Finding a seat in the corner, you check e-mail while waiting for your order. Not according to researchers at HPLabs, who are exploring the potential of wearable computing using a technically enhanced jacket, dubbed BlazerJet. We built the jacket to try out the technology to see what needed improving, developing or even inventing. It's powered by four Ni-MH mobile phone batteries in the shoulder pads. The computer driving the system runs a stripped-down version of Linux and is sewn into a pocket lining.
Input is via a throat microphone to a speech command system.
The output device is an HP Jornada, and the ensemble is completed with a discreet earpiece that notifies the user of incoming information. Researchers developed pingers to provide context awareness. Located outside shops, cinemas and restaurants, they match information on locations with data stored in your handheld. For example, they search your shopping list and compare it with stock lists of nearby shops to see if there is a match. When there is, a high-pitched sound is transmitted to your earpiece and the relevant Web page appears on your Jornada.