Hitachi's Wearable Internet Appliance 186
Ned Flanders writes "JapanToday is reporting that Hitachi has produced a Wearable Internet Appliance with head mount display (800 x 600) and a pointing device (all at @500 grams total). Smurf the Weib (c) via PHS or wireless LAN on your shinny new wearable SH-4 32Bit RISC processor running Windows®CE3.0. Available February 28, 2002. Launch in US and Japan was Planned for end of 2001."
Someday.
Smurf the Weib? (Score:2, Funny)
One step from wearable personal computers! (Score:1)
Look Out! (Score:3, Funny)
You know some people...
Not to mention... (Score:3, Interesting)
Gak! It's bad enough trying to hold a conversation with someone who just has to answer their phone when it rings. Now it's going to be "You've got mail!"
And all those people who get useless calls on the bus. Now it's going to be like being on a bloody Borg ship!
Gotta get me one of those! :^)
Re:Not to mention... (Score:2)
--
Damn the Emperor!
Re:Not to mention... (Score:2)
"ya, so, like, I was rohfull and loll."
Re:Not to mention... (Score:2)
The TTC [www.ttc.ca] web-publishes maps and routes and suggested times that each bus will go by. They also have a data system for each bus to report exactly where it is. (Not published, but that's what scanners and software are for.) Combine.
I want a system that tells me when the bus is a couple of blocks away and I can leave the mall and walk to the stop and get on. I suppose it would need a GPS card as well. So be it, I remember what cell-phones were like cira 1984.
Either that or migrate to California where the jasmine blooms in March, but the exit signs are green...
Let's hope the CPU doesn't go in your pocket... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Let's hope the CPU doesn't go in your pocket... (Score:1)
"Oooh, Dual 1.7ghz procs and 1.2gb of Ra-*blink* dammit! not again!"
stdcallsign
My little guys are burnin' up! (Score:1)
Re:Let's hope the CPU doesn't go in your pocket... (Score:1)
Re:Let's hope the CPU doesn't go in your pocket... (Score:2)
Disclaimers (Score:2)
Do not use while operating heavy machinery. May cause drowsiness, dizziness, and occasional disorientation.
etc.
Re:Disclaimers (Score:1)
"This device is specially designed for WIA.You will touch the window shining blue on the device, and move the finger to the direction you would like to move the pointer in the screen.You can use it in any situation.You can use it upside down, which is preferable when you read books in bed, or when you have to read a maintenance manual while you are working"
Remember - Safety First
Re:Disclaimers (Score:1)
what about a seizure warning? I'm sure some jerk has a page that flashes red and blue at the correct rate to cause seizures.
This is dumb (Score:2, Funny)
NEVER has wearable computing EVER taken off. It makes you as dorky as that freak whose parents bought him the calculator watch for his birthday in third grade.
Re:This is dumb (Score:3, Funny)
It makes you as dorky as that freak whose parents bought him the calculator watch for his birthday in third grade.
That was you, wasn't it?
Re:This is dumb (Score:4, Insightful)
But before wearables become commonplace enough not to be freaky, they really have to become more useful, less obtrusive, better UI's, longer battery life, and far lower cost. We're a little ways away from conquering all of those, but it will happen in the next decade, I would imagine.
-me
Re:This is dumb (Score:1)
... Maybe that's why i was never popular in school..
... and i doubt the Ti-85 filled with games i wrote myself helped much...
Re:This is dumb (Score:2)
Nah, if you REALLY wanted to be a dork in grade school, you needed the Transformer watch!
Re:This is dumb (Score:1)
Hey, I thought that kid was cool!
Oh... wait...
I'm a freakin' dork, I forgot.
Re:This is dumb (Score:1)
If I could afford a wearable computer, I would probably use it.
Re:This is dumb (Score:2)
Funny, I asked my parents for a calculator watch when I was in the 3rd grade. Later, I had one that stored phone numbers.
Re:This is dumb (Score:1)
Boeing is using wearable computing and location tracking equipment to project wiring diagrams over physical parts of airplanes being assembled. This decreases installation errors and the giant pile of blue prints an installer would have to carry with them.
Imagine being able to have your car repair manual on one of these things while you're stuck in an odd position working under a car and don't have a free hand to turn to the page you need...
Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why? (Score:2)
None of these are items you need. Nobody needs this. Desire of objects is a part of normal human behaviour.
Re:Why? (Score:2)
It's like a webpad without the need to hold the screen in your hands. You lose the touch-screen capabilities, but it will probably be easy to scroll through pages of data.
If you don't understand why WebPad's are going to be cool, then go read some sci-fi or try using your imagination.
Information about the gizmo... (Score:3, Informative)
What is Hitachi WIA?
Portable Internet Appliance Powered By
SVGA Full Color Wearable Display
Small but Powerful Control Unit
Wearable display
View Angle: 30 deg (Equivalent to 13"monitor at 2 feet)
SVGA(800 x 600), 18bits Color
Weight Less than 80g (2.8 Oz)
Hands-free viewing of screen
Forehead-support achieves safety and image stability
Wearable with eye glasses
Control unit
Fit into pockets
Light Weight
Instant Power ON
Without HDD - reliable
Type II CompactFlash(TM) Slot
USB Port
Additional external battery achieves longer
Battery life: About 5.5" x 3.5" x 1.0"(preliminary)
Weight: This prototype weighs about 10.9 Oz (310g).
Devices insideCPU,Memory,etc.): Hitachi SH-4 32bit RISC processor, 128MHz, 230MIPS.ROM:32MB, RAM:32MB, VRAM:2MB.
Interfaces: Direct I/F to Wearable Display x 1, CompactFlash Type II x 1, USB x 1, Stereo Audio Headphones jack x 1, Cellular phone data port I/F x 1
Re:Information about the gizmo... (Score:2)
Keyboard? Microphone? etc?
Re:Information about the gizmo... (Score:1)
http://www.xybernaut.com/newxybernaut/Solutions
It's not much more than a top-of-the-line iPaq with a VGA sleeve and goggles... Still a big investment when compared to a Palm Vx!
~v
Re:Information about the gizmo... (Score:1)
Re:Information about the gizmo... (Score:1)
Meanwhile, while people are regurgitating facts and figures from the article that everyone **SHOULD** have already read anyway, the rest of us are all left out in the "Karma Cold"© posting our educated and thought provoking opinions (this post being an obvious exception...)
Just makes you wonder...
Re:Information about the gizmo... (Score:1, Offtopic)
I hate to karma-whore like this but, you are a freaking dipshit.
Now, let's see those karma points just roll in!
Re:Information about the gizmo... (Score:2)
It was worth the karma points.
Though I must point out that the crack-smoking moderator who downmodded me twice, while leaving you untouched...well, let's just say that, next to him, you hardly appear to be a humorless dipshit at all.
Re:Information about the gizmo... (Score:2)
No offense meant, I was just desperate to get down from 50 KP, it is so boring when you're maxed out.
Re:Information about the gizmo... (Score:1)
Wasn't this... (Score:3, Informative)
Lets just copy and paste the comments from there, ok?
Best. FAQ. EVER. (Score:5, Funny)
"Therefore, you can get your desk-top PC level of images from PDA size and weight of control unit."
WIA will come with you and present all the images while you are relaxing in couch, sofa, or even in bed.
This device is specially designed for WIA.You will touch the window shining blue on the device, and move the finger to the direction you would like to move the pointer in the screen
You can use it upside down, which is preferable when you read books in bed
Dont get me wrong - this looks like a great product - it just brought back memories of "someone set up us the bomb."
Re:Best. FAQ. EVER. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Best. FAQ. EVER. (Score:3, Funny)
Be Gear up for Auction (Score:1)
Japanese English 1, Slashdot Editors 0 (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Japanese English 1, Slashdot Editors 0 (Score:3, Insightful)
While I agree that it wasn't funny, at last I checked it is not the Slashdot Editors' responsibility or duty to protect us from lame attempts at humor!!!
Re:Japanese English 1, Slashdot Editors 0 (Score:1)
D'oh.
But you don't wear it there.... (Score:1)
Shinny? Do you wear it on your leg or something?! What am I missing!!
same as the Xybernaut Poma (Score:2, Informative)
anyone notice that ... (Score:2, Informative)
poma [xybernaut.com]
MIGHT work... if you can't see it. (Score:4, Interesting)
I'd like to see people actually wearing it. Is it fairly invisible? Does it look like you should have a helicopter hat on? Something in-between?
-Greg
Re:MIGHT work... if you can't see it. (Score:1)
In America, they'll just beat you up, steal your lunch money, you'll be the last person picked to play in a dodge ball game, and you'll end up being a troll on
Dodgeball (Score:1)
you'll be the last person picked to play in a dodge ball game
Only because most geeks are sedentary. At my school, dodgeball players were picked based on the performance that they had demonstrated, not on any character stereotype. Sure, the agile geek might get picked near the end before the first couple games, but that can change quickly.
See also "Recess." (Yes, I know Di$ney is evil [wikipedia.com], but still...)
WIA What??? (Score:2, Funny)
While mocking a poor translation on the site's Q&A page may seem a bit trivial, I think that this is a valid portrayal of why this will not work well in the US. Not only will they not supply the necessary marketing hype to get this thing off of the shelves and on to peoples heads, but as evidenced by their site's translations they are hardly catering to an English speaking market. Furthermore, in a country whose citizens are as vain about their appearance as Americans are (I know, I'm one of them...), I doubt that walking/driving around with one of these carbuncles attatched to your face is going to catch on quickly...
This is the Xybernaut Poma (Score:3, Informative)
The Xybernaut Poma [xybernaut.com] is their OEM version of the direct-from-Hitachi model. Fifteen hundred bucks US gets you delivery before the end of Q1 2002.
It runs Windows CE, has no audio inputs, and I don't think anyone on the wearables mailing list [blu.org] has actually gotten one yet to see what development will be like, but it's very interesting, at least.
Re:This is the Xybernaut Poma (Score:1)
pictures of people wearing them in this PDF brouchure [xybernaut.com].
Hitachi SH-4? (Score:1)
Oh, and seeing as how it hasn't been asked yet...
<Slashdot> Can we put Linux on it?
Japanese press release (Score:3, Informative)
------
Industrial-use wearable Internet appliance launched in Japanese market
Hitachi, Ltd.'s venture company, Net-PDA, (CEO: Matsuoka Shigeru) will begin shipping the WIA-100NB wearable Internet appliance, with head-mounted display, from February 28.
Mobile computing needs are increasing with the spread of wireless communication infrastructure and Internet access from mobile phones.
The company completed an OEM licensing contract for wearable Internet appliances with the U.S. Xybernaut Corp. in June of 2001, and has conducted marketing in Japan. As a result, it judged that wearable Internet appliances are an effective solution for work environments such as clean rooms and machine rooms where printed materials cannot be used, as well as for hands-free viewing of blueprints and Internet/intranet access via PHS [a Japanese form of mobile phone] and wireless LAN.
The WIA-100NB, in order to meet these needs, weighs 310 grams for the main body, with the head-mounted display weighing a mere 80 grams, and the total package weighing less than 500 grams even with the addition of a pointing device. By rubbing the pointing device's optical sensor with a thumb, it is possible to move the cursor on the head-mounted display, allowing the operation of the unit in any position.
Used as terminals for improving work efficiency, wearable Internet applicances are predicted to form a major part of the market for portable information devices. The company aims to develop this valuable market further.
-------
Then it lists the specs, and where to buy it (here [hitachi.co.jp], but you'd better know Japanese).
Focus adjustment (Score:1)
Q: Does it have focus adjustment?
A: It is not necessary. Screen image will be presented at 2 feet from your eye. To see it is exactly the same as you see real objects at 2 feet from your eye. If you need corrective eye glasses or contact lenses, you can use them while wearing the display.
Obviously the display is not 2 feet from your eye, i.e., sticking out from your forehead by two feet. So there must be some optic gimmick to make it appear 2 feet from your eye. What kind of gimmick is this that would never need focus adjustment for any reason, such as, oh I dunno, I have a big protruding forehead so my display is further from my eye than the next guy's? Can someone familiar with optics shed some light on this (no pun intended)?
Re:Focus adjustment (Score:2)
The reason the display "appears" to be two feet away is because it is basically up close to your eye, so pretty much fills your view from that eye.
Actually I think they are playing on the concept of those "iglasses" or whatever they were called- you know, the ones where you gave them a video source and they displayed it on a pair of spectacles. The difference with these when compared to this display is that the "iglasses" showed a different picture to each eye so you could create the impression of a giant cinema screen (you can create false depth information), and secondly the "iglasses" wouldn't let you see anything else except the display- this display sounds as if it is either transparent or you can see round the edge of it.
graspee
Re:Focus adjustment (Score:1)
My guess is that it probably uses a series of mirrors to redirect the light to your eye. Add a couple of well placed lenses and your total focal length is 2 feet.
Therefore, display appears as if it is 2 feet away from you when it actually isn't.
Designed for Windows (Score:1, Funny)
And where did they put the Reset button ?
Why not use the stylus? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why not just use the stylus?
Excellent news! (Score:1)
I, for one, am delighted to see this announcement. This appears to be very nearly the device that I have been saving my pennies to purchase. I had not actually expected to see one, though, so I was preparing to buy one of the Linux-based Sharp Zaurus thingies.
The fact that this dream device is being pre-announced is obviously a move to keep me from buying a Sharp in the immediate future. So that means that Hitachi must have found out that the production release of the Sharp is going to happen any day now.
So HOORAY! The Sharp is on the way!!!
Or not.
otay (Score:1)
not sure about the whole shinny thing though...
Hitachi's Suggested Applications for this (Score:2)
The lack of health consideration is appalling. (Score:1, Insightful)
Nobody knows what the long term effects of wearing a tiny screen a few inches away from your eye might be, and nobody has bothered to find out. This is characteristic of the technology sector, though. No one considered the risks of keyboards until people started losing the use of their hands. No one asked if monitors were healthy until people started going blind.
I am not anti-technology, by any means. However, it is ridiculous to destroy one's body for whatever short term gains you may be pursuing. Ultimately, it is an individual's responsibility to assure their own safety, but callousness of manufacturers is appalling. Until congress forces a change, though, I doubt health considerations will be taken into account when designing a product.
Re:The lack of health consideration is appalling. (Score:1)
How do YOU know there were no tests? Are you one of the people on the development team?
Furthermore, who cares. Unless you are REQUIRED by your boss to use one at work, you would be doing it voluntarily. So
Woo Hoo! (Score:1)
Played with this at Comdex (Score:5, Informative)
From the main english Hitachi page [hitachi.co.jp]: FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, July 18, 2001 - Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) and Xybernaut Corporation (NASDAQ: XYBR), today announced that Hitachi has entered into a license agreement under Xybernaut's broad patents for wearable computing and communications to develop a Wearable Internet Appliance (WIA) for the consumer market.
That said, I played around with one of those for a little bit when I visited the Xybernaut booth at Comdex. My thoughts? They are ok items. The screen projection is not too bad. Until you can focus one eye on the screen and simultaneously focus the other eye on faraway objects, you'll still only either chew gum or walk...if you know what I mean. The screen does flip up so both eyes can be used to focus on the task at hand when needed.
Someone asked about the input device. The one I played with (and you can see in the photos) has a hand-held input device. It has a touch screen which you move your finger (or rather thumb) around on to move the mouse pointer. I don't remember a keyboard, but I think another model might have had small keyboard you strap to your forearm. Otherwise, I think the model I played with had an on-screen keyboard you can bring up and tap out virtual keystrokes with the mouse pointer. This of course was some what a pain in the arse for me...but I guess YMMV.
This will be fairly useful in warehouse situations. Maybe on an assembly line: you can work on your task, and if computer assistance is needed, just flip the screen down and look up a part number or whatever. These still aren't the best for long-term computing sessions.
-A non-productive mind is with absolutely zero balance.
- AC
Re:Played with this at Comdex (Score:2)
While that might excite the anime fans out there, it isn't very useful to the power user, as it virtually guarantees that you can use only one hand. What might be a better idea for a keyboard is a wireless little thing (with full-sized keys) that can be used with one hand and held in the other, or set on the lap to be used with both hands. If that were the case, however, you would have to have some other way to attach it to your person for the probably frequent occasions you are not using it.
The point of a machine like this is to be able to use a computer anywhere, at any time, without having to worry about carrying it or going back to your desktop. If you are going to use it for a few hours, you might as well be at your desk.
On a lighter note, can you imagine these things used in conjunction with the Segway Human Transporter? People whizzing around thoughtlessly on twowheeled machines with more distracting machines attached to their faces, paying little attention to each other, except to swear in bewildered surprise when some "obnoxious punk kid" crashes into them because they weren't paying attention.
It will bring a whole new aspect to the arguments over distractions at the wheel.
Re:Played with this at Comdex (Score:1)
We are borg. We just don't know it yet.
Re:Played with this at Comdex (Score:1)
One of the professors here at Georgia Tech, Thad Starner, has been making (and selling, to a limited degree) something like this for years. Glad to see it hit the consumer market.
Obligatory Beowulf Joke (Score:5, Funny)
A: Yes I can, it's called a Borg Collective.
--
Damn the Emperor!
What purpose will this serve? (Score:1, Insightful)
Sure, they look cool, but I won't be buying one anytime soon. Besides, I would probably have to stop paying rent just to afford it anyway... I'd be kicked out of my apartment, but at least I can browse the interet with a headset!
Color depth (Score:2, Interesting)
WTF? 18 bits?
Wrong Priorities (Score:1)
Someday (hopefully in my lifetime!) high-speed access will be pervasive, affordable, and not require constant hand-holding when used by ordinary people. When that happens, the IAs will come thick and fast. Until then, they're just another way to fritter away VC cash.
Gargoyles (Score:2, Interesting)
Right now this is Just Another Geeky Toy, but it doesn't seem like it's that far of a leap from the numerous PDAs that people love to carry around.
Personally, I'm waiting for x-ray goggles!
-- D
new excuse... (Score:1, Funny)
"Sorry officer, I didn't see that other car, i was too busy shaving and drinking my coffee..."
to...
"Sorry officer, I didn't see that other car, i was too busy checking my e-mail and reading the latest stories on slashdot...."
Didn't they release this years ago?!! (Score:1)
Must be the newest cadillac...
http://hitachi-magic-wand.com
Don't forget your G-Spotter Attachment Accessory!
Ergonomic Nightmare (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Ergonomic Nightmare (Score:1, Insightful)
Incidentally, according to an old CNN article [cnn.com], Xybernaut cut a deal with microvision to distribute head-mounted laser displays within the year. Since the article is old, maybe its not happening anymore, but it would seem to be a good reason to wait on these devices improving a little.
Divx (Score:1)
Great (Score:1)
Print page, keep safe... (Score:1, Funny)
`Check this one out! Check your email on the move!! Yeah, but wait until you get home before you can reply!`
Surely the future of communications is speech, not converting what you would normally have said into words, and then typing them in?
As if listening to cell phone conversations wasn't annoying enough, now we'll be listening to AIM conversations as well.
"...I love you. Smiley face. Ok, I've got to go. I'll see you tonight. Wink smiley face."
"No, you log off first. No, you first..."
Blah!
wrong OS choice (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't see many applications in a corporate setting either, and even if there was, corporations can pay people to develop apps on whatever OS they want.
Either way.. it's probably way too early on for this type of device to catch on.
Wireless? Why irradiate my hip? (Score:1)
Re:Wireless? Why irradiate my hip? (Score:1)
Re:Wireless? Why irradiate my hip? (Score:2)
The manual isn't evidence at all, as it's at least as likely to be a legal shield as based on some actual knowledge.
Will we look like Bill Gates? (Score:1, Funny)
device Bill Gates hides his face behind when he
appears as a
slashdot icon [slashdot.org] from time to time...
You can buy this now. (Score:3, Insightful)
Alright (Score:1)
Windows CE 3 (Score:1)
I want audio and video capture to a remmote drive (Score:2)
it'd be nice to change the focus to make the image appear farther out so you could walk and have GPS sensors point out items of interest as you go....
I wonder how well this thing would capture video and audio from a USB cam and transmit it to a remote machine on a wireless lan?
Maybe I'm not an uber geek... (Score:2)
Yes, I know there are geeks out there who would have a display adapter wired directly into their brains if they could - but we're talking minority.
I just don't see what is so wonderful about a wearable computer. Yes, there are probably niche applications where they will be cool like someone who needs computer access while doing work with their hands, or some other type of function. Handicap accessibility, yup - great. But again, we're talking niche here. As an IT technician, do I really want to walk around to people's desks with a wearable PC on my head just to pull up reference docs? Nah - I'll take a laptop.
I know people swear one day we'll all talk to our computers or 'think' commands into them - but I sincerely doubt it. I for one think wearble headset computers with retinal displays will be the thing of sci-fi movies for ever except in niche areas. Me? My 3lb laptop is just fine. Just because we can doesn't mean we should.
Almost Ok, but (Score:1)
Now if someone gets unreal tournament to run... (Score:1)
Then we could frag our way to/from school on the bus. You get come home to see that the bumpy ride home threw you off the ngWorldStats top 100, wait hell you can check that while your backtracking home because you missed your stop.
flak cannon = UT weapon immune to bumpy rides
I dunno whats wrong with you guys...but...!!!! (Score:1)
PRICE??? (Score:1)
Re:All *at* *at* 500 grams total... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:How Useful Is WinCE (Score:1, Insightful)
embedded devices aren't going to run the same types of applications as your average desktop for the near future. they're designed for totally different markets. this device is not going to be a consumer-level device at first: it's going to run very customized software for customized work environments.
additionally the PIII/4 are lousy processors. yes, they'll run pretty damned quickly, but they need to be clocked to rediculous clock speeds to do so. the only reason that the Pentium series is still a leading processor is because Intel is pouring billions of dollars into its development! if they were to pour that many dollars into a well-designed RISC processor, the results would be even more impressive. there will aways be more life in the x86 family, but those improvements come with huge development costs because they're tacked onto an infrastructure that really wasn't meant to do it.
on a related note, if you put a PIII in a device like this and wore it on your belt you'd probably get third degree burns on your hips. the PIII was never meant for embedded applications. it's all about using the right tool (or chip) for the job
but anyhow, i'm ranting. but still, i don't see why x86 has to be everywhere. there are better processors for these types of environment, and hanging onto this archaic backwards compatibility is seriously hampering development. embedded devices should use embedded processors, and hey, maybe it's even a chance to help break the WinTel monopoly: Linux runs perfectly well on every embedded processor I've worked on. eventually you have to give up, and move to a new architecture that's better designed for the task at hand. embedded devices are a great place to start this change.
so do yourself a favour and start looking into the PowerPC, MIPS, SuperH and other embedded processors. the x86 is not the be-all-and-end-all of microprocessors!
Re:Effects on the eye (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Wearable crap .. or edible undies? (Score:1)
Well, yeah, not so much PDAs but you see people with their cell phones clipped onto them all the time. Not a very good troll!