all smart watches
would be just 1-2 inches or even below that.

Using “Touch” screen as an input
interface isn’t the best solution.

• So, alternate methods has to be considered
• Apple, Samsung have already come up with
some solutions.

Project Soli
• Project Soli was developed under Google’s
(ATAP) division from 2015.
• Last Year at Google I/O 2016 keynote, they
announced a developer kit as an open source
platform.
• Which means, anybody can include this
technology into their products & we can see
many low-cost devices using this same
common technology.

How Soli works?
• The working concept of Soli is almost similar
to that of a “RADAR”.

Music playback controls using gestures

…….Include jacquard demo video…..

References :
• https://gadgetsconnector.wordpress.com/201
6/06/11/project-soli-explained-v2-0/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wearable_comp
uter
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Holo
Lens
• https://www.androidauthority.com/wearable-
computing-history-238324/

Wearable computers - Types, Applications & Future?

Wearable computers - Types, Applications & Future?

In this document