Please read the text with an American Accent
Thousands of mobile workers could benefit from using a computer if only the computer were lighter, freed their hands, and didn’t tether them to a desk or a power outlet. Now a new generation of wearable PCs promises to extend the trend begun by notebook and handheld computers.
Wearable computers, long a staple of science fiction, are here. In an effort to create truly personal computers that meld a computer and its user, designers have divided the wearable PCs components into cable-connected modules that fit into headsets, drape across shoulders, hang around the neck, and fasten around the waist, forearm, or wrist.
Manufactures of these wearable PCs combine existing or emerging technologies to create customized PCs for specific types of workers. The TLC (Tender Loving Care) PC for paramedics is a good example. At an accident scene, speech recognition software lets the paramedic dictate symptoms and vital signs into a slender microphone hanging from a headset.
The computer, draped across the medic’s shoulders like a shovel, compares this data to a CD ROM medical directory in the shoulder unit. The computer then projects possible diagnosis and suggested treatments onto the headsets miniature display. The TLC unit improves upon the two-way radio medics now use to communicate with emergency-room doctors. Instead of describing symptoms over a two-way radio, medics could use a trackball-operated video camera and body sensor strapped to their palm to show doctors the patient’s condition. The video and additional data would be beamed to the doctors by a satellite link. Headphones would let medics get feedback and additional advice from the waiting doctors.
