"Hey, Hasn't My Computer Heard You Somewhere Before?"
From: New York Times - 02/13/2003 - page E8
By: Bruce Headlam

Accenture researchers Dana Le and Owen Richter have created a prototype
portable computer that can record conversations, what time they took place,
and the location where they occurred. The device, known as a personal
awareness assistant, could be used to remind users of critical information
gleaned during social interactions - people's names, phone numbers, and so
on--without being too obtrusive, according to Le. The first prototypes
included a wearable computer with Global Positioning System (GPS)
electronics, speech recognition software, an earbud, and two microphones, one
of which records ambient sound in a 30-second loop while the other records
user cues. The device's refinement was largely based on two realizations:
That people are more comfortable carrying cell phone-like devices and earbud
accessories rather than a full computer, and only keeping audio files on the
device allows it to be less intrusive. Richter says his lab created the
personal awareness system to demonstrate future technology to Accenture
customers rather than for commercial gain. The Accenture researchers say the
most obvious application for the device would use the location-stamping
feature, such as to remind wearers to buy products whenever they are near a
grocery store; another would be to enhance collaboration by having one person
feed information to the wearer via the earbud. However, Steve Mann of the
University of Toronto says that many people are uncomfortable wearing
earbuds, and is skeptical that audio information alone is enough to support
collaboration and other activities. Meanwhile, Charmed Technology COO Joe
DeVita muses that the technology's adoption by mainstream users could be
hampered, since recording conversations are often viewed as a violation of
privacy. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/13/technology/circuits/13next.html

Other links:
http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enWeb&xd=services\technology\research\tech_personal_aware.xml&c=januaryhighlights&n=wearablecomputing&t=email
http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20011218S0004
http://www.w2forum.com/news/w2fnews11172.html
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/TechTV/techtv_accenturePDA020122.html