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Submitted by Ying, 02/02/2000
Abstracted
from "Boeing Wearable Computer Workshop" Aug. 1996
As
a primary market requirement we stated that the wearable computer
must be able to perform the basic operational tasks with little or no
connectivity to the infrastructure. As an industry the wearables
marketplace is still three plus years away from a larger horizontal
market place. This is due to the uncertainty at this moment as to how
people will communicate in the mobile workplace. The vertical
industries have just started to figure out how they want to
communicate and they are implementing solutions now.
Next I
will describe the markets and applications which we feel will be the
first adopters of wearables. I will list the markets, and then
describe the markets and the applications within the markets briefly.
The Primary Markets are:
Manufacturing Construction
Warehousing
Maintenance
Health
Care
Training
Finance/Electronic Commerce
Sales (Remote Point of Sales) and Service Industry
Delivery
Entertainment
Military -Paramilitary
Manufacturing and construction market
segments are currently being addressed by the wearable computing
industry. Clearly there are advantages to hands free, quick and
accurate data collection, and information's distribution in the
manufacturing world, which will reduce the number of operations the
workers have to perform. We also envision the worker as an
information conduit, providing accurate near real-time information on
the status of the production line, the machine health, and employee
health. When wearable computers penetrate these markets the workers
will become more efficient, and will be able to perform their tasks
at the next higher level. This will provide significant cost savings
for the employer, reduce training times, and increase productivity,
and very good employee reuse.
Warehousing is currently using
wearables. warehousing and inventory control would continue to use
wearables and as weables costs came down, and functionality
increased, that the warehousing applications would adopt them.
Warehousing does not need more functionality than it has now, however
proving cost pay-back for new feedback and input devices is the way
to get into this market.
Maintenance of complex machinery, of
"downtime critical" applications, will be targets for the
wearable in the maintenance world. This market will require that all
records be able to be brought to the industry, that smart, perhaps
genetic algorithms be used to walk the user intelligently through the
repair tasks, connectivity to remote experts will be a must. Having
short video clips though not necessary, would be useful. The wearable
gear must be lightweight, not generate any head, must not get in the
way (low profile, embedded wiring.).
The healthcare industry
desperately needs low cost wearable computing. This is needed in two
areas, personal health monitoring, and feedback to the hospital net,
and in physician assist systems. If we are to replace the current
systems that hospitals use, we must not only replace the clip board,
but provide the graphic clipboard, automated filing system, record
retrieval, and patient alarm system. There is infrastructure building
happening at this time. It is now time to start addressing what to
put at the ends of the infrastructure.
Training as a market
was described as enhanced work training, and education. This market
will use wearable computers to enhance employee training when the
cost benefit curves cross over. This should not be confused with the
training that can be provided to maintenance workers, and others who
use wearables as part of their job.
Finance/Electronic
Commerce, here we are addressing the bullpens of the stock exchanges,
the major brokerage firms, and the banking
industry. The
requirements will include full private secure connectivity, with
distributed databases, and multi-modal I/O. Being able to switch in
and out personal displays with public displays.
The Sales
(remote point of sales) and Service Industry market segment are the
insurance salespeople, cable repair people, appliance repair people
etc.. The paradigms are shifting now where the service people are now
becoming a point of sale presence. Cable service people will use
wearable computers to get people to sign off on work orders, and then
to get them to sign up for the special of the month. Appliance
service people will be able to repair a wider range of appliances,
faster more efficiently and then be able to turn the call into an
additional point of sale. This industry has been waiting patiently
for some time on the infrastructure to support the fielded worker.
The industry has already seen some payback with application specific
uses.
Delivery, where be it, letter carriers, pizza, laundry,
bringing wearable computers into these markets will provide new
efficiencies.
These markets will need a low cost infrastructure
for the smaller business. The communications here will be the major
component, and bringing electronic commerce will enable the courier
to take remote payments.
Entertainment. One can envision that
providing a director instant feedback mechanisms to be able to
modify, add, look at the insertion of graphics, animation's in
real-time could help this individual, providing alternate forms of
feedback and input to performers, commentators, and support people
would aid the production process, and the game industry is already
close to wearables with respect to video games and HMDs, and it is
just a matter of time before there will be amusement park rides where
one puts on HMDs, direction pointers etc.
Military and
paramilitary markets are the tactical operations required by the
military, the FBI, law enforcement agencies, the emergency medical
technicians, and firefighters. Here combinations of health, situation
awareness, and geoposition are all critical to the operations of
these individuals. Knowing what the other members of the squad are
seeing, or how they are performing is critical. Having hands free
operation is a must in these applications. The hands are needed for
doing the job.