Wearable Electronics Find New Uses
By Ed Sperling -- Electronic News, 4/15/2004
Wearable computing is getting a facelift in the way of wearable electronics, a move that ultimately will allow pieces of clothing and accessories such as watches to communicate with each other locally and across the Internet at large.
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The developments are part of a mini-revolution in short-range communications, which are being worked on by companies such as Infineon and Philips Semiconductor, as well as software makers such as Microsoft. A prototype snowboarding jacket being shown off by Infineon has a built-in MP3 player with soft, virtually undetectable buttons in the fabric of the sleeve, a built-in hard battery, and headphones connected to the collar of the jacket.
But that’s just the beginning. Ski jackets are also being designed to send out emergency calls in case of an avalanche, and the same system that can be used for headphones on an MP3 player can also be connected to a cell phone. Some day in the near future, someone may be calling from their jacket instead of their car.
Reiner Schonrock, director of media relations at Infineon, says the goal is to keep the cost to a maximum of 10 percent of the price of the clothes. He said that snowboarding jackets with built-in electronics are selling for as little as $500 these days.
But that’s just the beginning of what is rapidly turning into grid computing, in which series of interconnected circuits can be linked together to turn a piece of fabric, or a rug, or even a road or piece of concrete into a complex piece of electronics.
Schonrock said Infineon is working on embedding chips in concrete so that if there is a break due to an earthquake or an accident, the entire system of chips will determine the extent of the damage and relay it to a remote device. The same can be done for a commercial carpet, which can automatically relay if there is a breakdown in the fabric so it can be replaced without an on-site inspection.
National Semiconductor chairman and CEO Brian Halla said his company is currently working on projects to embed chips into roadways in California so the state can determine traffic flow and charge extra for single-passenger cars looking to use the commuter lanes. He said it may be worth $7 to avoid traffic, which would give the state a steady flow of income, but it’s not worth the current $271 minimum fine in Silicon Valley. |
