Wearable Computers - the future is here

The Eurotech Group started out as an "idea factory" in Amaro, Italy. With offices now all around the world, Eurotech Group has become a leader in the "field of high technology for computer miniaturization."

A very unique product that Eurotech has developed which is ready for market is the Zypad, the "wearable computer." The Zypad WL 1000, and Zypad WL 1100

The idea of "wearable technology" or "wearable computers" has been around for awhile. Back in February, 2002 there was a posting that talked about Tokyo street fashion. It was titled "In Toyko, Street Fashion Goes High Tech".

We have seen wearable computers in film as part of a fictional possibility for years and now it is a reality.

School Chat....
So how could wearable computers work in a school setting? Imagine students working in collaborative groups. Future student workflow might look like this....

• students no longer need to carry laptops around or be restricted to desktop computers around the school.


• if students used a device similar to Zypad they would be able to work in a mobile collaborative environment.


• input devices such as keyboards and a mouse....not to worry. The wearable computer could work with a virtual keyboard that projected onto any surface (such as the I-Tech's Virtual Laser Keyboard shown to the right.)


• wearable computers have bluetooth and wireless capabilities and students can easily upload work to and from their personal learning digital storage area on the network.


• leaving for a field trip.....lets say to the zoo? Students upload GPS data to their wearable computers that their biology teacher has set. They are required to view certain types of marine and land mammals that they are studying in class. The GPS directions will easily move them through the zoo to the points of interest that the teacher wants them to touch upon.


• while at the zoo - each place the students stop to visit has a 3D interactive station that engages the students and tells the history of the animal they are looking at. Information can then be transferred through wireless connection from the interactive station to the students wearable computer.


• students are able to record what they see through the microphone built into their wearable computer..... this is saved as an .mp3 file.


• pictures can also be taken with the web camera that is built into the wearable computer.


• on return to the classroom from the field trip....students work in collaborative teams easily sharing their data from the trip to create a presentation from what they had discovered from their field trip.


• once presentations are complete they are uploaded to the class digital storage area and then presented to the rest of the class.

Just a small example of what could be done with the integration of wearable computers in the classroom.....but there are soooooooo many more exciting possibilities.