Lecture 5 - Wearable Devices Basics

Question 1

What are wearables?

Answer 1

These are computing devices that are worn on the body

Question 2

Are all wearables the same?

Answer 2

No, they come in a variety of sizes and shapes (form factors)

Question 3

What are the ideal characteristics of wearables?

Answer 3

• unrestrictive (do not get in the way)
• readily available (within reach and waiting for interaction)
• aware (always able to sense context and actions)

Question 4

Wearables challenges?

Answer 4

• small screens or lack of screens
• limited input due to the size of the screen (how can we interact?)
• limited interaction capabilities due to the size (not only of the screen)
• motion (can the devices be used while moving)

Question 5

What are some form factors of wearables?

Answer 5

• wrist (smartwatches)
• head (vr)
• fingers (smart rings)
• clothing (smart fabric)
• shoes (see case study from slides)

Question 6

Case study of interactive shoes -> what was it?

Answer 6

Shoes had toe operated buttons that sent signals to an operator, who replied via audio (using an earpiece) telling the person the best move to make in a casino.

Question 7

Has the form factor changed over the years?

Answer 7

No, older technology had the same form factors, but was limited by the computer size

Question 8

Some forms of the wrist form factors?

Answer 8

• watch like
• bracelet like
• myo (screenless device that sent specific signals mapped to gestures to a host device)

Question 9

Some forms of the ring form factors?

Answer 9

• logbar
• motiv
• tap strap (on all fingers, like a knucle duster)
• orii (like having a massive diamond on the ring)
• oura
• refer to slides

Question 10

Examples of the glasses form factors?

Answer 10

• google glass
• bose frames
• microsoft hololens
• nreal light

Question 11

What do most wearables rely on?

Answer 11

visual displays and hence visual attention