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From: John <john@building-m.simplistic-anti-spam-measure.net>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.wearables
Subject: Re: Welcome back!
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2025 16:44:29 EST
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Greg Pfeil <greg@technomadic.org> writes:

> comp.sys.wearables has risen from the dead.
>
> My name is Greg Pfeil, and I was one of the CSW moderators back in the
> day. With much help from the Usenet Big-8 Management Board
> (https://big-8.org), this group (along with many others) is alive once
> again.

Nice! I'm going to take partial credit for this, as I had emailed the
Big-8 MB some time back about finding a new moderator. Glad we got you
back, instead!

> In the 16 years since the last post to this group, wearable computing
> has rapidly moved forward. Everything from smart watches,
> heads-up displays, and of course, the pocket-sized devices that are so
> much more powerful than the PC/104 half-cube I built in my dorm room
> decades ago.
>
> But what exists outside of those spaces? What has the mainsteam industry
> overlooked or gotten wrong? What wild thing have you built to address
> some need that isn’t being satisfied elsewhere? Please share it here.

There was an episode of Scientific American Frontiers years back which
showed Steve Mann's students using their wearables (wired Twiddlers,
hacked camcorder viewfinders) and it made an impression on my youthful
brain, but it's only recently that all the right tech has been available
off the shelf.

I've been fiddling on and off over the last year or so with a very
traditional wearable computer: head-mounted monocular display, Twiddler
3 chording keyset, Raspberry Pi 4 running on battery power. The whole
thing is woven through a cheap vest, with the battery in one pocket, Pi
in another pocket, cables run through the lining, etc.

In this time I've seen a big surge in wearables *without* a display
component. Cameras and voice commands are the big thing
now. Acknowledging the value of having both hands free, I've implemented
some basic voice control in my own wearable using Numen
(https://git.sr.ht/~geb/numen) and a set of Bluetooth earbuds, and for
some things it has definite advantages. As for cameras, I've found it
challenging to find anything suitable for use with a Pi. I'd really like
something that can clip to my lapel with Bluetooth control, but haven't
found anything.

I've also experimented with the Brillian Labs Monocle, and found it too
limited to be of much use -- pathetic battery life, overly-obtrusive
physical design, lame camera, tiny display. Their new Frame looks a
little more interesting, but they've gone very heavily down the AI road
and it's just not that interesting to me.


john