Thursday 26 April 2007

History of Wearable Computing

Old Wearable Computer


Wearable Computers were first introduced in the 1500's with the pocket watch. The first wearable computer that fits into the 20th century image was a computer designed to predict Roulette Wheels, this was invented in 1961 by Edward O Thorpe. A data tracker hidden in his shoes would track the speed of the Roulette Wheels and the computer would indicate what to bet on.

In 1967, Hubert Upton developed a technology which allowed the person wearing the glasses to lip read, this was using the LED device.

Even in the 1980's and the 1990's wearable computers were being created.

Many people think that wearable computers can now be taken full advantage of as the technology has developed over the years and the wearable computers can now become more comfortable to wear and it will not be the case of devices hanging of the persons clothes.

1 comment:

we.want.10.marks said...

To date, personal computers have not lived up to their name. Most machines sit on the desk and interact with their owners for only a small fraction of the day. Smaller and faster notebook computers have made mobility less of an issue, but the same staid user paradigm persists. Wearable computing hopes to shatter this myth of how a computer should be used. A person's computer should be worn, much as eyeglasses or clothing are worn, and interact with the user based on the context of the situation. With heads-up displays, unobtrusive input devices, personal wireless local area networks, and a host of other context sensing and communication tools, the wearable computer can act as an intelligent assistant, whether it be through a Remembrance Agent, augmented reality, or intellectual collectives.

Source: http://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/

Posted by Nav Kumar