The Shirt That Checks Your Heart, The Hat That Checks Your Brain
From: Financial Times Survey - 07/12/2006 - P. 6
By: Alan Cane

The concept of the wearable computer, a notion that dates to the wristwatch,
has gotten new life as state-of-the-art electroconductive materials can now
be woven directly into fabric. The sleeve of a firefighter's jacket could
emit a warning of toxic materials, or a person's sweater could generate a
feeling of warmth when a call comes from a loved one, for instance. Wearable
computing could have unintended consequences for society, however, warns
British Telecom's Robin Mannings. The mobile phone is the first ubiquitous
platform for wearable computing, according to MIT Media Lab's Sandy Pentland.
"With telecom operators' revenues from voice services dropping quickly,
everyone is looking for digital data services to stoke growth. The model of a
wearable computer is exactly that...and it is working." Pentland cites the
migration of Google Maps, email, and digital cameras toward the mobile space,
as well as the emergence of devices such as Oakley Bluetooth glasses. The
interface, rather than the actual processors, has become the signature
feature of consumer electronic devices, says Ken Blakeslee, chairman of
Webmobility Ventures. Style is therefore an important aspect of new
technologies, Blakeslee believes. "People don't want to be seen carrying
chunks of technology." Medicine and health could see the most important
applications of wearable computing technology, many experts believe, though
privacy advocates are concerned about the prospect of devices that could
track a person's movements around the clock. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/096e8aca-10c3-11db-9a72-0000779e2340.html

Links:
Sandy Pentland
http://web.media.mit.edu/~sandy/

Oakley Bluetooth sunglasses
http://www.sunglasstent.com/bluetoothsunglasses.html

Webmobility Ventures
http://www.webmobility.com/

Ken Blakeslee
http://www.webmobility.com/about.html