By 2010, solutions in the field of wearable computing will become common in a variety of critical work environments"

This is the vision of a project managerWearIt@Work, which initiates and finances applied research in the field of wearable computing, as presented at the fourth conference of the International Forum for Wearable Computing held last week at IBM ● According to the director, the wearable computing market will remain a niche market, but will be worth billions

Yoram Bar-Sela, product development and marketing consultant and marketing lecturer at Shenkar College
 
The fourth conference of the International Forum for Wearable Computing held last week at the IBM House in Petah Tikva with the participation of about 100 researchers and academics, focused on the research project WearIt@Work of the European Union. According to the manager WearIt@Work, by the year 2010 wearable computing solutions will become common in critical work environments and the wearable computing market will remain a niche market, but will be worth billions. In the project, which began in early 2006 and will last 18 months, about 24 million euros are invested. As part of the project, studies are conducted by academic institutions and research institutions in Europe.

The studies focus on understanding the tasks in which wearable computing may yield a significant improvement in the performance of professionals and enable the performance of tasks that are impossible today. The studies test the effectiveness of innovative interface solutions whose development stems from the unique requirements of demanding work environments such as: fire and rescue services, maintenance and production in the automotive and aviation industries, training and medicine.

computerized survival suit
One of the research teams is testing options for developing a computerized rescue suit for the fire crews in Paris. The main task, according to the project manager, is to assist rescue teams in the event of an attack or an accident in the subway - when it is completely dark and the environmental conditions (heat, smoke, noise and pressure) are unbearable.

One of the critical problems is providing orientation in an unfamiliar environment and maintaining contact between the crew members in an indoor environment where the GPS system does not function. The research team examines the possibilities of using a local communication network, thermal computer vision technologies and traffic simulation systems.

In a study that focuses on the ability of wearable computing solutions to optimize the "doctor's visit" in hospitals, Dr. Edna Pesher & Co. from Israel is participating. "During his morning visit, the doctor is required to visit 20 patients in 20 minutes," said Dr. Edna Pesher. "A documentation system activated by hand movements or speech may optimize the process and prevent malfunctions and errors in treatment."

However, it is difficult for the doctors involved in the project to accept a system that is activated by hand movements. "Hand movements are a very important part of the communication between the doctor and the patient and the medical team. The introduction of artificial movements, for the purpose of activating the system, disrupts the personal relationship with the patient," the doctors claim.

Skoda ingredients - on paper
In a study conducted at the Skoda assembly plant in the Czech Republic, the production workers were tested as they learn an assembly task and repeat it over several working days. The system tracks the movements of the workers while performing the work. In the study, a comparison was made between learning with the help of printed aids, a standard computer monitor and three different models of head display. The speed of learning the task, recall of the task and the amount of mistakes were tested over several working days.

The researchers were surprised to find that the best results were achieved among the group of workers who learned from paper. Less good results were obtained among those who learned from a computer screen and the worst results were among those who used a head-up display.

Amazingly, the workers' preference was for a head-up display system developed by the Zeiss company. The project manager was asked about the explanation for the unexpected results and said that "probably we have not yet learned enough about the tasks in which wearable computing should be handled and the systems used in the studies are still not designed and are not suitable for the task. In any case, the workers were turned on by the Zeiss scope because it is relatively light and compact and its display quality is very high."

The XSens company from the Netherlands was the only one to present a commercial product at the conference. The company's MOVEN system includes small inert sensors worn on the limbs, body and head. The compact sensors are tucked away in the pockets of a sports suit. The MOVEN imaging system receives the body movement data and builds a real-time visualization of the body moving in space on the screen. The system is sold as a whole and is used for XNUMXD animation, training related to sports and movement, health care and biomechanical and ergonomic research. Today, the company also markets GPS-based sensors for applications where the position of the person in space is also significant and not only the changes in postures.