Abstract
This paper describes the use of CMU’s VuMan wearable computers for maintenance of military vehicles and their communication mechanisms with the outside world. The key concepts involve: portable, hands-off access to information; mobility of users and uploading information yielding increased productivity of maintenance operation. VuMan is used as a Referential System, replacing large volumes of printed materials such as maintenance manuals. The main tasks are Limited Technical Inspections (LTI) and Trouble Shooting Flow Charts for an Amphibious Motor Vehicle. This effort included the development of the VuMan Hypertext Language (VHTL), using a forms-based hypertext paradigm that provides quick access to manuals. The VHTL considerably simplifies the task of creating document systems that integrate forms, references (hyperlinks), images and complex control structures (such as nested menus). The User Interface has been designed to provide access to the information in an intuitive and natural manner. Both the User Interface and the document structure are centered around the concept of fields. When selected by the user, these fields invoke some action, such as bringing up a menu, following a reference or toggling a check mark. The User Interface can accommodate two types of input devices: a three-button mouse and a multiposition rotary dial. Our estimate is that the time required to perform some typical Marine Maintenance procedures using VuMan will be cut in half.
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© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Smailagic, A., Siewiorek, D.P. (1996). The CMU Mobile Computers and Their Application for Maintenance. In: Imielinski, T., Korth, H.F. (eds) Mobile Computing. The Kluwer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science, vol 353. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-585-29603-6_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-585-29603-6_25
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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