Clothing I/O devices

TZI SCIPIO Gesture Band

The TZI SCIPIO Gesture Band is a general-purpose wearable input device. It is in the form of a one-size-fits-all elastic wristband and contains a number of sensors that could be used in many wearable computing applications. It was designed primarily for gesture-based interaction. However, with its built-in 3-axis accelerometers and on-board PIC-based SCIPIO computer, the Band could also be used as a simple activity/task recognition device. It has input buttons (one standard) for input and a speaker and status LEDs for feedback.

Hardware Features

• Freescale MMA 7260 3-axis acceleration sensor
• cavitec MR-1000 RFID Reader 125 kHz (EM, Philips, SID, Temic)
• PromiESD02 Bluetooth Module (Class 2, RFComm)
• Microchip PIC 16F88 MCU
• Li-Ion battery pack for up to 8 hours operation time
• battery management (battery protection, charger, fuel gauge)
• modifiable firmware
• input keys, status LEDs
• programmable audio feedback

Software Interfaces

A number of software packages are available that support developers in integrating the device into their application software. For example, the XSCIPIO software package allows a simple connection of the device to a Linux system with Bluetooth stack running X-Windows. The motion signals of the device are converted into mouse motion events. The buttons of the device trigger mouse click events. 

For host systems with a Java VM and a JSR82 Java-Bluetooth-API, a device interface class is available. It can establish the connection to a specific device and deliver its sensor data to an application program. Possible host systems are Linux and Micrososft Windows systems and java-enabled mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones. 

The WUI (Wearable User Interface) Toolkit, which is a part of the European Wearable Computing Framework contains a driver for the device. It allows gesture-based interaction with the application programs using the device.

Maturity Level (?)

TZI SCIPIO WInspect Glove

The TZI SCIPIO WInspect Glove is a general-purpose wearable input device. It is built from the same hardware and software as the TZI SCIPIO Wrist Band. It is in the form of a fingerless glove with minimal covering on the inside of the arm and wrist. However, contrary to the Wrist Band, the Glove has three textile buttons that fit around the fingers and do not interfere with manual tasks. It is designed for hybrid gesture-based / direct selection interaction. It could also be used as a simple activity/task recognition device.

Maturity Level (?)