We've got smartphones, smart watches, tablets all connected to the cloud. How about a cloud-connected jacket that could create a simpler, better mobile computing experience?
That's what researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are exploring as a real future possibility. They presented a paper on the concept at a recent conference and have developed a working prototype, as a report on the school's website describes:
Using 10 low-cost, credit-card-sized computers called Raspberry Pi's, an old winter jacket, three power banks and a small remote touch screen display, [Asst. Prof. Ragib]Hasan and [PhD Rasib Khan] developed a wearable system that brings all mobile computing solutions together, creating the ultimate smart device. The cloud jacket could make the design of mobile and wearable devices simple, inexpensive and lightweight by allowing users to tap into the resources of the wearable cloud, instead of relying solely on the capabilities of their mobile hardware.
With mobile apps’ becoming more complex, newer, more powerful versions of mobile and wearable devices are continuously released in order to keep up with changes in technology, resulting in increased prices.
To make up for resource limitations, many mobile applications are also powered by cloud servers, which require constant communication over the internet. Mobile and wearable device users are required to upload all personal data to remote public clouds or local cloud data centers, without the knowledge of where their personal data is actually being stored.
“Our overall approach is to create a generic atmosphere or platform that users can customize to fit their needs,” Khan said. “The wearable cloud can act as an application platform, so instead of modifying or having to upgrade hardware, this wearable model provides a platform, and developers can build anything on top of it.”
The researchers' vision is quite audacious and a bit of a throwback, proposing that rather than the industry continuing to make more and more powerful mobile devices, that those devices become more like dumb terminals:
By connecting the terminal devices via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, a user utilizes the devices to request services via a user intuitive display and interactions. The computational task is sent to the wearable private cloud.
Nodes inside the jacket are engaged and compute the task collectively. Upon completion, the displayable result is sent back to the terminal device. The tasks are performed from the privately owned wearable cloud jacket, which also retains most, if not all, personal data.
The researchers also see wearable clouds as having much greater applicability than consumer scenarios.
For example, they are developing a vest that can be placed over a patient's hospital gown, providing wireless connectivity for delivering their vital signs back to hospital systems, rather than have to be connected physically to monitors. That means much easier mobility for patients who have to be moved or simply want to go to the restroom.
A wearable private cloud jacket is an idea that certainly acknowledges the number of devices consumers interact with today, says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Andy Mulholland.
"The fundamental point that these guys are asking is, should we all carry what I would call a fog cloud, meaning it's a localized computing resource to prevent bandwidth cost and congestion," he adds.
But interoperability, as the researchers stress, should be a crucial component, Mulholland says. "My Apple devices can do smart payment and a few other things with presence connectivity," he says. "But the big point of IoT is that it's not just about personalized computing. So an all apple environment works for personalized computing, but not for IoT where our 'cloud' has to interact with other devices and services."
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