3. Read the text:

Since the dawn of the computer age, people have dreamed of wearable computers directly integrated with our bodies. So, the computer would no longer sit on our desks, but be incorporated into our clothing or worn on the body. Such wearable computers would help us perform many daily tasks with their technological power, as if they were a sixth sense. Proponents of this idea have even suggested embedding computers directly into people, fusing man and machine to create cyborgs. These dreams are slowly turning into a reality thanks to research, technological advances and the public’s fascination with computer-supplemented humans.

Many people today have various hand held devices, laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). However, these devices can’t be called wearable computers, because the task of a true wearable computer is to facilitate a new form of human-computer interaction, which means that this computer should be always on and always ready and accessible. In other words, a wearable computer should be a continuation of its user and work like a natural part of the body, not an external apparatus.

The field of wearable computing began in 1960’s. Early versions of wearable computers included card counters, calculator watches and a vest which transferred images into a tactile grid for the visually impaired. As computer technology developed, researchers began creating wearable computers that could perform a variety of more advanced tasks. Dr. Steve Mann, a professor of the University of Toronto, has finally created a unique design which allows to overlay graphics onto special glasses creating a form of ‘mediated reality’. The idea is to use an ultra compact computer, which is linked to a special pair of eyeglasses that capture audio and video and can display things like a computer monitor. Mann can interact with the computer through voice commands and it is with him all the time. The latest model is completely hidden from view.

Nowadays MIT media lab is one of the key researchers in the field of wearable computers. One of their most recent models combines a number of elements such as digital gloves, a head-mounted camera and a projector all connected to a mobile phone. The device can take input via the camera or the user through the gloves and display information through the projector. Like Dr. Mann’s work, this MIT device aims at creating a wearable computer that is like a ‘sixth sense’.

Researches have also formulated six basic characteristics of wearable computing, which should be 1) unmonopolizing of the user's attention (it does not cut you off from the outside world like a virtual reality game); 2) unrestricive to the user (you can do other things while using it, e.g. you can type while jogging); 3) observable by the user (it can get your attention continuously if you want it to); 4) controllable by the user (you can take control of it at any time you wish); 5) attentive to the environment (it gives the user increased situational awareness); 6) communicative to others (can be used as a communications medium when you want it to).

Of course you can’t just go out and buy a wearable computer like dr. Mann’s, but there are a few examples of wrist-work computers and special clothing embedded with technology that is now widely available. Jackets with the built-in controls for your mp3 player or jeans with their own keyboard are now a reality. These clothes are not really computers at all but they are a key element in wearable computers and pave the way for more advanced product in the future.