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Smart clothing—-the combination ofmobile multimedia, wireless communi-cation, and wearable computing—-offersthe potential to make personal comput-ers even more personal.

In the early 1980s, when I first experimented withwearable computing and wireless communications,people thought some of the apparatus I wore lookedquite strange, so I didn’t wear it much; it was bothphysically and socially awkward. People wereshocked by the visceral combination of human andmachine. Even later, with the advent of portable andlaptop computers, people were still taken aback bythe combination of a human wearing a computer—there was something markedly different in the wayothers perceived a system attached to my bodyrather than carried in a briefcase. When I did wearit, I basked in a tremendous sense of self-empower-ment, for it seemed the computer was more part ofme than it was a separate tool.

My wearable computer wasnot the first with wireless com-munications. Thomas Bass, in hisbook The Eudaemonic Pie, describesshoe-based computers of the1970s designed and built byphysicists and other researchersin California, for the purpose ofassisting them at playing roulette.It was remarkable they were ableto design these computer systemsto be so unobtrusive as to passthe ultimate test of unobtrusive-ness—the casino test—-wherethey would survive the scrutiny ofcroupiers and pit bosses.

My goals were different: I wasmore interested in functionalityand capability than in conceal-ment, and ended up with a morecumbersome system, althoughover the years, it has become small-er and lighter to the point I cannow wear it for extended periods.

On my hat, an antenna wire-lessly connects to the Internetthrough a network of antennasI’ve erected on rooftops of vari-ous buildings, including the

tallest in Cambridge in order to get some degree ofconnectivity from nearby cities. This gives me Inter-net access but because the system is experimental, itis down some of the time, so I am not always able tostay online.

Having an Internet-connected computer wiredwithin my clothing has allowed me to read my emailvia my smart glasses (eyeglasses with miniature sen-sor array and cathode-ray tube), say, while standingin line at the bank.

The miniature cameras and computer screeninside my eyeglasses provide me with a dual-adapta-tion space. Unlike the standard multimedia comput-er, cameras and microphones point where I’mlooking, not at me. This provides the computer withmy perspective, and permits me to explore some ofthe more fundamental issues in visual memory andcomputer-mediated reality. Other sensors such asinfrared and radar, enhance and extend my sensorycapabilities, allowing me to explore some new con-

cepts in synthetic synesthesia,which might someday be ofassistance to the visually chal-lenged. In the future, perhapswe’ll become cyborgian—-ourclothing will significantlyenhance our capabilities with-out requiring any consciousthought or effort.

With the advent of theWorld-Wide Web, I’ve exploredconnectivity of a new form. Ifyou take a look at http://wearcam.org, you may be look-ing at whatever I am looking atright now. The Wearable Wire-

Smart Clothing: The Shift toWearable Computing

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The author and his wear-able multimedia comput-er/personal visual assistant. The apparatusincludes a miniature com-puter screen and sensorarray in the eyeglasses,Internet connection, and amultimedia computer withspecial-purpose video pro-cessing hardware.

less Webcam has been both an exploration of a newform of personal visual connectivity and a personalimaging system. Personal imaging includes a visualmemory prosthetic that serves as a visual sketchpadwith which to take notes. A personal imaging systemmay also be useful as a tool for visual artists and thenext generation of photographers.

My wearable system currently has 64MB of RAM,a Pentium 90 processor, and a 1.2GB hard drive.Smart glasses, smart shoes (with an array of sensorsthat provide information about my footsteps), andsmart undergarments electronically sense, for exam-ple, my heart rate, skin resistance, and body temper-ature. Should someone pull out a gun and demandmy money, my smart clothing might respond appro-priately (video capture/transmission at maximalframe rate, and so forth) by virtue of the suddenincrease in heart rate without any increase in physi-cal exertion.

As a personal safety device, ubiquitous use ofsmart clothing may have the potential to turn theworld into a small-town community—-a global vil-lage—as barriers of time and space fall. However,privacy is indeed an important consideration andpart of my inspiration. What I envision is an alterna-tive to the proliferation of Orwellian pole-top surveil-lance cameras. Government-installed surveillancecameras are typical of many U.K. cities, and comingto U.S. cities soon. (In Baltimore, the government isalready installing a large network of video surveil-lance cameras throughout the city.) I am hoping,however, that instead of asking the government toinstall cameras everywhere to reduce crime, we mightbegin wearing cameras. What I envision is more likeDavid Brin’s Earth than George Orwell’s 1984.

Privacy will also be an important considerationwith respect to the various sensors we may choose towear. For example, smart clothing may some day beinteroperable and interconnected, so that it keepstrack of our physical condition and allows us todecrypt this information for evaluation by a doctor.

The recent proliferation of wearable computers(such companies as Phoenix Group Inc., CPSI, andIntervision are currently making wearable comput-ers) suggests we’re moving in the direction of smartclothing. However, many of the wearable applica-tions envisioned, such as the land warrior (military),the intelligent maintenance aid, or various applica-tions in the workplace [2] would be better describedas smart uniforms. A smart uniform can be issued toa soldier or employee at the start of a job, and thentaken away after the job is completed.

There is a fundamental difference in theperception people have about theirown clothing as compared to an issueduniform. Although people can becomequite familiar with their uniforms,

whether worn in the military, certain workplaces, orschools, the individuality of personal clothing, andthe pleasures associated with its selection and wear-ing, should be extended to computing. The fullpower and enjoyment of this synergy betweenhuman and machine will be realized only when thecomputer is owned, operated, and controlled by thewearer, giving rise to truly personal computing.Examples of wearable technology at the extremeopposite to the personal wearable are ID transpon-ders that have been rejected by many employees,and the monitoring devices attached to some crimi-nals [3].

These devices are owned, operated, and con-trolled by a remote entity; some have the capabilityto provide the wearer with an electrical correctivesignal (euphemism for electric shock) when thewearer does something against the will of the entitythat controls the system (e.g., ventures outside a pre-scribed boundary). This prospect is as Orwellian aspole-top surveillance cameras. I hope we don’t see afuture in which people (such as employees of a par-ticular company) are required to wear smart cloth-ing so a manager can see or record exactly what anyparticular employee does at any time.

Smart clothing has the potential to provide a veryintimate form of interaction with the wearer, as itexists within the wearer’s personal space. As such,there is both the danger it could violate this person-al space,and offer the safety and capability to pro-vide the wearer greater control. I do foresee thatlike the cellular telephone, pager, pocket calcula-tor, notebook computer, pocket organizer, andwristwatch, eventually wearable computer systemswill be owned, operated, and controlled by thewearer—much like one’s own clothes.

References1. Bass, T. The Eudaemonic Pie. Houghton Mifflin Company,

Boston, 1985.2. Finger, S., et al. Rapid design and manufacture of wearable

computers. Commun. ACM 39, 2 (Feb. 1996), 63–67.3. Hosher, J., Sennott, J., and Winkler, M. Keeping tabs on crim-

inals. IEEE Spec. (Feb. 1995), 26–32.

Steve Mann (steve@media.mit.edu) is a researcher at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.

©ACM 0002-0782/96/0800 $3.50

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24 August 1996/Vol. 39, No. 8 COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM

In the future, perhaps we’ll become cyborgian—-our clothing will significantly enhance

our capabilities without requiring any conscious thought or effort.

V i e w p o i n t