More notes on wearable/ubiquitus computing

I figured I'll post a few of my notes on wearables... Yes, I've done similar things before, but this one is a lot more of a free-form stream of consciousness:

• Everything is going to the Cell/Smart phone - look at the iPhone. How much is the design really different from something like, say... the original Palm? It's still a block you carry till you need it, then whip it out and fiddle in your hands or like a cell phone, put it to your ear, looking like an idiot.
• Display tech hasn't really gone anywhere - What do we have today? Still the same old flat LCD on a block.
• CPU tech has skyrocketed but the applications have stayed the same - cruft has crept in making even the fastest hand-portable systems still just glorified PIM devices.
• Graphics now are prettier. That's a good thing, I guess.
• GPS has come of age finally - as have cell coverage and WAN internet such as GPRS.
• Battery life - Despite all kinds of new battery tech most portable devices other than basic cell phones still only carry 6-8 hours of life between recharges if you're lucky.

What SHOULD we have?

• HMD - Head-mounted display. These haven't changed in over 10 years. Not the resolution, not the price, not even the clunky, ugly look of them. Today you can still get a QVGA (320x240 pixel) display for a few hundred bucks. Some have gotten smaller, like the i-theater, but what good is it if you can't see outside the display? Or you could get something that only covers one eye... but what about something you can see through? Still several thousand dollars if you can find one.
• UI - The user interface is still mired in the desktop. Even the i-Phone is still just a mini-dekstop. We need a UI that functions ubiquitously as a reality overlay or heads-up-display.
• Input Devices - Again mired in the desktop. Whether it is a pen-based or touch screen or whatever, all you see today are inputs that mimic an old 2-d desktop. Chorded keyboards like the Twiddler have way too high of a learning curve for the average user.

Here's what I propose:

• Display: This needs the most work. We need a display that is affordable but also has stereoscopic capability and variable translucency at 800x600 resolution in each eye. This display needs to cost UNDER $200 in order for it to be feasible to the general populous and also it HAS to be unobtrusive and aesthetically pleasing. Here's one idea of how it might work: Another idea (from three years ago) is here and here. A company (now bought out) was even working on a bluetooth HMD which I still think was THE best design EVER for a wearable. Bluetooth allows you to mount the computer's main housing on a belt or in a bag, leaving your head free to move around.
• UI: The home screen in the Palm OS version 5 that came with the (alas... defunct) Tapwave Zodiac was a brilliant idea. You had a main area of 8 choices which could be accessed either by tapping on them or via the 8-way hat or joystick. This simplified input to a minimum of only a joystick which had a push-in select function. Substitute that with an "eraser mouse" as found in some laptops and a select button. Put this hardware into something like a key fob. Make the fob a little bigger and have it open like a clamshell to reveal a mini keyboard.
• Add Voice I/O - Many cell phones allow voice dialing. With the memory and processing power of a palm top today, you should have no problem adding limited voice input to a wearable computer - Limit it to commands, key functions, and maybe a few phrases. Expand it as technology progresses. Voice output should be able to do things like read basic text and give answers to questions like "what road am I on?" or "What time is it?".
• Combine Cell phone, cell phone based WAN, Wifi, and bluetooth - and have the device choose the best connection based on what is available.
• Battery life - 16 hours MINIMUM. Hot-swappable battery, and car charger.
• Applications: PIM, Cellphone, document reader, mapping/navigation, reality augmentation (navigation/informational overlay), SMS, IM, chat (IRC), email, etc. Add a camera and image viewing/save/send, facial recognition, etc.

These things are really not that impossible. 90% of the tech has been around for over a decade.

It's 2007. Where are my flying car and smart home? Can't we at least make ourselves a nice wearable computer by now? No, wearables are still pidgin-holed into a niche market that can afford to pay for the R&D costs. Companies who have tried for a larger market in the past have all failed to win over the consumer. Like fully immersive virtual reality, the wearable computer still remains a relic of the dotcom era cyberpunk dream. Also like VR, the tools we need are now right here at our fingertips if only we would use them.

I can foresee a coming time of another period of excitement. The computing field has not had any really exciting developments in a long time now. No company has has the balls to go out on a limb, with the possible and partial exception of Google, who has the clout to fund their labs...

We have, since the bubble burst, been restricting ourselves to the known. No risks have been taken. Web2.0? Nothing new. Just grease on the old cogs of Web1.0. You want innovation? Make it 3d. Make it truly multimedia. Dispense with the KVM of yesteryear and find a better interface. Multi-touch screens are a step in the right direction - just not on a tiny little iPhone. Jeff Han's drafting table design I think is definitely a move in the right direction for desktops. I wonder what we could do like that for mobile devices?