Wearable computers

Anne-Lise Aakervik
Photo: PC-MAGAZINE

Don't be confused if one day you hear the command "go to sleep" from the man behind you in the bus queue. The person has probably checked the bus timetable on the bus company's Web site by using a personal computer in his belt, an earplug, a microphone and a small screen attached to his glasses. He just ended the program with these words.

Welcome to the digital future, which appears to be closer to coming into existence than we think.

"Checking a bus schedule is only a small part of what KOMPIS, a project on wearable computers, can be used for," says Eric Swane from SINTEF Telecom and Informatics.

"A computer system which you can carry with you is well on the way to everyday use," he continues. "Today we are already surrounded by portable equipment like a Walkman, sophisticated watches, GPS terminals, electronic notebooks, remote-controlled car locks and mobile telephones. As a consequence of this, our department has started to investigate other possibilities in projects, such as KOMPIS.

"We have set up a demonstration model which investigates and displays many useful functions. Users of KOMPIS, for example, can be moving. It is controlled hands-free by the user's voice, meaning you have full access to information whenever and wherever you like."

You can control portable equipment with the voice, a small button or a mini-keyboard attached to the arm

At this point the voice recognition system, which accompanies the product, takes for granted that commands are spoken in English with a North American accent. Another problem is that the commands should be said with the same voice every time. The machine can't tackle changes in voice pitch.

Help during maintenance

"In addition to military applications, it is relatively easy to find users who see that it's profitable to go in for technology like this," says Swane.

The KOMPIS project has a small subsidiary project, MobCans, in which SINTEF is working with an oil company on a preliminary study of how portable equipment with radio connections can be used during maintenance operations on oil rigs. The aim is to improve the expertise to support the workers on board.

For example, when the maintenance person is confronted with a pump which has stopped working, he can use the computer equipment he is wearing, there and then, to check the operating information and give the necessary commands so that the process can continue without the pump. He can fetch technical documentation about the pump, find out where it comes from and enter into a conversation with a specialist from the company which supplied the pump, who might even be sitting fishing at a small lake. Together they can find the correct pages in the operating manual. Other people can also become involved in the electronic conference and work as a team.

Competence and challenges

Although some commercial equipment is already on the market, development work is continuous.

According to Swane, "It's problematic to base yourself on so-called COST (commercial off-the-shelf) products. Neither existing equipment nor software is open enough to enable us to integrate them properly and get the systems functioning as we envision them." He admits that for the project to make headway it must be based on tool kits and components which can, to a greater extent, be adjusted.

"There are very high requirements for a user interface and the product's usability must also be very high for it to be accepted by the users."

"We will continue our work by participating in the EU projects which are already underway, and by continuing to coperate with some of the Norwegian companies which are participating in our professional forum," concludes Swane.

Kontakt ved SINTEF: Eric Swane
Tlf: 73 59 29 64,
E-post: Eric.Swane@informatics.sintef.no