Showing papers presented at "International Symposium on Wearable Computers in 1999"

The Conference Assistant: combining context-awareness with wearable computing

Abstract: We describe the Conference Assistant, a prototype mobile, context-aware application that assists conference attendees. We discuss the strong relationship between context-awareness and wearable computing and apply this relationship in the Conference Assistant. The application uses a wide variety of contexts and enhances user interactions with both the environment and other users. We describe how the application is used and the context-aware architecture on which it is based.

Wearable sensor badge and sensor jacket for context awareness

Abstract: The addition of sensors to wearable computers allows them to adapt their functions to more suit the activities and situation of their wearers. A wearable sensor badge is described constructed from (hard) electronic components, which can sense perambulatory activities for context-awareness. A wearable sensor jacket is described that uses advanced knitting techniques to form (soft) fabric stretch sensors positioned to measure upper limb and body movement. Worn on-the-hip, or worn as clothing, these unobtrusive sensors supply abstract information about your current activity to your other wearable computers.

Smart Sight: a tourist assistant system

Abstract: In this paper, we present our efforts towards developing an intelligent tourist system The system is equipped with a unique combination of sensors and software The hardware includes two computers, a GPS receiver, a lapel microphone plus an earphone, a video camera and a head-mounted display This combination includes a multimodal interface to take advantage of speech and gesture input to provide assistance for a tourist The software supports natural language processing, speech recognition, machine translation, handwriting recognition and multimodal fusion A vision module is trained to locate and read written language, is able to adapt to to new environments, and is able to interpret intentions offered by the user such as a spoken clarification or pointing gesture We illustrate the applications of the system using two examples

Situated documentaries: embedding multimedia presentations in the real world

Abstract: We describe an experimental wearable augmented reality system that enables users to experience hypermedia presentations that are integrated with the actual outdoor locations to which they are relevant Our mobile prototype uses a tracked see-through head-worn display to overlay 3D graphics, imagery, and sound on top of the real world, and presents additional, coordinated material on a hand-held pen computer We have used these facilities to create several situated documentaries that tell the stories of events that took place on our campus We describe the software and hardware that underly our prototype system and explain the user interface that we have developed for it

Indoor navigation using a diverse set of cheap, wearable sensors

Abstract: Machine learning techniques are applied to the task of context awareness, or inferring aspects of the user's state given a stream of inputs from sensors worn by the person. We focus on the task of indoor navigation and show that, by integrating information from accelerometers, magnetometers and temperature and light sensors, we can collect enough information to infer the user's location. However, our navigation algorithm performs very poorly, with almost a 50% error rate, if we use only the raw sensor signals. Instead, we introduce a "data cooking" module that computes appropriate high-level features from the raw sensor data. By introducing these high-level features, we are able to reduce the error rate to 2% in our example environment.

Acceleration sensing glove (ASG)

Abstract: A glove with 2-axis accelerometers on the finger tips and back of the hand has been built using commercial-off-the-shelf components Taking advantage of gravity induced acceleration offsets, we have been able to identify pseudo static gestures We have also developed software that allows the glove to be used as a mouse pointing device for a Windows 95 or NT machine

A small planar inverted-F antenna for wearable applications

Abstract: Small printed antennas will replace the commonly used normal-mode helical antennas of mobile handsets and systems in the future. This paper presents a novel small planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) which is a common PIFA in which a U-shaped slot is etched to form a dual band operation for wearable and ubiquitous computing equipment. Health issues are considered in selecting suitable antenna topology and the placement of the antenna. Various applications are presented while the paper mainly discusses about the GSM applications.

Realtime personal positioning system for a wearable computer

Abstract: Context awareness is an important functionality for wearable computers. In particular, the computer should know where the person is in the environment. This paper proposes an image sequence matching technique for the recognition of locations and previously visited places. As in single word recognition in speech recognition, a dynamic programming algorithm is proposed for the calculation of the similarity of different locations. The system runs on a standalone wearable computer, such as a Libretto PC. Using a training sequence, a dictionary of locations is created automatically. These locations are then recognized by the system in real time using a hat-mounted camera.

Wearable computing meets ubiquitous computing: reaping the best of both worlds

Abstract: This paper describes what we see as fundamental difficulties in both the pure ubiquitous computing and pure wearable computing paradigms when applied to context-aware applications. In particular, ubiquitous computing and smart room systems tend to have difficulties with privacy and personalization, while wearable systems have trouble with localized information, localized resource control, and resource management between multiple people. These difficulties are discussed and a peer-to-peer network of wearable and ubiquitous computing components is proposed as a solution. This solution is demonstrated through several implemented applications.

"Where are you pointing at?" A study of remote collaboration in a wearable videoconference system

Abstract: This paper reports on an empirical study aimed at evaluating the utility of a reality-augmenting telepointer in a wearable videoconference system. Results show that using this telepointer a remote expert can effectively guide and direct a field worker's manual activities. By analyzing verbal communication behavior and pointing gestures, we were able to determine that experts overwhelmingly preferred pointing for guiding workers through physical tasks.

The WristCam as input device

Abstract: We show how images of a user's hand from a video camera attached to the underside of the wrist can be processed to yield finger movement information. Discrete (and discreet) movements of the fingers away from a rest position are translated into a small set of base symbols. These are interpreted as input to a wearable computer, providing unobtrusive control.

Virtual information towers-a metaphor for intuitive, location-aware information access in a mobile environment

Abstract: Introduces virtual information towers (VITs) as a concept for presenting and accessing location-aware information with mobile clients. A VIT is a means of structuring location-aware information, which is assigned to a certain geographical position while having a certain area of visibility. A user equipped with a mobile, wearable computer has access to the VITs which are "visible" from his/her current location. We describe the architecture and protocols of a system which allows its users to create VITs and to access the information on them using Internet mechanisms. We have implemented a prototype of this system and a VIT client for a wearable computer, and we present some aspects of this implementation.

Electric suspenders: a fabric power bus and data network for wearable digital devices

Abstract: One goal of wearable computing is to create digital devices that are as easy to don and as comfortable to wear as common articles of clothing such as blouses, pants, and belts. New forms of woven materials such as conductive webbings, which incorporate durable electrical conductors directly into the matrix of the weave, offer exciting possibilities for closely integrating digital electronics with conventional clothing. However, many practical obstacles hinder the adoption of these materials, not the least being a lack of reliable electrical connectors for the interconnection of conventional electronics with conductive fabrics. We present a simple and workable design for just such connectors and demonstrate how a commonplace article of clothing-suspenders-can be transformed into an effective power bus and data network for wearable digital devices. Both the power bus and the data network are described in detail, including the mechanics of attachment and an outline of the network protocols. The techniques illustrated can be readily applied to other articles of clothing and accessories.

Batteries and power supplies for wearable and ubiquitous computing

Abstract: The paper discusses the energy storage requirements of wearable computer technology and identifies research topics for novel battery technologies. Three categories of devices with basically different battery requirements were defined. They comprise the wearable computer main unit, small devices which are distributed around the human body and active tags which enable situated and ubiquitous computing. There is a demand for small, high energy density rechargeable batteries which enable a flexible design and for very low cost thin primary batteries for smart label active lags. Prototypes of 120 /spl mu/m thick AgO-Zn batteries have been fabricated by a screen printing process. They can be directly integrated into plastic cards, smart labels and hybrid circuits.

When Cyborgs meet: building communities of cooperating wearable agents

Abstract: This paper introduces the notion of a wearable community as a group of wearable users who cooperate for their mutual benefit. In such a community, wearable computers act as personal agents on behalf of and in the interest of their 'owners'. These agents are goal-directed and will perform a broad array of tasks for the user, ranging from personal scheduling to task planning. We describe how personal wearable agents can be used to enable goal directed cooperation during physical encounters of people with selfish and conflicting goals, such that cooperation leads to mutually beneficial results. We discuss negotiation protocols, and describe the design and implementation of a wearable agent system, as well as a simulator for large-scale wearable communities.

MEX: a distributed software architecture for wearable computers

Abstract: A new dynamic software architecture for wearable computers is proposed. Key properties of this MEX architecture are examined and compared to some other existing software architecture. One application utilizing MEX, called WalkMap, is presented. The aim of the applications currently under development is to enhance the communication and cooperation of the users utilizing wearable computers in their daily lives. Based on that, the software components needed to access context information anywhere and the hardware requirements arising from constant usage are considered. The hardware platform for the software architecture developed is briefly described.

Asymmetries in collaborative wearable interfaces

Abstract: Communication asymmetries are inherent in collaborative dialogues between wearable computer and desktop users. We give a definition and overview of what communication asymmetries are and their potential impact on the design of collaborative wearable interfaces. We also review results from collaborations with two asymmetric interfaces and present a set of implications for developers of collaborative wearable interfaces.

Hummingbirds go skiing: using wearable computers to support social interaction

Abstract: The Hummingbird is a wearable computer that aims to support communication in co-located groups of people, by giving users a continuous awareness of the physical presence (or absence) of others. To examine the effect on group communication, we performed a study where six ski instructors used the Hummingbirds during a five-day trip. The study showed that the Hummingbirds were used more as a support for informal social interaction than for the actual work activities of the test group. In subsequent focus group sessions, we saw a clear difference between instructors who had used the devices and those who had not, in that the first group gave many enthusiastic suggestions for improvements and new usage areas, whereas the second group had great difficulties in seeing any use for the devices at all.

Non-ideal battery properties and low power operation in wearable computing

Abstract: This paper describes non-ideal properties of batteries and how these properties may impact power-performance trade-offs in wearable computing. The first part of the paper details the characteristics of an ideal battery and how these characteristics are used in sizing batteries and estimating discharge times. Typical non-ideal characteristics and the regions of operation where they occur are described. The paper then covers results from a first-principles, variable-load battery model, showing likely areas for exploiting battery behavior in mobile computing. The major result is that when battery behavior is non-ideal, lowering the average power or the energy per operation may not increase the amount of computation that can be completed in a battery life.

A wearable context-awareness component. Finally a good reason to wear a tie

Abstract: We describe the design of a wearable context-awareness component that derives general context information from low-level sensors. Derived context information is application-independent and can be used by wearables or other personal technologies in a body network via a simple protocol. We built the context-awareness component into a tie, stressing its design as an accessory.

Situated computing: bridging the gap between intention and action

Abstract: Situated computing represents a new class of computing applications that bridges the gap between people's intentions and the actions they can take to achieve those intentions These applications are contextually embedded in real-world situations, and are enabled by the proliferation of new kinds of computing devices, expanding communication capabilities and new kinds of digital content Three types of discontinuities give rise to intention/action gaps and provide opportunities for situated computing applications: physical discontinuities, information discontinuities and and awareness discontinuities Several examples of applications that overcome these discontinuities are presented

Wearable location mediated telecommunications; a first step towards contextual communication

Abstract: Wearable computers provide constant access to computing and communications resources. We describe how the computing power of wearables can enhance computer mediated communications, with a focus upon collaborative working. In particular we describe the ideal of contextual communications, where contextual cues collected by the wearable computer are used to establish and enhance communication links. We describe the hardware and software technology we have developed to support contextual communication and two experimental contextual communication systems. The first, a wearable conferencing tool uses the user's physical location to select the online conference which they connect to. The second, MetaPark, is a mixed reality educational experiment which explores communications, data retrieval and recording, and navigation techniques within and across real and virtual environments.

Modeling wearable negotiation in an opportunistic task oriented domain

Abstract: This paper details the properties involved in negotiation over a set of tasks for a wearable environment. Details relating to the specific domain as relating to wearable computing are also discussed.

Determination of placement of a body-attached mouse as a pointing input device for wearable computers

Abstract: We believe the notion of hands free operation is critical to the successful use of wearable computer systems. As such, we investigated possible placements of an input device for a wearable computer on different portions of the user's body, while the user assumed different postures (sitting, standing, kneeling, and prone).

CMU wearable computers for real-time speech translation

Abstract: Carnegie Mellon's Wearable Computers Laboratory has built four generations of real time speech translation wearable computers, culminating in the Speech Translator Smart Module. Smart Modules are a family of interoperable modules supporting real time speech recognition, language translation, and speech synthesis. We examine the effect of various design factors on performance with emphasis on modularity and scalability. A system level approach to power/performance optimization is described that improved the metric of (performance/(weight*volume*power)) by over a factor of 300 through the four generations.

Wearable computers for the fire service and police force: technological and human factors

Abstract: Wearable computer applications can be defined broadly as situationally-aware and situationally-unaware. A situationally-aware fire-fighter application which is under development is described and a situationally-unaware police force application is presented. However, underlying these developments is the issue of the appropriateness of the user interface for these applications.

MoCCA: a Mobile Communication and Computing Architecture

Abstract: We present an integrated computing system designed to help increase the efficiency of mobile workers, specifically field service engineers. Our solution, a Mobile Communications and Computing Architecture (MoCCA), consists of both a futuristic award-winning concept design and a first-generation working prototype. The prototype has support for collaborative multimedia: on-the-move networking for high-tech equipment maintenance using voice, video clips, and access to maintenance databases. We describe the user interface, software, and hardware architectures of our prototype. The hardware architecture uses a multi-tier networking scheme to trade off a small lightweight client and high computation power and battery life. Finally, we present lessons learned from user tests in applying a novel mobile computing architecture to a complex real-world task.

Sulawesi: a wearable application integration framework

Abstract: This paper describes Sulawesi, a framework for developing applications for wearable computing that are capable of multi-modal interaction with the user. The design principles of the framework are described along with its main features, and some example applications that exploit the capabilities of the framework are outlined.

The WearBoy: a platform for low-cost public wearable devices

Abstract: We introduce the WearBoy-a wearable, modified Nintendo GameBoy-as a platform for exploring public wearable devices We have minimized the size of a Color GameBoy circuit board to enable users to comfortably wear it, making the device not much larger than the actual screen Technical properties of the WearBoy are discussed, along with two applications using the platform

Force XXI Land Warrior: implementing spoken commands for soldier wearable systems

Abstract: Implementing effective control systems for wearable computers presents numerous design challenges, especially when the end users are soldiers who need to use their hands to control weapons rather than computers. The paper describes the work performed and the results achieved by the System Voice Control team on the Force XXI Land Warrior (FXXI LW) project at Motorola. This team integrated Motorola's CVoxCon Speech recognition system into an existing soldier computer system. The successful CVoxCon implementation suggests guidance for other efforts and areas for future investigation.