Arming The Food Police
Atlanta Tech: Wednesday's Focus on Technology and Telecommunications
in Metro Atlanta
Ernest Holsendolph - Staff
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Wearable computers move to mainstream
From the chicken industry to space, portable units are allowing flexible
communications, with next frontier lifestyle benefits.
 Wearable computers, under intense study around the world, are now being
put to work in practical ways here and elsewhere. And bigger assignments
for these advanced communications systems are at hand.
Under guidance of researchers at Georgia Tech, the Georgia poultry-processing
industry has workers monitoring and adjusting the systems for turning
out chicken products. Meanwhile, doctors at Emory are using tiny vest
computers to monitor life indicators of infants.
Georgia Tech is developing programs for parents and caregivers to monitor
at-risk children and sick adults within homes and even from remote places.
Just two months ago, soldiers in Louisiana successfully tested the Landwarrior
System, which equips paratroopers to land, quickly assemble and get to
work rapidly through wearable computers on a network.
Information on the run
 All of these systems underline the central truth about wearable computers,
namely that they are the most flexible and comprehensive form of mobile
communication now available. They enable individuals to exchange information,
pictures and even sound on the run --- information that can be shared
anywhere in the world.
"
We have seen some of this in the space program, with an astronaut in
space diagnosing and fixing problems with the help of scientists and
technicians on the ground," said Chris Thompson, a senior research
engineer and project director at the Georgia Tech Research Institute.
"
But with the expansion of high-speed wireless networks, this kind of
interaction will take place among people everywhere," Thompson
said.
The work being done by GTRI is fundamental. Unlike the NASA program,
where space is the challenge, poultry industry workers simply need to
be in touch continuously with experts --- even as they move about huge
plants where chicken is being processed.
"
Because chicken is tough to handle and you need to work hands-free, the
lightweight wearable computer is a good way for the technicians to gather
data on temperature and other environmental conditions and relay to computer
banks and others," Thompson said.
He said the experts can direct the workers remotely, if needed, and can
relay data from files, or take other measures to make sure production
stays on schedule.
Tech has been working with Cagle Poultry in Camilla and lately with Claxton
Poultry in Claxton. Tech is also developing a wearable computer system
for General Electric Power Systems, which can be used by power engineers
in the field who direct the location and repair of generating equipment
and who conduct installations.
Photo credit: Stanley Leary, Georgia Tech
Senior Research Engineer Chris Thompson showing components of a wearable
computer system.
Work on medical monitoring is being conducted at the Veterans Affairs
Medical Center in Decatur, as well as at Emory University Hospital,
Thompson said.
Dr. Gary Freed, who directs the Apnea Center at Emory, says his staff
has successfully tested the use of wearable systems on infants likely
to stop breathing --- both premature-birth babies and others who have
developed problems.
"
We are now moving to test the systems in homes," he said, "where
the mothers can monitor the baby from a small device, weighing about
three pounds, worn by the mother."
The system allows live monitoring and stores information in a continuous
loop as surveillance cameras do.
Information captured can be downloaded to medical experts at any time
the caregiver chooses, with a record that shows what leads up to the
problem, such as a cessation in breathing, Freed said.
Meanwhile, researchers at the VA hospital on Clairmont Road in Decatur
are testing wearable computers to aid visually impaired people in walking
across streets or locating destinations guided by wireless signals.
In some cases, global positioning technology guides pedestrians outdoors,
and VA researchers envision a new system of guiding blind pedestrians
through signals from the "Walk" and "Don't Walk" devices.
"
We are developing technology that before long can be put in the hands
of private companies for product development," said David Ross,
who directs the Atlanta VA Rehabilitation Research Development Center.
Though his federally funded research centers on the needs of aging
veterans, the findings, with the general population aging, could prove
useful to all seniors who want to stay independent as long as they
can, Ross said.
Tech's Thompson, a veteran of many years in the wireless field, said
bandwidth limitations in wireless communication right now is restricting
the use of wearable computers, but he predicted this will change.
For lifestyle, work
But even if global reach of wearables may be well ahead, Thompson said
more limited uses, such as Blue Tooth applications, a technology for
wireless communications, will permit many kinds of wearable computer
use within company premises.
"
We know how to do a lot of things," he said, "but the growth
of wearable computer applications will depend a lot on the users and
their needs. Those needs will push the broader use of wearables."
Meanwhile, he said, there will be two tracks of development, including
wearable computers as part of lifestyle and as tools for work.
Lifestyle applications, such as wearing computers to surf the Internet,
send and receive e-mail, and keep track of news and stock market fluctuations,
may move rapidly with a growing public appetite.
The use of wearables as tools, perhaps in law enforcement, will depend
a lot on the evolution of equipment and ability of agencies to develop
software to make the new communication practical. |
