MIThril Jacket Showcases Wearable Computing 162
Codeine writes "The Seventh Annual International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC), to be held later this month, will again feature members of MIT's Media Lab showing off the group's MIThril jacket. Taking its name from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, the jacket combines body-worn computation, sensing, and networking in a clothing-integrated design, according to the project." According to a new paper (PDF link) to be presented at the conference, the latest version of this long-evolving system uses a Sharp Zaurus running Linux.
Umm (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Umm (Score:1)
IMHO, the only thing revolutionary about it is that its the worst case-mod ever.
Re:Umm (Score:1)
Mithril? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Mithril? (Score:5, Funny)
(geez, just look at the pic)
Re:Mithril? (Score:2)
But it won't save you from the resulting electrocution!!
So very tired... (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't get me wrong, I'm a geek, but technology is just getting absurd. I have no desire to "wear" my computer. Nor do I have any desire to play games on my cellphone. (In fact I don't even own a cellphone because of the hideously overpriced services).
Maybe I have to hand in my geek membership card, but wearing a computer ranks right up there with wearing a refridgerator.
good idea but the weight!!! (Score:3, Interesting)
I can see some useful embedded applications (excuse the pun, ho ho) in having portable computing power, but look at the photo - the weight of it all. I'll wait till they get it a bit more slimline. Reminds me of 80s "mobile" phones compared to today. Why's it all so cumbersome? ok, batteries I understand we still have to work on, but the rest?
Re:good idea but the weight!!! (Score:2)
Re:So very tired... (Score:1)
Of course, I'm quite happy to lug around my Clie NX70v, my Siemens cell phone, the WLAN card, and a few other things, though.
Come to think of it, I've changed my mind. If someone can build me a PDA/Cell combo that fits in a nice stylish leather jacket, I'd wear it. But it'd have to be a jacket first, computer thing second - none of this crappy TechVest shit!
Re:So very tired... (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course not, the technology's being developed, then the apps that make it interesting will come. Personally, I think auto mechanics would love to have a wearable computer. Imagine having instant access to the internal workings of the particular car you're working on. Instant reference.
" Nor do I have any desire to play games on my cellphone."
What's wrong with that? Well I guess I can't entice you, but personally I've enjoyed having simple games to play. At the last movie I saw, I played snake while waiting for the stupid previews to be over. When I'm alone for a bit, like waiting for my meal to be served, I get on the net with my cell phone and get updated on the news. Can I live without? Sure. But I can make a little use of my time.
" (In fact I don't even own a cellphone because of the hideously overpriced services)."
Hideous? I pay about 10-15 bucks a month more than a landline, all my long distance is free, and my phone's with me all the time. I get better service and it only costs a little more than a landline that only works at.. uh.. home.
i read slashdot on mine (Score:2)
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
"At the last movie I saw, I played snake while waiting for the stupid previews to be over. When I'm alone for a bit, like waiting for my meal to be served, I get on the net with my cell phone and get updated on the news. Can I live without? Sure. But I can make a little use of my time."
What happened to talking to your "significant other" while waiting for dinner to be served, or waiting for hte movie to start. Hell, what happened to talking to any friends at these occa
Re:So very tired... (Score:2, Funny)
This is slashdot; what significant other?
Re:So very tired... (Score:1)
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
Who says I don't? Why do you have to assume it's "Oh, he just plays that game, he doesn't talk to anybody or have any sort of social life"? Give me a little credit, will ya?
My girlfriend doesn't like all the same movies I do. Simple as that. She wouldn't go with me to see Star Trek or Terminator. Hence, I went alone.
" I can not stay I have ever went to dinner or a movie al
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
No you wouldn't. I seriously doubt you'd carry it around with you. A cell phone, if you had one, would be with you all the time.
"I barely make any phonecalls"
Same. Which is why I have a cell phone. Sound silly? Not really. Why pay for something I can only use at home when for a little more I can have something at all times? I like the idea of being able to dial 911 if I witness an accident.
" Plus your phone being with you all t
Re:So very tired... (Score:3, Insightful)
Funny thing about being a geek is this: A geek would do something like turn his Dreamcast into a web server or install a computer in a blender for the sake of doing so but would never use any of these devices.
Now a toilet computer... that's what I want if for no other reason than the internet has much better bathroom reading material than my local paper and sometimes, whe
The coolest thing about 802.11x (Score:1)
Get with the program man!
Re:The coolest thing about 802.11x (Score:1)
And suddenly I have this terrible image of IMing while taking a dump.
Hey, everything come out all right?
Yeah, it was great.
I think my wax ring just seg-faulted.
I was gonna go on but... yeah... I should be sleeping.
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
In order to do research into wearable computing?
This is a research project to study wearable computing, and associated fields, such as augmented reality. I doubt they have any intention of trying to sell it to people like you. This kind of thing could be very useful for field technicians, soldiers, paramedics - all sorts of people.
Re:So very tired... (Score:1)
As opposed to having it in a small, portable device? Because you can misplace your phone/pda or whatever device it is, and it's much easier to steal. It's much harder to lose a piece of clothing that you're wearing.
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
Absolutely not! You can't have a case of beer on hand at all times when you wear a computer.
Re:So very tired... (Score:3, Insightful)
"If we wanted more free time, we'd make devices that did things more slowly"
Frankly, the prospect of leading a lifestyle that requires this level of access to information terrifies me. It pisses me off enough that I can't get any of my friends to write me a letter, even more that, because everyone I know now relies on cell phones, I have to have one too.
I find technology to be expensive, time-consuming,
Re:So very tired... (Score:1)
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
Here's what I think is going to find its way into wide use: combination PDA/Cell Phone systems with a heads-up display that
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
That's funny, I can't remember the number of times I haven't been screwed just because my worthless goddamned head couldn't burn their name in the first time.
Re:So very tired... (Score:4, Insightful)
No, it's not just an MIT thing and its not that stupid an idea. ENIAC didn't exactly conjure to mind a Micro PC with a flat panel display either, but the point was it was one of the first strides toward the kind of computing system that is becoming a fixture in Western homes (and many other parts of the world).
Wearable computing is a technology that simply hasn't come to maturity yet. Things need to get smaller. But as some further down this page have done lets look at the possibilities.
First, realize that the human body isn't designed to support any large quantity of hardware where most of the sensory organs are clustered, consequently we have to seperate the display from the CPU. The torso is an ideal place to put this sort of thing, both for weight purposes and for its relitivly easy access for the user (try typing on your head sometime).
As for applications, the possibilities are limitless. I'll stick to Augmented Reality for most of my examples.
1.) Imagine a surgon with a system capable of integrating the data from Xrays, CAT scans, and other probes on the fly and displaying that data in real time, actualy altering the view of the patients body. This amounts to fewer head movements, faster surgeries (particularly key in an ER), and fewer mistakes. This same principal can be extended to an auto mechanic, or any number of other occupations.
2.) Tired of lugging your laptop, cellphone, PDA, etc around? Meet the ultimate virtual office. A pair of MEMS projectors mounted on a pair of sunglasses traces the "office" in 3d onto your retinas. Tracking systems (much like those allready in use today) track the movement of your fingers in relitive position to your body. By tracking these movements the user can type on a non-existant keyboard and navigate a 3d "desktop" in real space. Metaphors provide interfaces for important applications. Integrate an audio device with this and you can easily move your entire office to the bench in the park without anyone being the wiser.
It doesn't take a lot of immagination to work out how this could be an amazing application. Yes, right now it looks like a bad cross between C3P0 and a Electircal Engineering project gone awry. Nonetheless, in 10 years you'll probably see it integrating into the lining of a designer series of jackets, sunglasses, and hats worn by every trendy highschool and college kid in the country.
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
Re:So very tired... (Score:2)
Typical Slashdot silliness. Go ahead and attack me because I state the obvious. Why should I sympathize with someone whose research is already obsolete? Perhaps he should have realized "Oh! They've released tiny little PDAs which outclass and unman my device. Perhaps I should switch gears and change with the times!" These people have just kept doggedly pursuing an idea which is already dead, and you claim fatuously that I'm just "an uninformed nincompoop". God, whatta maroon. What a pidgeon you are.
Don't know if I would "wear" computing (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Don't know if I would "wear" computing (Score:5, Interesting)
On the other hand, as computers get smaller and cheaper, eventually the kind of functionality people would want embedded into their clothing could be put into tons of different things.
Think RFID tags -- when the price gets low enough, why not embed it into everything? All you would need is a central repository which you could snap into place, or have your shirt/jacket/sarong/whatever pick up the info wirelessly.
Combine this with "paper" displays and you might eventually be able to check your schedule on your shirt sleeve, update it, and wirelessly transmit the changes to a server where it gets distributed to people who have subscribed to your calendar.
Presently, you're right. It's far too bulky to be considered for anyone but die-hard geeks. Similar to someone hundreds of years ago considering lugging around a grandfather clock on their wrist. Or thinking of carrying a phone in your pocket thirty years ago. Eventually, it becomes cheap enough and small enough where it makes sense.
Re:Don't know if I would "wear" computing (Score:1)
Re:Don't know if I would "wear" computing (Score:1)
Storing data in your cloathes is not very practical. 'Damn, left my pr0n on my jacket and my mom is washing it right now.' Jewelery is more fitted for this. A watch with hard disk and bluetooth connection for example, or a necklace.
There are other applications that can be very fun, although not immediatly practical. Combine electronic ink and T-shirt. You get a T-shirt that can change it's print and
Would you want this? (Score:2)
I'd prefer a lot of computing power in my cell phone, a display integrated into my glasses and interaction via voice commands (think headset) or a wristband keypad.
Thoughts?
Re:Would you want this? (Score:2)
I'm not going to even start getting excited until materials technology reaches the point where the processsor and display elements can actually be woven into the fabric of the garment. Animated T-shirt designs would be cool. Being able to write notes directly onto my trousers and having OCR software trans
Re:Would you want this? (Score:5, Insightful)
what you want is EXACTLY a wearable computer. just make the "cellphone" a black box with no buttons or silly microphone + speaker, oh and give it a decent processor, ram, storage, etc...
nahh give me a wearable computer with a cellphone attachment.. think pcmcia card here...
90% of the hardware you see is power and battery management. and that is the biggest problem. batteries today are a complete and utter joke compared to everything else... almost no power and life for a gigantic size.
wearable computing is very cool, I used to be faster at typing on my handykey twiddler one handed keyboard than a regular keyboard. do I still do the wearable computing thing??? nope. but I'm not in college anymore with thousands of hours to spend on my projects (or get credit and funding for my projects!)
but wearable computing is going that way... It's that you call it a cellphone and think of the phone as the central piece where as the "phone" really is a small accessory to the main computer.
the thing holding it back is dirt cheap bluetooth and batteries that dont royally suck.
Re:Would you want this? (Score:2)
You seem to have missed my point. I would like to have all the necessary technology integrated into my cellphone, as it's always with me. The dialing bit can naturally be handled by a heaset solution, my phone can do that already.
It's that you call it a cellp
Re:Would you want this? (Score:2)
this is the point....
you have to touch your pda to use it... pda's are a kludge..
either you can retrieve info from the wearable via voice commands and voice response (reading a memo to you, a light ding and a "dentist appointment in 20 minutes at 2 pm") or the heads u
Good-bye pocket protectors... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: Good-bye pocket protectors... (Score:5, Funny)
> Because nothing says, "Please kick my ass," quite like wearing your computer.
Mithril Robe of *Geekiness* [2,-25]. +1 to intelligence, -5 to charisma. Aggravates nearby jocks and cheerleaders; provides immunity against getting laid. Activates every 50+d50 turns for spellchecking. This item is heavily cursed. If warn while riding a Segway, may polymorph your character into a dork.
Re: Good-bye pocket protectors... (Score:2, Funny)
Re: Good-bye pocket protectors... (Score:1)
> I stand corrected.
You have to wonder about the market for Geek Warez that even Slashdotters ridicule.
I wonder if they'll market it with an "As laughed at on Slashdot!" tag line.
Re: Good-bye pocket protectors... (Score:3, Funny)
Is strongly affected by the Slashdot Blog of Poseur. When in melee range of the Blog, the spellcheck function must make a saving throw against Posion, or be affected. Effects: spellcheck is activated every 1+1d6 turns. Blog will cause egregious spelling and grammar errors. Every 4+2d4 rounds it will cause the massive duplication of what has gone before, lasting 3 turns.
Re: Good-bye pocket protectors... (Score:2)
"Well my friend, this is Mithril"
"What is Mithril?"
"Mithril is a magical metal alloy created by the elves of Middle Earth.........hey, why are you picking up that bat? AAAAARRGHHH!!!!! HELP HELP!!!! DON"T HURT ME!!!!!"
I concur (Score:1)
lingerie (Score:2, Funny)
Darlng.. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Darlng.. (Score:2, Interesting)
I think you're onto something here. What do you do when your wearable computer starts to stink? You can't put it in the washing machine. I doubt it's dry-cleanable...
Re:Darlng.. (Score:2)
Standard unfunny gag. (Score:2, Funny)
I'm so funny.
Another target for the MPAA,... (Score:2)
Re:Another target for the MPAA,... (Score:1)
More like Star Wars than LOTR (Score:3, Funny)
As for its potential street cred, I don't think the combination of bare computer hardware, Linux and a Tolkien-derived name will see you having to beat off the hotties with a shitty stick ;-)
Re:More like Star Wars than LOTR (Score:2)
Well, the beating off will still apply just as much as before.
Shoplifters! (Score:2, Interesting)
Have anyone of you thought of going into music store, asking if you could test if a cd played properly in your "portable cd-player" (external cd-rom drive connected to the laptop in his backpack..) and rip it while chatting away with salesman how RIAA is doing the right thing and how you at least support them all the way.. heh heh
Locutus (Score:1, Funny)
Not as good as the real thing. (Score:2)
Looking forward to the Wireless version... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Looking forward to the Wireless version... (Score:2)
Re:Looking forward to the Wireless version... (Score:1)
MIT's dumb idea?? (Score:4, Interesting)
This area of technology is already being targeted at consumers [usatoday.com]. Try to have a little imagination and realize how powerful this technology could be. For example, what if you had a little speech translator that fit in your ear, recognized nearby spoken speech in foreign languages, traslated it to your language, and used a voice synthesizer to repeat it back to you in your native tongue. Just wait a few years and you'll be saying "damn, I need one of those".
Re:MIT's dumb idea?? (Score:2)
Why, yes, a speech translator such as you describe *would* be useful. If I had one, I would be sure to avoid inextricably attaching it to an item of apparel.
I would like to propose a hypothesis:
"The usefulness of any already-useful electronic tool N is drastically reduced by sewing N into the lining of your damn jacket."
What is the deal with "wearable"...? (Score:2)
Or how about a tiny HUD in my specs, combined with a camera and face recognition to display people's names over their heads so I don't have to remember them? I'd buy one of them!
But please don't
Re:What is the deal with "wearable"...? (Score:1)
I agree there's definitely some issues with the buzzword surrounding this technology. What a pointless adjective: it's on your body, you're wearing it, we get it.
Ironically, half of CMU's "wearable" computing projects [cmu.edu] don't even appear to be wearable!! Start with the TIA-P link and you'll see what I m
Re:What is the deal with "wearable"...? (Score:2)
You're forgetting that there can be special purpose devices like there is special purpose clothing:
A mechanic might be able to purchase overalls that come with a built in On Board Diagnostics interface with a screen on the sleeve. Or as others have noted, his glasses might project repair manuals that the computer built into his clothing is accessing through the shop's network.
Mountaineer
Re:MIT's dumb idea?? (Score:2)
Why don't you just put a fish in your ear?
Practical Applications... (Score:1)
Re: Targeting Systems (Score:2)
Actually, I've been wanting a 'SmartLink' for some time. IIRC, I picked that term up from a cyberpunk RPG.
Think about it, a position sensor on your weapon and a stereo HMD connected through a small processor. Wherever you point at a target, a dot is superimposed over reality via the HMD and you can tell where the slug will hit.
You could even have the computer calculate drop, drift, and estimated inaccuracy due to an unsteady grip. Of course, those last three don't apply if you're using a TBW which is s
Re: Targeting Systems (Score:1)
Re: Targeting Systems (Score:2)
Hi! (Score:1, Interesting)
Useful clothing technology... (Score:2, Interesting)
Make clothing that dries itself.
Make clothing that automatically reacts to the weather etc.
But putting a computer in your clothing, just doesn't make sense!
Technology should be intelligent, useable, and not make you look like a freak while using it (Bluetooth wireless headsets come to mind).
Alec Guinness disagrees (Score:2)
My point being, if someone does get to those qualities you're talking about, hey, the computer's going to be the part that goes obsolete every two years, or that fries in the rain, causing you to run out and buy a new outfit at the outlet
Sorry! (Score:2, Funny)
MIThril vest is more like it, I'd say (Score:2, Funny)
Clearly simoniker is not a dedicated follower of fashion. A search of the MIThril page shows that the word jacket is never used. Most probably this is because it is a vest .
For it to catch on it needs (Score:2, Insightful)
What's Wrong With This Project (Score:2, Insightful)
Aside from the display goggles, it doesn't look like there is nothing particularly cutting edge about the hardware. If you can do something interesting with a 25-pound PC strapped to your back an
Re:What's Wrong With This Project (Score:1, Insightful)
Go one step further and "start recording from 10 seconds ago".
Imagine the possibilities of having ever
Pay me how much? (Score:1)
On second thought, I guess it would stop all those sex-hungry girls from chasing me around.
But will it stop a spear from an ogre? (Score:1)
Leave it to MIT... (Score:1)
Where does the "geekness" stop? (Score:1)
Why does technology ALWAYS have to get smaller? I NEED a cell phone that can reach at least halfway between my ear and my mouth. Anything smaller and I will look like I am having a seizure when I am talking on the phone.
everynow and then I also like NOT looking like a geek.
Re:Where does the "geekness" stop? (Score:2)
How about glasses that displays relivant facts while havne a conversation?
ME not THRILled (Score:2)
We can already wear computers (Palm devices) and we do not need any wires bewteen it and other component such as network access devices (GSM Phone) thank's to Bluetooth.
The only thing that may be missing is lightweight glasses with a display (something that look like a glass) that connect without wires to the computer and maybe some input device (voice would be nice and already exists with bluetooth headset. We just miss the v
Funny (Score:1)
For those bitching about the unwieldlyness (Score:2)
HUD (Score:2)
This kind of interface is a prerequisite IMO for me wearing any kind of computer.
Re:HUD (Score:1)
anyone know anything about the landwarior system that the military uses? they have a wearable computer for that that is smaller than a portable cd player, has GPS built in, runs a
Oh, great. (Score:2)
"ZAP!" "You bastard! I just bought that RAM!"
Here's a pretty geek-skin to wrap a borg drone in (Score:2)
Re:Trilogy? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Trilogy? (Score:1)
(It's just not terribly important
Re:Trilogy? (Score:1, Informative)
A trilogy is composed of three independent stories that are related, try giving someone who hasn't read any Tolkien books the second volume (The Two Towers), see if he understands anything at all... specially considering books 3 and 4 (lotr is divided in 6 bo
Re:Trilogy? (Score:1)
okay I have had my geek quotien for the morning I am good till noon
Re:Trilogy? (Score:2)
Re:fp (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:I wonder... (Score:1)
RIAA take note (Score:1)
Pry them from his cold, dead spincter.
Re:Great! (Score:1)