Humanistic Computing: WearComp as a New Framework and Application for Intelligent Signal Processing

Humanistic computing is proposed as a new signal processing framework in which the processing apparatus is inextricably intertwined with the natural capabilities of our human body and mind. Rather than trying to emulate human intelligence, humanistic computing recognizes that the human brain is perhaps the best neural network of its kind, and that there are many new signal processing applications (within the domain of personal technologies) that can make use of this excellent but often overlooked processor. The emphasis of this paper is on personal imaging applications of humanistic computing, to take a first step toward an intelligent wearable camera system that can allow us to effortlessly capture our day-to-day experiences, help us remember and see better, provide us with personal safety through crime reduction, and facilitate new forms of communication through collective connected humanistic computing. The author’s wearable signal processing hardware, which began as a cumbersome backpackbased photographic apparatus of the 1970’s and evolved into a clothing-based apparatus in the early 1980’s, currently provides the computational power of a UNIX workstation concealed within ordinary-looking eyeglasses and clothing. Thus it may be worn continuously during all facets of ordinary day-to-day living, so that, through long-term adaptation, it begins to function as a true extension of the mind and body

Augmenting and Sharing Memory with eyeBlog

eyeBlog is an automatic personal video recording and publishing system. It consists of ECSGlasses [1], which are a pair of glasses augmented with a wireless eye contact and glyph sensing camera, and a web application that visualizes the video from the ECSGlasses camera as chronologically delineated blog entries. The blog format allows for easy annotation, grading, cataloging and searching of video segments by the wearer or anyone else with internet access. eyeBlog reduces the editing effort of video bloggers by recording video only when something of interest is registered by the camera. Interest is determined by a combination of independent methods. For example, recording can automatically be triggered upon detection of eye contact towards the wearer of the glasses, allowing all face-to-face interactions to be recorded. Recording can also be triggered by the detection of image patterns such as glyphs in the frame of the camera. This allows the wearer to record their interactions with any object that has an associated unique marker. Finally, by pressing a button the user can manually initiate recording

Factors influencing the adoption of smart wearable devices

This study aims to examine the factors and issues in adoption of smart wearable devices. Wearable devices have many functions to offer which make them very useful in our daily lives. However, factors influencing the adoption of these devices are not well understood. This research explores the inhibiting and contributing factors influencing the adoption of wearable devices by employing the laddering approach. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews using the laddering technique in order to understand these factors. Wearable devices that were examined include the Smart Glass (Google Glass) and the Smart Watch (Sony Smart Watch 3). After the participants had the opportunity to try out these two devices, the factors that are most important to them in deciding whether to adopt or not to adopt these devices were laddered. The use of the laddering technique with the Means-End Chain approach not only offers a greater understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of wearable devices, but also reveal the relationships among these factors and any meaningful associations with self (i.e., the user). This research has advanced our understanding on the adoption of wearable devices and provide some insights into the key design criteria to better fit users\u27 needs --Abstract, page iii

Self-knowledge through self-tracking devices: design guidelines for usability and a socio-technical examination from posthumanity perspective

The Digital Era introduces emerging product categories that have evolved around certain habits and concepts. One tendency in the Information Age is recording and storing quantitative and qualitative data based on an individual's life by using ubiquitous computing devices. Such products, bringing self-observation and autobiographical memory capabilities to an extreme level, have the potential to morph human beings by augmenting and altering their self-understanding through presenting previously nonexistent information regarding their lives. The diversity found in this product range is increasing parallel to the growing demand. However, the meaning of these products for human life is rarely discussed. It remains a question whether these personal logs lead to an enriched self-knowledge for their users or not. This thesis aims to investigate the design principles and the influences of self-tracking products and services on daily life within a socio-technical framework in order to establish a connection between selftracking by ubiquitous computing devices and the notion of self-concept

Performative Wearables: Bodies, Fashion and Technology

This thesis argues that wearables are inextricably performative. By this I mean that performance—human and nonhuman performance such as those encountered both on and off stage, as well as social performance and the performance of fashion and technology—contribute to the creation and meaning of wearables. With this aim in view, the thesis explores performance from four research angles: a framing of the birth of wearables in a performative context; a theoretical analysis of wearables as somatically, aesthetically, and technologically constituted via the performative; a historical back-dating of pre-computational wearables stemming from Modernist performative fields; and the in-situ case studies of contemporary wearables creations. It is my goal to demonstrate that wearables are performative across transversal timelines, materials, styles, fabrication processes, and body expressions. Using references from the art-research labs currently involved in developing fashion-tech and wearables—as an important counterbalance to industry’s contributions to wearables—I ask this central question: how can concepts of performance elucidate wearables? I look toward performance as a key thread that follows wearables’ beginnings to the current, contemporary technological culture embedded in media arts and experimental contributions to the field. Why? Because wearables are more than the sum of the technologies they incorporate, they are the result of their admixtures of fashion, bodies, display, and transformation (in both human and technological form). In short, wearables are active, (a)live, and hence both the objects themselves and the individuals wearing them participate in the co-creation of their performance. Performance is complex—striding as it does across disciplines from the technological and engineering; to the human and unscripted—and for this reason it is richly suited to the challenges encountered when describing wearables. Performance is the key pathway, in my opinion, through which we can gain stronger insight into the stakes, meanings, messiness, desires, and technological innovations that are being developed in wearables in artistic labs past, present and future

Towards the internet of smart clothing: a review on IoT wearables and garments for creating intelligent connected e-textiles

[Abstract] Technology has become ubiquitous, it is all around us and is becoming part of us. Togetherwith the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm and enabling technologies (e.g., Augmented Reality (AR), Cyber-Physical Systems, Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain or edge computing), smart wearables and IoT-based garments can potentially have a lot of influence by harmonizing functionality and the delight created by fashion. Thus, smart clothes look for a balance among fashion, engineering, interaction, user experience, cybersecurity, design and science to reinvent technologies that can anticipate needs and desires. Nowadays, the rapid convergence of textile and electronics is enabling the seamless and massive integration of sensors into textiles and the development of conductive yarn. The potential of smart fabrics, which can communicate with smartphones to process biometric information such as heart rate, temperature, breathing, stress, movement, acceleration, or even hormone levels, promises a new era for retail. This article reviews the main requirements for developing smart IoT-enabled garments and shows smart clothing potential impact on business models in the medium-term. Specifically, a global IoT architecture is proposed, the main types and components of smart IoT wearables and garments are presented, their main requirements are analyzed and some of the most recent smart clothing applications are studied. In this way, this article reviews the past and present of smart garments in order to provide guidelines for the future developers of a network where garments will be connected like other IoT objects: the Internet of Smart Clothing.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2016-045Xunta de Galicia; ED341D R2016/012Xunta de Galicia; ED431G/01Agencia Estatal de Investigación de España; TEC2013-47141-C4-1-RAgencia Estatal de Investigación de España; TEC2016-75067-C4-1-RAgencia Estatal de Investigación de España; TEC2015-69648-RED

Mixed reality entertainment with wearable computers

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN