Hand Computer

[DaveChase]

Don't forget the computers that handicap use

There are the following input devices for handicap
Breath tube
Eye movement
Chin movement

these are on top of vocie, finger, hand and nerve impulse
Just like advancements of tech during war, many tech devices are invented just to aid the handicap or limb missing individuals.

Dave Chase

 

[Icosahedron]

Hopefully, in the future these won't be needed, but they can be adapted for hands-free computing.

 

[coliver988]

Sidelight

thread resurrection: interesting idea about using the area around the computer to control the computer. http://www.gearlog.com/2008/10/microsofts_sidesight_something.php

"SideSight removes "touch" from the device and makes it a function of the paper, tabletop, or even the air that's next to the device. What does this mean? According to Microsoft, it opens up the possibility for "touch" functions to be built into tiny devices that don't actually need a touchscreen."

Another way of interacting with your very small computer.

 

[DaveChase]

thread resurrection: interesting idea about using the area around the computer to control the computer.

"SideSight removes "touch" from the device and makes it a function of the paper, tabletop, or even the air that's next to the device. What does this mean? According to Microsoft, it opens up the possibility for "touch" functions to be built into tiny devices that don't actually need a touchscreen."

Another way of interacting with your very small computer.

Now that is Cool.

Can any one say TechnoMage. ;0

Dave Chase

 

[samuelvss]

I like those stories too.
For that reason (IMTU) I have no problem with a hand computer controling a small craft. I like the mental image of a pilot strapping in, connecting a data cable from the handcomp (strapped to his pants leg) to the port on the dashboard, and watching his HUD for the system to boot up so he can liftoff.

You've got Army aviation using a computerized kneeboard currently, with Apache pilots building their missions on their desktops, and bringing them over on their kneeboards.

 

[coliver988]

it lives...

sorry, I like hand computers, and it is almost Halloween! Anyway:
"Engineers have created a new fingernail-size chip that can hold 1 trillion bytes (a terabyte) of data -- 50 times the capacity of today's best silicon-based chip technologies."

see http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9139716/Engineers_create_fingernail_size_chip_that_holds_1TB_of_data

Makes the T5/Mongoose assumption about unlimited storage at TL9 seem realistic.

(added here as to not create a new thread, and to resurrect this one as some people may not have followed some of the interesting thoughts here and huge storage in tiny spaces is ideal for hand computers)

 

[aramis]

SideSight is not new tech. http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/
Been around a couple years, at least.

 

[coliver988]

SideSight is not new tech. http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/
Been around a couple years, at least.

similar idea, different implementation. The laser keyboard projects a flat keyboard on a flat surface. the side light thing (and I could be missing things) uses a 3D space for stuff. Think Minority Report, Surface, Apple's multi-touch all rolled into a single virtual space. Not particularly useful under most conditions if you ask me (damn - that fly flew through here & deleted my project!)

 

[BlackBat242]

In the late 1980s or early 1990s, I saw something on a laser array computer controller.

It was a frame, about 3' by 3', and it had an array of lasers across the top and one side.

Some of the lasers projected a virtual holographic keyboard (user customizable), and the rest were for interference use.

They registered where the user's finger(s) broke the plane of the frame to register "key clicks".

All these newer systems are basically developments of that, to me.



Projection-type virtual keyboards have been around for 17 years (at least the concept):

An optical virtual keyboard[3] has been invented and patented by IBM engineers in 1992. It optically detects and analyses human hand and finger motions and interprets them as operations on a physically non-existent input device like a surface having painted or projected keys. In that way it allows to emulate unlimited types of manually operated input devices (mouse, keyboard, etc.). All mechanical input units can be replaced by such virtual devices, optimized for the current application and for the user's physiology maintaining speed, simplicity and unambiguity of manual data input.

3. EP patent 0554492 Hans E. Korth: "Method and device for optical input of commands or data." filed on 07.02.1992
http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=EP&NR=0554492&KC=&FT=E

 

[Renaissance Man]

At TL9-10 plus I see computer interfaces evolve to full blown eido-mimetics. So you have either a jack or a wireless implant that superimposes a virtual interface and display over an area of your field of vision without any visible external hardware.

As you get to TL 11-12 you can get implants on your peripheral nervous system that give you kinesthetic resistance to give your interface a bit of feel.

Yes... a whole "virtual reality" world could be superimposed over your own, but functionally speaking that seems stupid for most purposes besides entertainment... after all, you'd bump into things.

However, at this stage you could certainly forget about intrusive implanted sensory implants. Only one surgery -- to implant the visual eido mimetic device -- would allow you to interact with a wide variety of external aids by adding their vision to your own. Vocal commands or subtle hand motions could "minimize" or "maximize" the real-estate these interfaces take in your vision field.

Ever wonder how you actually fly a grav-belt? Especially while using a weapon? TL 12 Eido-mimetics does away with bulky joysticks and helmet mounted HUD's. I see starship "consoles" in much the same way... technically speaking, one should be able to use wireless eido-mimetic implants to pilot a spaceship from the stateroom -- or the restroom.

Towards the end of TL 12 and onward, CNS implants can bring eido-mimetics to their logical end point. Full virtuality -- essentially The Matrix. The implications of that technology have been well explored. Starship crews would fully "jack in". The prevalence of such technology depends on how attractive it really is to totally lose your embodied real-world self. I think for most purposes standard eido-mimetics is more than enough.

In the case of a hand computer though, it means that it could probably be quite powerful at about the size of a stick of gum, and require no external interface to be used by an average stellar-tech adventurer.

 

[mike wightman]

I very much doubt if people will ever actually consent to major invasive surgery to allow interfacing with machines.
What happens when IntelCorp improves the gizmo - more surgery - every 3-5 years?

More likely is the development of wearable interfaces - contact lenses or glasses, motion recognition devices in bracelets, necklaces or built into clothing etc.

 

[Renaissance Man]

Its sort of an MTU YTU sort of thing, but I figure in a stellar-tech society, the surgery isn't particularly invasive. Considering you can do a face or hand transplant at TL 8, I assume a nerve induction implant at TL 12 is a one hour outpatient procedure. Implants liberate you from having to put on special accessories and give you the flexibility to interact with the wide variety of devices that are ubiquitous at higher TLs; they would probably be popped in by the time kids were old enough to go to school. Today we spend more time, money and pain on braces and wisdom teeth.

95% of the time people just wouldn't think about it. Their actual environment and their data environment become one and the same, seamlessly integrated. The downside -- your eido-mimetics can be damaged or hacked.

Remember -- the implants themselves would be pretty refined technology, and simple compared to the external devices they interface with. Moore's Law may apply to CPU's, but not keyboards, mice and monitors. EMI's are essentially very fancy versions of those devices and would not need upgrades with any regularity.

 

[mike wightman]

That's why I said 3-5 years.

I buy a new graphics card about once per year, a new monitor every other year, a new mouse every three years - all as upgrades.

Now if I had to have surgery every time...

What happens when it breaks?

 

[Icosahedron]

I buy a new graphics card about once per year, a new monitor every other year, a new mouse every three years - all as upgrades.

LOL. Different end-users... My graphics cards generally outlast the computer they came in, I replace monitors and mice when they break, and I replace the computer when the motherboard battery is too low to retain my bios.

I can see what RM is saying, though - the implant probably wouldn't be the computer, it would be a bluetooth-style interface unit linked to your senses (which don't change). The upgradable computer might be a medallion worn around your neck.

What happens when it breaks?

That's when you would need to replace the interface.

Can't say I'm in favour of implants though. I think others would be unhappy with them too, so external interfaces would probably remain as an alternative, parallel development even at the highest TL.

 

[Renaissance Man]

Can't say I'm in favour of implants though. I think others would be unhappy with them too, so external interfaces would probably remain as an alternative, parallel development even at the highest TL.

Definitely.

But for military or spacefaring applications, there is no substitute for direct induction.