IBM Japan Ltd and Olympus Optical Co have announced the development of an experimental wearable personal computer. The wearable PC comprises an IBM-developed small PC unit and a single-eyed, head-mounted PC Eye-Trek display device developed by Olympus.
The PC offers almost the same features as a standard notebook, including Windows 98 operating system, a 233MHz Pentium MMX, 64MB main memory, 340MB HDD (IBM’s micro drive) and a USB interface. The head-mounted display features 800 x 600 full-color resolution and gives the impression of looking at 10-in screen from 20 inches away. The display is linked with the PC unit via a GVIF digital interface for fast video signal transmission.
IBM Japan said the product can be used on a practical basis and is almost at a commercial product level. While neither company was prepared to give a date for commercial availability or a retail price, they said they are ready to supply trial products to enterprise customers.
