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Forms of Wearable Computer”, S Copyright Notice IET This paper is a postprint of a paper submitted to and accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the IEE Eurowearable 2003 Conference, and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is available at the IET Digital Library. “Forms of wearable computer”, S. I. Woolley, J. W. Cross, S. Ro, R. Foster, G. Reynolds, C. Baber, H. Bristow and A. Schwirtz, IEE Eurowearable 2003 Conference, September 2003. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/ic:20030146 A revised version of this paper was also published in Electronics Systems and Software, also subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is also available at the IET Digital Library. "Count three for wearable computers", Sandra Woolley, James Cross, Soonghwan Ro, Rob Foster, Greg Reynolds et al., Electronics Systems and Software, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 34 – 38, February 2004 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/ess:20040106 FORMS OF WEARABLE COMPUTER S. I. Woolley, J. W. Cross, S. Ro, R. Foster, G. Reynolds, C. Baber, H. Bristow, A. Schwirtz Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Birmingham, U.K. ABSTRACT He suggested that, in the future, rooms might contain more than 100 tab-like computers, 10 or 20 This paper introduces the microprocessor, tabs and 1 or 2 boards, observing that "Hundreds communicating and sensing technologies relevant of computers in a room could seem intimidating at to wearable computing. It reviews the trends and first, just as hundreds of volts coursing through challenges that form part of the evolution of wires in the walls once did." Since then his vision computer technology, from a computer filling a of so many embedded computer systems appears room to a room full of invisible computers. to be correct, with many systems throughout the home now being microprocessor-controlled, even Not all wearable computing systems require the down to the toaster. same level of computing performance or functionality. A Processor Performance and He also anticipated the evolution of terabyte Flexibility of Function (PPaFF) scale is introduced storage solutions and the development of more to classify wearable computing systems and is compact "micro-kernel" operating systems running related to the prototypes described in Weiser’s software that could be readily added and removed. vision of the 21st century computer. Considering wireless technologies, he observed that "Present technologies would require a mobile 1. INTRODUCTION device to have three different network connections: tiny-range wireless, long-range wireless and very 1.1. Wesier's 21st Century Computer high speed wired. A single kind of network connection that can somehow serve all three The late Mark Weiser, a chief technology officer at functions has yet to be invented." Again, we have Xerox's Palo Alto Research Centre, first coined the seen much development here also, with the term 'ubiquitous computing' in 1988 to describe his development of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless vision of a future when invisible computers, solutions. embedded into everyday objects, would replace PCs. His ideas were summarised in a Scientific 2. MICROPROCESSOR EVOLUTION American article, "The Computer for the 21st Century" (1). The recent first issue of the new IEEE Achieving Weiser’s vision of invisibly embedded Pervasive Computing Magazine (2) was dedicated computers relies on the continuing evolution of to the late Mark Weiser and the vision he reported microprocessor technology, as well as power in Scientific American. management and wireless networking solutions. Weiser envisioned ubiquitous computers of different sizes, suited to different tasks. He described three sizes of laboratory prototypes, which he called tabs, pads and boards and described as active versions of equivalent-sized conventional media: • tabs: post-it scale; • pads: paper or book scale; • boards: blackboard scale; The tab prototype was a kind of active badge with calendar and diary functionality. The pad was described as analogous to scrap paper for the swappable manipulation of desk objects or projects. A board could be an active bookcase for Figure 1: ENIAC, an early room-filling, 30 ton, 140 documents or videos in the office or at home. kilowatt computer at the University of Pennsylvania. Colossus, the world's first computer, was secretly bag in the form of laptops and tablet PCs, and into built during WWII for the purpose of cracking the pocket in the form of PDAs (personal digital encrypted military signals. It was soon followed by assistants) and mobile telephones. Mark I (or "Baby") at Manchester University, U.K. and ENIAC (the 'Electronic Numerical Integrator Making pocket-sized computing and and Computer') at the University of Pennsylvania, communicating systems has required significant U.S.A. improvements in both processor performance and power management whilst battery technologies With a monumental reduction in size, weight and have also been steadily increasing. power consumption, computing power approximately equivalent to ENIAC was realised 2.2 Embedded Microprocessor Intelligence by the world's first microprocessor. As well as the evolution of microprocessors and Founded in 1968, Intel began as a tiny start-up systems for general-purpose computing, two company in Santa Clara, U.S.A., with ambitions to important processor variants also evolved in sell electronic memory products. With little design parallel: experience, the company decided to meet a 1970 order from the Japanese calculator company, • Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) - processors Busicom, with a general-purpose processing specifically designed for efficient execution of solution. This resulted in the Intel 4004, the world's the mathematical operations required of signal first microprocessor; a 4-bit general-purpose processing (e.g., audio and video coding); silicon computing chip with approximately the same performance as ENIAC. • Microcontrollers - compact, rugged-ised, low- power processors designed to be embedded Intel’s processing evolution continued and in 1981, into systems for control applications (e.g., IBM selected the Intel 8088 for their new desktop automotive control). PC computer. In 1986 Intel provided their first 32- bit variant the 80386 and later the Pentium in In engineering terminology, an embedded system 1993. is any system or everyday object that has embedded processor intelligence for purposes The observation made by Intel founder, Gordon other than general purpose computing. Moore, that computing capacity doubled approximately every 2 years, is now well-known as Ubiquitous or pervasive computing systems can "Moore's Law" and has held true for some 30 years therefore be classed as embedded systems, with (3). wearable systems being a special subset where the embedded object is the wearer. 2.1 Portable and Mobile Computing The embedded systems market has grown rapidly Room-filling in recent years with efficient, low-power 8-, 16- and computers even 32-bit microcontrollers being embedded in ENIAC ever larger numbers, in cars and modern electrical appliances for the home. They are also increasingly found in a wide range of personal Invisible electronic consumer goods and gadgets (for computers Desk-filling example, watches and interactive toys). computers ubiquitous, ambient and wearable 3. AMBIENT AND CONTEXT-AWARE Pocket-filling PCs computer systems COMPUTING computers PDAs and mobile phones Ambient and context-aware computing are active research areas relevant to the realisation of Bag-filling computers invisible ubiquitous computers. Both require embedded intelligence from the use of multiple, co- laptop computers operating wireless sensing units, and can perhaps be distinguished by the flow direction of sensing Figure 2: The evolutionary process from computers intelligence: filling a room to a room full of invisible computers. • Ambient intelligence - sensing intelligence is As shown in Figure 2, the evolution of computer embedded into the environment; technology has produced portable and mobile devices, taking the computer from the desk into the • Context-awareness - sensing intelligence is TABLE 1 - Working groups of the IEEE 802 extracted from the surrounding environment Standards Committee. (The groups of interest are (and objects within it). shown in bold.) 3.1 Sensors And Sensing Active IEEE 802 Local and Metropolitan Area Whether the technology is ambient intelligent or a Network Working Groups context aware, both require the ability to sense their surroundings. 802.1 Higher Layer LAN Protocols 802.3 Ethernet Activity sensors such as accelerometers and 802.11 Wireless Local Area Network gyroscopes detect force and rotation that makes 802.15 Wireless Personal Area Network them useful for sensing movement and inferring 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access activity types. 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring 802.18 Radio Regulatory TAG Location sensors such as GPS (Global Positioning 802.19 Coexistence TAG System) can provide outdoor position within 802.20 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access metres by triangulating signals from satellites. Locally and indoors, more accurate positioning can be achieved by a variety of sensing arrays. Activity Working group '11' (802.11) is responsible for the sensors can also be used to estimate location. increasingly popular "Wi-Fi" standard IEEE 802.11b and, more recently, 802.11g, which has a Bio-sensors can measure heart rate, pulse, much higher data rate of 54Mbps (compared with temperature and blood pressure and can
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