WearIT@work: Toward Real-World Industrial Wearable Computing

• Published in: IEEE pervasive computing Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 8 - 13
• Main Authors: Lukowicz, P., Timm-Giel, A., Lawo, M., Herzog, O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.10.2007; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Assembly; Calibration; Computer industry; Intelligent sensors; Packaging; Sensor systems; Testing; User interfaces; wearable; wearable computer; Wearable computers; wearable computing; Wearable sensors
• DOI: 10.1109/MPRV.2007.89
• ISSN: 1536-1268

Wearable computers are often cited as an enabling technology for out-of-office applications. In fact, there has been a considerable amount of work on industrial applications of wearables. However, with the notable exception of the symbol arm-worn system, this research has had little impact on industrial practice. The wearIT@work project is a 4 1/2-year effort financed by the European Union and aimed at facilitating real-life industrial deployment of wearable technology. The project is at the end of its third year. With 42 partners and a project funding of 23.7 million Euro (half of which comes from the EU), this consortium is the largest civilian wearable-computing effort worldwide. We are organizing the project around four pilot applications - aircraft maintenance, car production, healthcare, and emergency response - that drive the work in a bottom-up, user-centered approach.