The idea of wearable computers has been with us for a while. Boeing, for example, has introduced a central processor with a miniature see-through head-mounted display featuring a microphone and earphones. The device is worn by engineers who crawl under and through aircraft, testing and repairing components. IBM too is also developing a computer that uses a tiny, headset-mounted display and responds to voice commands. Somewhat naturally the US military, always looking to exploit new technology first, is testing new wearable devices for combat soldiers.

Recently, though, there has been more activity on ideas for wearable mobile phones. What are they and why would we want them?

The tooth of it

Perhaps the ultimate wearable mobile was proposed by two students at the Royal College of Art last year and fits inside a tooth. There’s no display of course. The device picks up signals with a radio receiver and uses a tiny vibrating plate to convey them as sound along the jawbone to a person's ear. The idea is that the phone could be implanted in a tooth during routine dental surgery. One does wonder about the effects of interference or, more particularly, the hazards of high frequencies associated with such a solution. Also, it is not clear how you dial a number – presumably using voice commands.

In fact the prototype tooth phone lacks the communications chip to actually turn it into a functioning device, but its designers reckon that the technology already exists and would be simple to build into the gadget. The other sticking point is how to power it. It might need to be a pretty big tooth!

Of course, the other obvious question is . . . why bother? Who might be the typical users of such a device – prepared to undergo the dental surgery required? Apart from the standard answer of secret agents, perhaps stock traders receiving up-to-the-minute information about share prices or maybe even football managers communicating with players during key matches. Of course, it also represents probably the ultimate in handsfree phones and might be of interest to people that drive a lot (see Driven to Distraction? Banning Mobiles in Cars). Requires some dedication though.

Dick Tracy rides again

Another wearable option of comic book fame is worn on the wrist. Wristwatch cellphones (or watchphones) have been promoted in prototype form for a little while (notably from Motorola and Samsung), but just this month Japan's largest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo, announced it would launch the world's first wristwatch-style cellphones operating on Japan’s Personal Handyphone System (PHS) networks. These new phones have been developed by watchmaker Seiko Instruments and are aimed at PHS because phones on that network consume less power and so do not need bulky batteries. Perhaps a GSM equivalent will follow.

Doubtless more acceptable than the tooth phone, users can wear the new phones on their wrists like a watch and they look to be much the same size as a normal digital watch with only two buttons on the facia. To make or receive a call, the watch opens up to become a phone as a sort of wrist flip phone and users can talk while wearing it – just like Dick Tracy in fact. It can also be snapped off to become a regular handset and, in addition, offers e-mail and Net browsing functions as well as voice calls. DoCoMo plans to start selling the new phones as early as April, reportedly at somewhere under $400 each.

The Fashion Statement

The Swatch watch was originally designed as much as a fashion statement as for telling the time. Siemens has borrowed this concept and decided to introduce a new range of mobile phones last January as fashion accessories – thereby introducing yet another idea of  the wearable phone.

These have radically different shapes and wearable designs with simple voice functionality. The first collection is more handheld than pendant or brooch, but the possibilities are clearly there. One of the first designs is like a pendant and is voice-controlled with a mouse on it to access features. The other three are more handheld in concept. Under the branding Xelibri they will be sold as fashion accessories through new, non-mobile phone outlets like department stores and fashion retailers. Like all good fashion items, there are planned to be two collections a year with sales commencing this April. Fashion accessories first, items that make phone calls second. That’s the theory, with a phone to match every occasion. It certainly begins to address the idea of owning multiple phones.

Also in the same category, but much more expensive, are the jewel phones launched by Nokia last year. Not so much fashion statements as displays of wealth, these typically come with sapphire crystals and rubies set in gold trim. These are being sold under the Vertu brand, apparently at prices of Euro 24,000 each! One wonders about the insurance for that sort of device.

The future is – soft?

Yet another variation on the possibilities has been illustrated by the recent launch of Orange’s Smartphone with Microsoft OS. This has an add-on keyboard that is made of fabric and can be rolled up. Indeed, it can be used as a case for the smartphone.

The technology comes from UK company ElekSen, which has developed a cloth (branded ElekTex) that can be used to make wearable and washable gadgets. The company has developed a technique that weaves wires into cloth while it is being produced. The woven wires then form a grid covering the whole fabric, which could be velvet, denim or even chintz. Pressing on the cloth deforms the wires, changing their conductivity. This allows the electronics developed alongside the cloth to work out where the cloth has been pressed and what character this represents. Just like a computer screen, the fabric can have different resolutions by weaving more or less conductive wires into the cloth.

Shrunken, detachable and fold-up keyboards can now be bought for all manner of gadgets to enable people to get the most out of their palmtop computer, MP3 player or mobile phone. But human fingers are bulky and often have a difficult time typing using such small keys. ElekSen claims its fabric keyboard could solve many of these problems, with its full-size cloth keyboard able to work on any hard surface. It can then be rolled up or stuffed into a pocket when not being used.

The idea was first launched last year in collaboration with Logitech as KeyCase, providing a highly portable but full-sized keyboard for PDAs. As the name implies, the keyboard folds up to form a case for the PDA when not in use.

The idea of having an appropriate means of interfacing with your device wherever you are, so that you can type quickly on a standard keyboard rather than pecking at multi-function, miniature keypad buttons has been termed the ‘last centimetre’ problem. Reminiscent of the ‘last kilometre’ problem of introducing broadband into local fixed networks, the idea is to ensure that a suitable interface is always available so as not to slow down the ability to enter data. The fabric keyboard aims to address this, although there are some questionable human factors. For example, the ‘keys’ do not give when pressed so tactile feel is lost. It should be possible to address this.

So what next? Future applications being muted include a fabric phone, smart car seats or even computerised trousers. You could literally have your keypad on your sleeve, with perhaps the main device in a hat or pendant – or wristwatch of course.

One day, owning just one mobile phone is going to look decidedly old-fashioned!

 © e-principles 2003

Robin Duke-Woolley

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