The MIT Wearable Computing Web Page

MIThril, the next generation research platform for context aware wearable computing.

Welcome to the MIT Wearable Computing Web Page. This page is meant to both serve as an introduction to the field of wearable computing and as a resource for more technical information. Updates occur as new technology is released. If you have information or code to share, send mail to wearable-web@media.mit.edu

Recent Additions

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  MIThril, the next generation research platform for context aware wearable computing.

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  MIT + IDEO This special web site presents a recent design study focusing on two unique individuals using wearable computers.

• IEEE ISWC 2000: The Fourth International Symposium on Wearable Computers. Conference was held October 16-18, 2000 Sheraton Colony Square, Atlanta, GA, USA

Resources

• IEEE ISWC'99: The Third International Symposium on Wearable Computers. Conference was held Oct. 18-19.
• Context-Aware Applications for Wearables:MIT papers on contextually aware applications for wearables. (As mentioned in Sandy Pentland's recent article in Scientific American Presents.)
• Papers for the Second International Symposium on Wearable Computers (Oct 19-20, 1998) are online.
• Papers from the First International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC 97) are also online.
• Out in the World is a new section that shows fun events with wearables around the MIT campus.

• "A Brief History of Wearable Computing" timeline
• Wearables Links: Links to research programs, commercial wearables manufacturers, magazines, and other resources
• MIT Wearable Computing Papers
• Wearables Conferences
• Wearable Computing FAQ
• "So you want to build your own wearable?" FAQ
• Hardware and Software: Displays, input devices, small boards, and software (including part numbers & suppliers)
• Lizzy: the MIT wearable computer design by Thad Starner (plus info on the wear-hard mailing list)

What's a Wearable?

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.

Applications for wearables

• Augmented Memory: The Remembrance Agent
• Augmented Reality
• Desktop applications ported to wearables
• Wearable Audio Computing
• Collective Intelligence

Demonstrations

• Towards a wearable computer based American Sign Language translator. Josh Weaver demonstrates the current system. See the Papers section for more information.

MIT Wearables, Version 1.0

Left-top to bottom right: Rehmi Post, Thad Starner , Jennifer Healey, Lenny Foner, Dana Kirsch, Bradley Rhodes, Travell Perkins, Tony Jebara
Not pictured: Richard W. DeVaul, Nitin Sawhney, Maggie Orth , Steve Schwartz, Chris Metcalfe, Kevin Pipe, Joshua Weaver, Pamela Mukerji
Alumni: Thad Starner , Steve Mann

Acknowledgments

• Maintainers: Richard W. DeVaul, Bradley Rhodes, and Steve Schwartz
• Public wearables Software: Ben Walter, Jeff Levine, Dana Kirsch
• Made possible by the Wearable Computing Project, MIT Media Laboratory.
• Please send suggestions to wearable-web@media.mit.edu

"Time makes more converts than reason" - Thomas Paine