Agenda

In today’s lecture we will discuss the implications of “Computing as Material” and readings on wearable computing. For today’s class, please read/watch the following articles and videos:

• Starner2001a: The Challenges of Wearable Computing: Part 1. IEEE Micro. Volume 21. Issue 4. 2001.
• Starner2001b: The Challenges of Wearable Computing: Part 2. IEEE Micro. Volume 21. Issue 4. 2001.
• SignAloudNews: SignAloud News Release
• SignAloudDemo: SignAloud Gloves Demo

Note: The Starner articles are aimed at a techical audience. However you should focus on the broader issues around: power use, heat disappation, networking, and privacy.

After the discussion, we will engage in team building exercises to prepare you for the final project.

Get ready

Read the articles and prepare for the discuss by completing the questions below. Fill out your responses in a document called WearableDiscussion and place the document in your Googel Drive folder.

Questions for Starner2001a:

• Do you personally wear or use any wearable computer? If so, what/why do you wear them? If not, what are your barrier/reasons for not using one?

• On page 46 of Starner2001a, the author describes several ideal attributes for wearables including: persistent access to information services, sense and model context, adapt interactions based upon the user’s context, and augment/mediate interactions with the user’s environment. For each of these properties, identify a wearable product or interaction that supports that attribute and describe how it does. If that attribute is not met, describe why not.

• Read the short scenario described on page 48 about a user buying jeans. Consider the privacy and security of information in this scenario. How is that similar to the assumptions of privacy and security in the Weiser articles? Also, if this were a modern scenario, who/what would hold this information?

• Starner describes “Power Use” and “Heat Dissipation” as one challenge in wearable computing. With your own personal devices are “Power Use” and “Heat Dissipation” challenges for you? How do you address/overcome these issues?

Questions for Starner2001a:

• Consider the issue of privacy and wearable devices. For a typical smart phone, it knows your contacts, location, and the names of nearby devices at all times. Combined with that, if you are wearing a heart rate monitor, it knows your biological reactions. What are you concerns about privacy with respect to wearable computing? Are they more or less concerning that with a ubiquitous system (one that is not worn but always present).

• Five approaches to protecting privacy are described: physical, technological, legislative, social, and obscuring. If you had to safe guard your most important information via one of these methods, which one would you choose?

• What application(s) of wearable computing do you believe can be most compelling and life-changing for you as an individual?

Questions for SignAloud:

• What are your thoughts on this application? Do you find it neat, interesting, boring…etc.?

• Do you believe the source for the article is credible (meaning it is generally factual)? Do you believe that the article is un-biased? (meaning that it present a position/argument evenly)

• What other applications of gesture recognition do you believe can be important? What about potential impacts to increase safety?

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