Personal Digital Augmentation
(Created page with '= a Personal Digital Augmentation (PDA) device = I'm using invented terminology because I don't know yet if this device should be more like an iPhone or more like a wearable com…') |
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Here are some problems with simply mimicking an iPhone: | Here are some problems with simply mimicking an iPhone: | ||
| − | * Lameness: a maker-built iPhone clone will be thicker and clunkier | + | * Lameness: a maker-built iPhone clone will be thicker and clunkier than a real iPhone, and will suffer by comparison |
| − | + | * Fitness for requirements: the iPhone multi-touch display is terrible for text entry, and you can't operate the device (eg, advance to next song) without focussing your full visual attention on the display. | |
| − | * Fitness for requirements: the iPhone multi-touch display | + | |
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
How does text entry work? | How does text entry work? | ||
| − | * Could use a multi-touch display, like iPhone. | + | * Could use a multi-touch display, like iPhone. It's slow, error prone (tried typing a password?) and you can't touch-type. |
| − | It's slow, error prone (tried typing a password?) and you can't touch-type. | + | |
* Blackberry style thumb keyboard. | * Blackberry style thumb keyboard. | ||
* Palm style Graffiti input, using stylus | * Palm style Graffiti input, using stylus | ||
| − | * Chord keyboard. Potentially the fastest input method (stenotype is faster than qwerty), | + | * Chord keyboard. Potentially the fastest input method (stenotype is faster than qwerty), and allows touch typing. Also very "elite" and hackish. |
| − | and allows touch typing. Also very "elite" and hackish. | + | |
** spiffchorder: http://chorder.cs.vassar.edu/spiffchorder/forside | ** spiffchorder: http://chorder.cs.vassar.edu/spiffchorder/forside | ||
** wearcam septambic keyer: http://wearcam.org/septambi/ | ** wearcam septambic keyer: http://wearcam.org/septambi/ | ||
| − | * Data glove: can you enter text with a data glove? Efficiently? | + | * Data glove: can you enter text with a data glove? Efficiently? But a data glove is potentially useful for augmented reality, and of course VR. |
| − | But a data glove is potentially useful for augmented reality, and of course VR. | + | |
** http://www.cyberglovesystems.com/products/hardware/cyberglove.php | ** http://www.cyberglovesystems.com/products/hardware/cyberglove.php | ||
** flexion sensor for building a dataglove: http://infusionsystems.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/140 | ** flexion sensor for building a dataglove: http://infusionsystems.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/140 | ||
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* handheld LCD display, like iPhone | * handheld LCD display, like iPhone | ||
* head mounted display | * head mounted display | ||
| − | ** with integrated camera, like eyetap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyetap | + | ** with integrated camera, like eyetap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyetap <br> This is a brilliant design for hands-free operation and augmented reality applications. Also, very elite and hackish, you can't buy an eyetap commercially. |
| − | This is a brilliant design for hands-free operation | + | |
| − | and augmented reality applications. | + | |
| − | Also, very elite and hackish, you can't buy an eyetap commercially. | + | |
So I guess I'm currently attracted to the eyetap / chord keyboard combination. | So I guess I'm currently attracted to the eyetap / chord keyboard combination. | ||
Revision as of 00:44, 8 November 2009
a Personal Digital Augmentation (PDA) device
I'm using invented terminology because I don't know yet if this device should be more like an iPhone or more like a wearable computer. And I need a more unique, catchier project name. I've considered "OH/M" (One Handheld per Maker), after the OLPC, except I don't know yet if this device will ultimate be a "handheld".
Whatever it is, it's culturally similar to the RepRap project: it's something you can build, based on a public, shared design, using open source hardware, and open source software. There is a community software repository, so that the more people that build one of these, the more benefits there are. I want to base it on existing work as much as possible. In particular, if someone has already designed an open source "PDA" that meets all my requirements, I'll just use this design.
I started with the idea of building an open source iPhone, only better. Since you build it yourself, you can customize the hardware to have just the features you want. Here are some of the functions that I'd like to be possible/available:
- listening to music
- listening to (and maybe recording) FM radio
- still camera
- video camera
- audio recording / voice notes / voice recognition
- remote control
- augmented reality
- games
- social networking (in the broadest possible sense)
- email, web surfing
- telephone
- note taking
- calendar, watch, stopwatch, alerts
- usb drive / flash drive / bulk data storage and retrieval
I want this to be an "elite" device, with capabilities that obviously go beyond mass market handheld devices like the iPod nano and iPhone. The cooler it is, the more motivation there is to build one. So that's a requirement -- what design elements are needed to meet this requirement?
Here are some problems with simply mimicking an iPhone:
- Lameness: a maker-built iPhone clone will be thicker and clunkier than a real iPhone, and will suffer by comparison
- Fitness for requirements: the iPhone multi-touch display is terrible for text entry, and you can't operate the device (eg, advance to next song) without focussing your full visual attention on the display.
How does text entry work?
- Could use a multi-touch display, like iPhone. It's slow, error prone (tried typing a password?) and you can't touch-type.
- Blackberry style thumb keyboard.
- Palm style Graffiti input, using stylus
- Chord keyboard. Potentially the fastest input method (stenotype is faster than qwerty), and allows touch typing. Also very "elite" and hackish.
- spiffchorder: http://chorder.cs.vassar.edu/spiffchorder/forside
- wearcam septambic keyer: http://wearcam.org/septambi/
- Data glove: can you enter text with a data glove? Efficiently? But a data glove is potentially useful for augmented reality, and of course VR.
- http://www.cyberglovesystems.com/products/hardware/cyberglove.php
- flexion sensor for building a dataglove: http://infusionsystems.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/140
Even if we don't have a fully realized chord keyboard, there needs to be a way to provide input to your PDA using buttons, which doesn't consume visual attention. (I guess voice recognition via the microphone could also work.)
How does the display work?
- handheld LCD display, like iPhone
- head mounted display
- with integrated camera, like eyetap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyetap
This is a brilliant design for hands-free operation and augmented reality applications. Also, very elite and hackish, you can't buy an eyetap commercially.
- with integrated camera, like eyetap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyetap
So I guess I'm currently attracted to the eyetap / chord keyboard combination. But I have no experience using such a system, so I don't know in detail the reasons why such a system may suck. (I do know what I don't like about the iPhone.) Steve Mann teaches a course at U of T on how to build an eyetap + keyer.
The PDA must be position and orientation aware, in order to support augmented reality.
- need GPS
- need a compass and orientation sensors
