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To: GC who wrote (529)	4/24/1999 1:14:00 PM
From: GC	Respond to of 767

page 9 ................. It's like strapping on an extra brain every morning and more accurate service. “We've designed the wearable PC for high mobility. We want it to be an extension of the user.” What if you could have a computer that replaces your cell phone, browses the internet, takes dictation, speaks in a human voice, even handles your in box, your schedule, and can translate your voice into another language? And, what if that computer had plenty of power and was small enough to slip in your pocket or strap on in the morning like a wristwatch? Sounds like science fiction, right? Not for long. Welcome to the world of Dave Carroll, chief executive of Via Systems, the lead company in the small but fast-growing field of wearable computers. “We've designed the wearable PC for high mobility,” says Carroll. “We want it to be an extension of the user. It's less than an inch thick with a two-inch-wide belt, and our latest 266MHz models are powerful enough to run just about any application you could want.” According to Carroll, the wearable PC is the perfect application for voice. “With a regular desktop comput-er,” he says, “you can still use a keyboard if you want-ed to, but with a wearable PC, voice is critical to how the product works. Your hands are doing other things. Voice is more natural.” The company's current product, the 20-ounce Via II is winning over customers in a surprisingly wide range of fields. Insurance adjusters are using it for on-site inspection and damage appraisal. They can even attach digital cameras to the system. Food servers are able to take orders right at a customer's table without returning to an order entry computer, providing faster C U S T O M E R C L O S E -U P : In construction and real estate, roofers, appraisers, contractors, and installers are able to visit a work site and do an immediate hands-free estimate, then close the deal on the spot. Surveyors can cut field crews from two persons to one. Even on the factory floor, computers are being worn by more inspec-tors and quality control personnel as well as materials handlers and order fillers. So, how much does all this cost. Current Via II models start at about $2600 and climb to about double that with color display, bigger drives, extra batteries and the like. But Carroll expects the prices to come down further as the technology improves and the number of users grows. “The field that I personally think will be first to really adopt the wearable PC in large numbers,” says Carroll, “ is medical, mostly because the impact is so great. If every EMT wore a computer, the patient's medical records would be a voice command away.” Similarly, according to Carroll, nurses and home health care professionals will be able to get and provide patient information in real-time so decisions can be made immediately. But the application that is bound to win over large numbers of business people and travellers alike is what Carroll describes as a voice-to-voice translator, which Via is currently developing under a contract from the U.S. government. The user will simply speak into the PC strapped to his waist like a Walkman. A program would translate the words, and a synthesized voice would speak back in another language. It would be like carrying around a multipingual interpreter in your pocket. Development is underway, and Carroll expects it will reach the market in 2-3 years at prices well below $1,000. “All this is very doable,” says Carroll, “We're proving it.” Contact: Dave Carroll Via Inc. (800)353-5472