Skip to main content

Simulation and augmentation: Issues of wearable computers

Ethics and Information Technology volume 5, pages 17–26 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

As the physical and digital worlds interact,some fields of technoscience have started toshift from an approach emphasizing simulation –in which the physical is replicated in thedigital – to one focusing on augmentation, inwhich the digital is utilized to enhance thephysical. A good place to study theimplications this shift has on the individualis the field of personal wearable technologies.Here, the body is not simply extended byinformation and communication technologies(ICTs), but also becomes their intimate host.This represents a new step in theconceptualization of the synergy betweenindividual (body) and technology (environment),and also affects the ways in which the role andcharacter of each actor are defined. This paperexplores some of the theoreticalre-orientations underpinning the development ofwearable computers and how these shape therelationship between body and environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • W. Barfield and T. Caudell. Basic Concepts in Wearable Computers and Augmented Reality. In W. Barfield and T. Caudell, editors, Fundamentals of Wearable Computers and Augmented Reality. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwan, NJ, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • W. Barfield, S. Mann, K. Bair, F. Gemperle, C. Kasabach, J. Stivoric, M. Bauer, R. Martin and Gilson Cho. Computational Clothing and Accessories. In W. Barfield and T. Caudell, editors, Fundamentals of Wearable Computers and Augmented Reality. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwan, NJ, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • F. Brébant. Le future à fleur de peau. Weekend Le Vif/L'Express. Original in French, Translated by Author [Online] (25 Feb. 2000). Available: http://www.starlab.org/bits/intell_clothing/ pages/press_releases/artikels/2000–02-weekend.pdf [28 Feb. 2001].

  • D. De Kerckhove. The Skin of Culture: Investigating the New Electronic Reality. Somerville, Toronto, Ontario, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Floridi. Philosophy and computing: An introduction. Routledge, London and New York, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Gershenfeld. When Things Start to Think. Henry Holt and Company, New York, NY, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Guernsey. Scan the Headlines? No, Just the Bar Codes. New York Times [Online] (4 May 2000). Available: http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/circuits/articles/04bar.html [4 May, 2000].

  • P. Hadfield and P. Marks. Nurses Get Bionic 'Power Suit'. New Scientist [Online] (27 July 2001). Available: http:// www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991072 [27 July 2001].

  • D.I. Hopper. Government Embraces Wearable Computers. Associated Press [Online] (August 2001). Available: http:// www.sun-sentinel.com/technology/sns-wearable.story?coll=sns%2Dtechnology%2Dheadlines [27 August 2001].

  • L. Kahney. Introducing Touchy-Feely Tech. Wired News [Online] (13 Nov. 2000). Available: http://www.wired.com/ news/technology/0,1282,40117,00.html [13 Nov. 2000].

  • L. Knapp. Big Brother Watches Your Weight. Wired News [Online] (8 Dec. 2000). Available: http://www.wired.com/ news/technology/0,1282,40538,00.html?tw=wn20001208 [8 Dec. 2000].

  • W. Knight. Wearable Computer Provides Virtual Signposts. New Scientist [Online] (October 2001). Available: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991406 [9 October 2001].

  • R. Kurzweil. The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence. Viking, New York, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Kurzweil. The Age of Intelligent Machines. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Latour Technology is Society Made Durable. In J. Law, editor, A Sociology of Monters: Essays on Power, Technology and Domination, pages 103–131. Routledge, London and New York, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Lessig. Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Basic Books, New York, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Lightman. The Diagnosis. Pantheon Books, New York, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Mann. Smart Clothing: The Shift to Wearable Computing. Communications of the ACM, 39(8), 23–24 [Online] (August 1996). Available: http://www.acm.org/pubs/articles/journals/ cacm/1996–39–8/p23-mann/p23-mann.pdf [August 2001].

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Mann. Wearable Computing as Means for Personal Empowerment. Excerpt of Keynote Address Given at the 1998 International Conference on Wearable Computing ICWC-98, Fairfax VA [Online] (May 1998). Available: http:// wearcomp.org/wearcompdef.html [16 September 2000].

  • S. Mann and H. Niedzviecki. Cyborg: Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable Computer. Random House Doubleday, 2001.

  • M. McLuhan. The Gutenberg galaxy. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1962.

    Google Scholar 

  • M. McLuhan Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1964 [1994].

    Google Scholar 

  • M. McLuhan and E. McLuhan Laws of Media: The New Science. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  • W.J. Mitchell. E-topia: Urban Life, Jim-But Not As We Know It. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • H. Moravec. Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  • H. Moravec. Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind. Oxford University Press, New York, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Mumford. The Transformations of Man. Peter Smith, Gloucester, MA, 1972 [1978].

    Google Scholar 

  • P.L. O'Connell. Online Diary: Dear Thermostat. New York Times [Online] (23 August 2001). Available: http:// www.nytimes.com/2001/08/23/technology/23DIAR.html [23 August 2001].

  • PhilipsTM. ICD+ and Wearable Electronics. Press release [Online] (21 Aug. 2000). Available: http://www.design. philips.com/pressroom/pressinfo/article/icd.html [6 February 2002].

  • R. Post and M. Orth. Smart Fabric, or Washable Computing. Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC '97), 167–168. Cambridge, MA, 1997.

  • H. Rheingold. Virtual Reality. Summit Books, New York, 1991. http://www.sensatex.com/smartshirt/index.html [2 May 2002].

    Google Scholar 

  • R.A. Stone. Will the Real Body Please Stand Up? Boundary Stories about Virtual Cultures. In M. Benedikt, editor, Cyberspace: First steps. The MIT Press, Cambrigde, Massachusetts, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Turkle. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. Touchstone, New York, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Turkle. Who Am We? Wired News [Online] (4 Jan. 1996). Available: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.01/ turkle.html [8 Feb. 2000].

  • J. Wallace. BessWon't Go There: N2H2'sWeak AI. The Ethical Spectacle [Online] (1 Sept. 2001). Available: http://www. spectacle.org/cs/bess2.html [10 Dec. 2001].

  • K. Warwick. March of the Machines: Why the New Race of Robots will Rule the World. Century Books, London, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • L.Winner. Do Artifacts have Politics? Daedalus, 109: 121–136, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Ana Viseu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Viseu, A. Simulation and augmentation: Issues of wearable computers. Ethics and Information Technology 5, 17–26 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024928320234

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024928320234

  • augmentation
  • body
  • digital
  • embedded computing
  • personal technology
  • physical
  • simulation
  • ubiquitous computing
  • wearable computer