e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

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Duke University
Information Technology Advisory Council
Minutes
March 9, 2000
Attending: Pakis Bessias, John Board, Kevin Cheung, Ken Hirsh, David Ferriero,Diane Reynolds, Patrick Halpin, Alfred Trozzo, Donna Hewitt, David Jamieson-Drake, Ken Knoerr, Roger Loyd, Melissa Mills, Caroline Nisbet, John Oates, Lynne O'Brien,Mike Pickett, Rafael Rodriguez, Robert Wolpert; Guests: Bob Currier (OIT), Rob Carter (OIT), Debbie DeYulia (OIT), Kathy Pfeiffer (SISS Project), Donna Giles (Graduate School and SISS Project), Chris Meyer (OIT and SISS Project), David Kirby

Review of Minutes and Announcements:
Roger Loyd requested that the spelling of his name be corrected in the minutes.
WEARABLE COMPUTING DEMO
John Board led this very interesting demo/discussion. IBM may market a wearable computer in a year, but can purchase today from other vendors. John's model is a Win98 pc, 640/480 screen resolution with screen about 3 inches in front of eyes, wireless 11mb network connection, Duke web site is up along with stock ticker. Designed for field maintenance, but company has thought through some consumer related issues. Looks too industrialtoday, but everything is here: keyboard on wrist, uses IBM ViaVoice to issues commands to a win pc,e.g., 'Open, Program, Windows Explorer' works reliably. Wireless range is about 100 ft, costs about $1k per transmitter so already fairly cost effective to cover a wide range. John was sure the Mac version would be prettier and more coloful. Ken Knoerr referenced a wearable TV; David Kirby has one of these too. David went on to say that wearbable computers can speed care and lower error rates in patient care environment so MC is exploring that. Patients expect medical staff to wear weird stuff.
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A version of the IBM wearable is also being tested by doctors on their rounds at Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C. The big difference between the unit being tested by GE and this unit is that the Duke unit has a wireless modem PC card plugged into a standard expansion slot. The doctors can read e-mail, access patients' charts, and receive diagnostic reports wirelessly and more conveniently than they could if they had to tote around a notebook PC. Primary input is by voice, with the microphone supported by the headband.
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Xybernaut's industry partners IBM and Texas Instruments, and customers alike said that the MA4-TC represents the next major phase in computing, leaps ahead of today's PDAs (personal digital assistants). Weighing in at just under 900 grams and the size of a clock radio, the MA4-TC, is powered by a 400MHz Intel Pentium III processor and memory configuration that can be removed from the system by way of a TC (transferable core) that can be inserted into another mobile device or even a PC or network docking station.
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Some of the current drawbacks to wearable PCs' comfort and compactness will most probably be resolved by technologies already in the pipeline. Bluetooth and other wireless protocols should eliminate the inconvenient, and even hazardous, dangling cables between the CPU and the microphone, keyboard, head-mounted display, and other peripherals. They should also provide low-power, high-bandwidth access to the Internet. Already voice-activated, Xybernaut will add a wireless, Bluetooth-linked headset, speech-recognition technology from Dallas-based Texas Instruments, and a foreign-language translator to the device over the next two years.
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The IBM Wearable PC


The IBM® Wearable PC is a direct response to the following challenge: How small and how mobile can you make a PC without giving up any functionality? Quite small is the answer from IBM. In fact, the central processing unit (CPU) of this fully functional PC, which clips onto your belt, is about the size of a paperback book and weighs less than a pound. Its monitor, about the size of a pen cap, rests about an inch from the eye and is held in place with a headband. This configuration gives the user the illusion of reading a 14-inch screen at normal viewing distances. Only in this case, the monitor appears to be floating in front its users, following them even when they turn their heads.

Primary interaction with the Wearable PC is through voice or specialised pointing devices. The Wearable PC talks back via a speaker that's also built into the monitor, and comes with an eraser-sized mouse that works like a joystick. Because the Wearable PC is a fully functional PC, those longing for convention can plug it into a standard a desktop monitor, keyboard and printer.

As part of its Edge of Network (EoN) effort, IBM has begun unveiling products, technology, and alliances to push broadband, communications, processing, network software, and pervasive computing to the next level. IBM's Wearable PC is a proof point for that effort, delivering solutions to end users that greatly enhance connectivity. Providing untethered, easy-to-access information that is always on and always available, the IBM Wearable PC is a personal computing device that complements the active lifestyle of its end users.

Advantages

Extremely lightweight and portable
Users can perform desktop-quality computing tasks - including word processing, spreadsheet calculations and Web browsing - anytime and anywhere they choose.
The Wearable PC's voice-interactive design makes it especially practical for professionals who need mobile access to large amounts of data, while keeping their hands free for non-computing tasks.
These include surgeons, construction site supervisors, architects, utility plant technicians, aircraft maintenance workers and the physically challenged.
Technical Details

The Wearable PC is currently about as powerful as an IBM ThinkPad® 560X notebook computer, packing a Pentium-class chip that runs at 233 MHz. To save space, some of the components have been reduced in size and some of the connectors have been eliminated. The device has 64 MB of system disk space. Additional IBM MicroDrive disks or other compact flash devices can be attached via the CF2+ slot. PCMCIA adapters like wireless radios can be installed in an additional plug-in module. It can accommodate a satellite-driven Global Positioning System (GPS), which allows the computer to locate its position on Earth and display maps for directional guidance.

Availability

The Wearable PC is still in a prototype stage. Nearly 100 Wearable PCs have been produced, many of them going to IBM customers in a variety of fields for extensive field-testing. Feedback from these trials will have a major impact on future designs.

Why IBM?

The Wearable PC illustrates how IBM is focused on driving the changes in computing and producing long-term and short-term results in areas that impact IBM's core businesses/customers. Rather than simply testing its ideas in a lab, IBM incorporates real-world customer experience with its innovations (a "live lab" scenario). IBM creates "design concepts" like these to illustrate what is possible, test the marketplace, expand the thinking of product planners, influence the allocation of research funds, and demonstrate commitment to innovative, human-oriented products.
http://www.pc.ibm.com/europe/pcnews/ibm_wearable_pc.html
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The new IBM/TI MA V version under the xybernaut brand is expected to be out around this June.