The future: thanks to wearable computing technologies - disabled people will be able to walk

Eyal Verdi, Chairman of the Wearable Computing Forum, at the Community Day events: "Wearable computing systems already exist - what is missing is only integration. This is a new world of opportunities, when it is likely that the source of the invention in the field of "the news" will be from Israel" 

Yossi the Tony, DailyMaily system, people and computers | Photo: Niv Kantor

Eil Verdi, chairman of the Israeli forum for wearable computing

At a joint event for the 15 clubs of the People and Computers group held on February 15, 2007, one of the lectures dealt with wearable computing.

"We overcome the reality we live in with the help of technology," said Eyal Verdi, chairman of the Israeli Forum for Wearable Computing, at the opening of the plenary session. "Through wearable computing systems, it is possible to enrich the way students learn and make the learning experience at school richer, refreshing and enlightening."

Verdi described to the members of the community how with the help of visualization systems, the students can be taken and let them feel as if they are at the mouth of a volcano, for example. He said that the day is not far when students will not learn from books at all, because the emphasis will be on experiential learning, based on games. According to him, this form of learning succeeds in conveying the learning content in a more effective way, compared to traditional learning.

According to Vardi, the emphasis in the systems is not on the technology, but on the applications developed with their help. Thus, he said, with the help of those imaging systems - which are part of wearable computing systems - it is possible to return to the basics, meaning to avoid the dangers that exist in the real world, and still teach the children in an experiential, challenging and intriguing way. "Thanks to the wearable computing systems, it is possible to know more - and more easily", he said.

Vardi, who defines himself as a "dream engineer", drew a picture of the present and the future in the field of wearable computing. According to him, apparently ordinary items of clothing, such as a shirt, pants and glasses, which will be marketed in the coming years, will integrate the personal computer, the home theater with the giant screen, the Internet, the scanner, the mobile phone and the music systems. He pointed out that all the different computing devices will be carried on the body in an easy way, and gave some examples that are already happening today.

One of the examples, developed in Israel by scientists from the Technion, he said, is of a system that allows disabled people with walking difficulties to walk better. Another example, he noted, is that of a car mechanic who comes to repair the car's engine with repair instructions projected on a hairy screen in his glasses, or a lecturer who projects data about the audience on his glasses, data transferred upon entering the lecture hall with the help of RFID.

Update books in real time
"The future is closer than we think," said Vardi. "The situation in which we are unable to update books with information in real time is an intolerable situation." Thus, he said, the day will not be far when there will be "smart textiles", with the help of advanced technology, which will allow the introduction of electronics into textiles. Thus, if we want to go out for lunch, we will look at the map projected on the lapel of the garment, and see with a combination of geographic information systems, which is the closest restaurant to where we are.

Other examples, according to him, are the introduction by the Honda car company of an operation and training system for car mechanics, which is worn on top of a monitor on the sleeve of the garment. The system, he said, resulted in a 37% saving of the mechanics' working time. Another example, he noted, is within the framework of the IDF (Digital Land Army) project, according to which the soldiers on the battlefield will be armed with many digital means that will assist them in combat. He said that many of the wearable computing technologies are the result of development and production in Israel, and added that the development of this field is unusual in the world of computing: "To this day, all developments in civilian computing are the result of things that were developed 10-20 years earlier in the security-military world, while in the field of wearable computing , there are products that are already in use by consumers, and NASA still does not recognize them."

According to him, the world's awareness of the subject of wearable computing has increased, and for example, four European companies invest in funding research on the subject, a sum of one billion euros. The founder and CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, also noted, he is interested in the subject and the ability to promote it. Due to projects like this, said Verdi, "I am sure that the revolution will come".

He concluded by noting that "the day will not be far when we get rid of the keyboard - it will become an unnecessary invention. The systems already exist, what is missing is only integration. This is a new world of opportunities. The public is thirsty for the subject. I don't know what the most important development in the world will appear in the field, but I have a reasonable basis to assume that the origin of the invention in "A He-Kiddo" will be from Israel.

This is how we build a computer and learn how to do it
Prof. Shimon Shoken, former dean of Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, described to the participants a course he developed over seven years. The course describes how to build a computer. The reason for this is the increasing complexity in the world of computing, which makes the development one that is done in a complicated environment, with lots of "black boxes". The advantage in the technological situation today, noted Prof. Shoken, is "the ability to do fantastic things, shorten the time to reach the market, and bring customer satisfaction." On the other hand, Sage, there are also disadvantages: "There are many chaotic places, you can't see the forest for most of the trees, and a situation of embarrassment and confusion is created."

The computer, according to him, will be an integral part of the accessories that surround our bodies. The future will free us from the keyboard, which according to Vardy is an invention of the last century. The future accessories will turn the glasses we usually wear into computers for everything, with which we can get an answer to almost any question that intrigues us. And the computers, they will be a matter of fashion, because they are also worn, similar to nanotechnology suits. What prevents the break into the modeling tracks, is the fact that currently, technology makes it possible to produce a certain type of computer clothing, which does not really excite the eye.

Assembling computers and wearing them, just as computers and information systems nowadays are the tools, the mediators through which we will determine our way of life in the not too distant future. Through them we will decide how we do better business, and in general, according to Vardi, the new, wearable computers are the ones that will take us back one step, before the computer age, to a reality known only to the adults among us. This is a reality where a library is not a code name for storage space on a computer, and a computer game doesn't have to be just next to the computer at home, and to know how to get to a certain street - you don't even have to call, ask or browse.

A suitable accessory by your hand, or your eyes, will show you the way. The wearable computers will completely blur the distance between reality and imagination, and will allow the younger generations to bring these two fields together effortlessly.
Prof. Shimon Shoken, former dean of Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya
The remedy for this, he noted, is the aforementioned course, in which he teaches how to build a computer at four levels: hardware, software, algorithmics and systems. He demonstrated how this is done, and what tools are required to be used, in order to realize the construction of the computer. Thus, Shoken said, "a situation of a sort of return to the origins is created, except that it is done in a deluxe style."

According to Shokan, the course was successful, and in recent years about 2,000 students have studied it. He concluded by noting that "the complexity is increasing, it is necessary to plan the steps in order to succeed, and to act one step at a time. The computer only costs $40, but despite that, I don't think it has a business future."