Odysseus

The area of wearable computing looks at the interaction between clothing and information technology with a view to developing information systems that will form an integral part of our everyday attire and so help to deliver a variety of useful functions: e.g., monitoring our health and well-being, providing us with reminders, information snippets, directions, sensing properties of our environment such as air quality, light levels noise etc. and then acting accordingly, or simply helping us to expressive ourselves in novel ways. Unfortunately the promise of wearable computing and the reality are quite different and the possibility of stylish and comfortable clothing that provide useful computation and information functions for the wearer are still some distance away.

The wearables technology project within the Adaptive Information Cluster (AIC) takes a fresh approach to the development of wearable computing devices, that emphasises form as well as function. As such our primary mission is to develop garments that are truly wearable - garments that are stylish and durable - while at the same time providing compelling functions for the wearer. One such garment currently under development is the so-called e-suit. The e-suit looks like a standard business suit. It feels like a standard business suit. But it has been designed to accommodate a range of novel sensors and feedback devices that are well suited to wearable applications. For example, instead of using the usual pressure and movement sensors, the e-suit uses novel textile-based sensors that are made from standard pieces of foam coated with a chemical developed by Prof. Dermot Diamond in the AIC (DCU) so that their electrical properties change in response to pressure. In addition the e-suit incorporates a vibro-tactile display. Simply put this type of display presents information to the wearer in the form of localised vibrations and can be used for a variety of purposes from the covert exchange of information to the provision of navigation assistance.

In this project the student will work with the vibro-tactile display of the e-suit in order to evaluate its role in two key settings. In the first, the student will evaluate the vibro-tactile display as a navigational aid. This will involve developing software to translate navigational instructions (move left, right, straight-ahead, stop, turn clockwise etc.) into vibrations that the wearer can reliably interpret and the project will include a full evaluation of different styles of vibration feedback for this purpose.

The second evaluation will look at the potential of the vibro-tactile display to convey different levels of information, encoded as vibro-tatile patterns, while the wearer is engaged in different tasks involving different levels of physical and mental activity. This particular evaluation is especially important in understanding the potential of the e-suit as a communication device that facilitates a range of novel covert information transfer strategies.

Relevance of Project to the Host Laboratories:

One of the significant success stories of the AIC has been the development of its wearables group, bringing together sensor experts, computer scientists, engineers and designers to offer a unique perspective on the development of truly wearable technology. As such this project is extremely relevant to the work of the AIC (and thus both host laboratories). The project is designed to link directly into current research within the AIC and the student will work closely with AIC researchers throughout.

Supervisors:

Prof. Barry Smyth (AIC, UCD), Prof. Dermot Diamond (AIC, DCU)

Keywords:

Wearable computing, sensors, feedback.