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While some researchers are working on biological computers, other researchers are engaged in designing and building small computers that will not go inside the body but can be worn on one. Wearable computers will exceed portable or laptop computers in mobility and ease of use.
Sophisticated wristwatch computers found in spy and espionage stories are not yet a reality, but Ann Devereaux, an engineer who works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is developing a WARP-wearable augmented reality prototype. A prototype is an early model whose shape and function guide future development. The wearable computer will be voice-activated-engineers have already developed voice recognition systems, and programs are available for most computers-and the userwill be able to access communication and information networks, permitting conversations or data downloads. "Augmented reality" occurs when the computer adds information to that available from the user's senses. For example, to wearable computers may receive visual input from a camera, or position information from a global positioning system (GPS), and present the user with a map or coordinates specifying the user's current position, as well as identifying buildings or objects in the user's field of vision.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA is interested in wearable computers because astronauts rely on portable computers in places such as the International Space Station or on the space shuttle, but using alaptop requires hands and attention that are usually needed elsewhere. Wearable computers would make the job much easier and safer.
But Devereaux and her colleagues face a lot of design issues. If the wearable computer is too heavy or uncomfortable, it may distract the user at a critical moment. And if the interface between user and computer is awkward, the user may find it difficult or impossible to operate the computer or send and receive data. One version of the prototype consists of a small, wearable, linked to a box headset, microphone, and eyepiece. The eyepiece displays a screen that the user appears to be projected a short distance away. Testing continues as the researchers try to find the optimal design.
Underwater Digital Camera
Wearable computers that are extremely small in size would beuseful yet otherwise escape the user's notice. Some researchers are studying methods to make computer components such as transistors out of single molecules. Techniques known as nanotechnology operate on scales of about a nanometer-billionth of a meter, equal to 0.00000004 inches-which is roughly the size of signaling molecules.
Robert a. Wolkow, a researcher at the University of Alberta, Canada, and his colleagues have succeeded in making a transistor composed of an atom acting on a single molecule. The atom is located on a silicon surface, and has an electrical charge (caused by more or less than the usual number of electrons vol.1 orbiting the atom's nucleus), creating an electric field. The researchers observed that this field modulated the electrical conductivity of a nearby molecule,or, in other words, changed how well this molecule conducts electricity. By varying the charge of the atom or its position, the researchers could regulate a neighboring molecule's conductivity. This behavior is similar to that of a semiconductor transistor which switches on and off currents in digital logic circuits.
In addition, the effect is powerful enough to occur even at room temperature, unlike many molecular phenomena that are observable only at extremely cold temperatures (which, in terms of physics, means slow molecular speeds). Paul g. Piva, Wolkow, and their colleagues reported their findings in "Field Regulation of Single-Molecule Conductivity by a Charged Surface Atom," published in Nature in 2005.
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