Somatic Computing, Wearable Computing and The Cyborg. April 27, 2000 (c) Copyright icBorg At face value, the term 'wearable computer' conveys, simply, a computing device that one wears on the body like one may wear a shirt or a belt. At this superficial level, a wearable computer can be a PDA, a smart phone and even a medical alert button. While several researchers have tried to salvage the term from the abyss of generalization by applying their specific meaning to the term, excluding these devices from their definition in ordinary use, the previously mentioned devices are technically 'wearable computers'. No matter how elaborate our definition, in the public arena, the term 'wearable computer' cannot effectively capture any specific use of or intent for a computer worn on the body. In fact, when precision is required it may be counter productive to apply the term to a specific application of a body worn computing device. There is a movement in the current community of self described 'wearable computer' users, researchers and enthusiasts to wear their computers throughout all waking hours, having it immediately accessible at any time for activity and often working in the background while they are not interacting. This movement, is a division only, and not 'wearable computing' in its entirety. But it is this movement, I will temporarily call 'Always-on' wearable computing, that I am interested in here. While a computing device currently needs to be worn in order to be constantly available (assuming, of course, one likes to move and move freely) it is inevitable that part or all of the computing device could be biologically interfaced to and/or implanted in the body in the future. "Wearable Computer" will be entirely inaccurate when describing devices that an individual choses to implant in or interface to his organism. (although I enjoy saying it, I do not ordinarily say, 'I am wearing a taboulli salad', after I have eaten lunch!) Some users, sensing the need for distinction, have described themselves as 'Cyborgs'. The term 'Cyborg', originates as 'Cybernetic Organism', an organism who is bound in certain ways to technology. An artificial limb may qualify one as a 'Cyborg'. The gravity of this idea has afforded the term a place in Post Modernist writing as well as fictional depictions in Hollywood. The post modernist writer Donna Haraway uses the term as a dramatic device to describe our interdependence with technology. Used in her field, everyone who uses and depends upon technology is a cyborg. On the other hand, in Hollywood, the term is used more closely with it's original intent but sometimes without the organic component, coming closer to what we think of as 'robot'. Because of its diverse and already strained use, 'cyborg' or 'cyborgism' is inadequate to accurately represent the movement of 'always on' wearable computer users. I propose a new term, 'somatic computer', defined as follows: A somatic computer is a general computing device designed to be continuously addressable for interaction with the user by being implanted in the body or continuously worn on the body. And 'somating computing' is: the use of or intent to use a general purpose computing device as an integral part of the body, much as one has access to and uses bodily appendages such as hands and feet or organs such as eyes and ears. The characteristics of body appendages and organs (assuming the norm) is their constant availability and interactivity. Hands can immediately be employed for activity with no intermediate steps (one need not search for hands in order to put them to use, as in, "where did I put my hands?"). They are always with us (in fact, they cannot easily be removed). The wording 'use of or intent to use' is meant to cover the current limitations of hardware. Current hardware should not be taken into the shower and will probably be a nuissance during sporting activities but there is no reason why future developments can't make availability even during these activities possible. This qualification renders it unnecessary to debate whether a computer is actually 'somatic' if it is removed periodically for bathing or recharging. As long as the somatic computer is of the 'wearable' and not the 'integrated' variety, there will likely be times when wearing the hardware is a nuissance. The primary features of a 'general purpose computing device' are simply that it is programmable for a variety of tasks, limited only by processing speed, imagination and inclination of the user (within the parameters of the I/O hardware, of course.) This new term and definition circumvents the problem of location of the hardware (inside or outside the body) presented by 'wearable' and 'cyborg'. A somatic computer is interfaced with the body: it can be worn or implanted. Further, using a body rather than a clothing analogy makes an appropriate division between the inevitable tide of wearable gadgets that is on it's way into our new pervasive computing world. Here is a wrap-up: 1. 'Wearable Computing' is a general term covering all types of body worn computing devices spanning from smart buttons to pdas to the extreme expression of the add-on Cyborg. 2. Using the term also for a specific application of 'wearable computing' serves to confound and not to clarify. 3. The term 'Somatic computing' may help to clarify, when used as a replacement for 'always on' wearable computing and it has a longer shelf life, stretching into the days when biological interfaces and implantations are common. Even though I use all three terms, wearable computing, somatic computing, and 'cyborg' interchangably in daily use, when precision is required, I rely on 'somatic computing' to convey the essence of my interest and work. |
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