It seems like after Google Glass it’s now turn for an earphone PC in the wearable computing segment as Japanese researchers at the Hiroshima City University are testing a tiny personal computer dubbed “Earclip-type Wearable PC.”
The device that fits on the ear can be controlled by gestures such as blinking of an eye or clicking of the tongue is being developed at Hiroshima City University. The 17-gram (0.59-ounce) wireless device supports Bluetooth and is equipped with a GPS compass, has gyro-sensor, battery, barometer, speaker and microphone.
The device will be equipped with infrared sensors that will monitor tiny movements inside the user’s ear, depending on how the eyes and mouth move. The developers testing the device claims that it can serve as ‘a third hand’ for everyone from caregivers to rock-climbers, motorbike riders to astronauts, as well as people with disabilities as the user does not need to move either hand to operate the tiny device.
Engineer Kazuhiro Taniguchi of Hiroshima City University told AFP, “We have made this with the basic idea that people will wear it in the same way they wear earrings”.
“Supposing I climb a mountain, look at the sky at night and see a bright star up there, it could tell me what it is,” Taniguchi said.
“As it knows what altitude I’m at, which direction I’m looking and at what angle, it could tell me, ‘The bright star you are seeing now is Sirius’.”
“This could connect you with a person who is looking at the same star at a remote place at the same time,” enabling the people to swap impressions, Taniguchi said.
A second version of the device is being worked upon to be used in geriatric healthcare basically for keeping an eye on elderly family members. The same device can also be used as a hearing aid or to monitor the wearer’s health including their pulse and body temperature offering early warning of the onset of illness.
The onboard accelerometer can tell if the user suffers a fall and can automatically pass on this information to relatives or call an ambulance based on the GPS location.
While tests in Hiroshima are being carried out, researchers expect the device to be commercialized by April 2016.
[Image Credit: News.com.au]
