APPLICATIONS

DON’T TAP, TRACEResearchers at IBM Almaden Research

Center are working on a new method forentering text into a mobile device.Rather than tapping out letters on anonscreen keyboard, you trace words byconnecting the letters shown on the vir-tual keyboard (see figure 1). To spell“word,” for example, you would placethe stylus on “w” and then trace a pathto “o” to “r” to “d.” This method iscalled ShapeWriter and distills the enter-

ing of common words to a fluid gesture,which, with practice, you can do withfew visual cues. Users can reportedlyachieve up to 50 to 60 words per minute.

WI-FI WATCHDOGNewbury Networks recently intro-

duced an expanded version of its enter-prise software security product, Wi-FiWatchdog (see figure 2). Wi-Fi Watch-dog is a server-based software system thatcan monitor and safeguard a wirelesslocal area network. By tracking the phys-ical location of every nearby Wi-Fi devicein real time, Wi-Fi Watchdog limits net-work access to devices within a prede-fined area. Furthermore, the system canlocate any unauthorized access points,ad-hoc networks, or soft access pointsand, if it finds them, cut off networkaccess. Additionally, Wi-Fi Watchdog candetect common attacks that threatenclient devices, including preventingdocked laptops from becoming openports to the outside world. It also detectsMAC spoofing and man-in-the-middleand denial-of-service attacks. Finally, thesystem can be used to prepare reports on

4 PERVASIVEcomputing Published by the IEEE CS and IEEE ComSoc ■ 1536-1268/05/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE

New ProductsEditors: Eyal de Lara ■ University of Toronto ■ delara@cs.toronto.edu

Keith Farkas ■ HP Labs ■ Keith.Farkas@hp.com

This month we review a Bluetooth-based proximity broadcasting system and a Wi-Fi watch-

dog system, both of which raise some privacy issues. We also review a video display that projects

into thin air, technology enabling 3D TVs, and a production-quality two-way display, which is

similar in spirit to the prototype we reviewed in the last column. Finally, we examine a virtual

computer, an ultraportable personal server, a novel keyboard, and a bionic arm that suggests the

future of human-computer integration. Please continue to send pointers to upcoming products

with exciting possibilities, your feedback on existing products, and your personal experiences with

them (your name will be included with your review). Email us at pvcproducts@computer.org.

—Eyal de Lara and Keith Farkas

EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION

This month we say farewell to Guerney Hunt, who has served as served as coeditor of this

column since its inception in the October–December 2002 issue. At the same time, Eyal de

Lara is joining the editorial team. Thank you, Guerney, and welcome, Eyal.

Figure 1. The ShapeWriter technique. Figure 2. Newbury Networks’ Wi-Fi Watchdog enterprise software security product.

activity by location, user/device move-ments, WLAN hotspots, and device his-tories. Wi-Fi Watchdog integrates andinteroperates with existing network man-agement systems such as HP Openviewand CA Unicenter.

PORTABLE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT

IBM Research has developed Soul-Pad, which combines USB portablestorage, virtual machine technology,and an autoconfiguring operating sys-tem, to enable you to take your com-puting environment with you withoutcarrying a laptop. SoulPad stores in asmall USB device (such as a portablehard drive or an Apple iPod) a copy ofKnoppix (a Linux variant with supportfor autoconfiguration), a VMware vir-tual machine monitor, and an encryptedvirtual machine that encapsulates theuser’s data, applications, and personalsettings. Users access their computingenvironment by plugging their SoulPadinto a USB port in any PC. Initially, thePC boots Knoppix from the USB-attached device, which autoconfiguresto the mix of resources available on thehost computer. The PC runs theVMware virtual machine monitor anddecrypts and resumes the user’s virtualmachine. Users can then resume theirtask from where they left off using thehost’s computer CPU and memory. TheUSB-attached device provides persist-ent storage and swap space. When theuser suspends the session, SoulPadencrypts the serialized state of the user’svirtual machine and stores it on theUSB-attached device. No trace is left onthe host PC. Booting a SoulPad takesabout two minutes, whereas shutdowntakes only 20 seconds.

DEVICES

VIDEO IMAGES IN THIN AIRIO2 Technology’s Heliodisplay dis-

plays video images in thin air, project-ing a 2D 22- to 42-inch diagonal image(depending on the model) that floats

above the device. The system acceptsmost 2D video sources including PC,TV, DVD, HDTV, and video game con-soles. The image is displayed in a 2D(that is, planar) space. Heliodisplayimages appear 3D when viewed frommore than a few feet away becausethere’s no physical depth reference.Viewing requires no special glasses orbackground/foreground screening.Although the Heliodisplay uses lasers,the images aren’t holographic. The dis-play is interactive, and no special gloveor pointing device is required. You canuse your finger or hand to move imagesaround in the air as if you were grab-bing a tangible object (see figure 3).Possible uses include advertising, col-laborative decision making (for exam-ple, presentations, design or boardmeetings, and teleconferencing), andsimulation and training, as well as con-sumer applications such as video gamesand home theaters. You can purchaseor rent the Heliodisplay from IO2 Tech-nology.

3D TVATTEST (Advanced Three-Dimen-

sional Television System Technologies),

a multinational research project fundedby the European Union, has developedan advanced 3D TV system (see figure4). ATTEST addresses all parts of thevideo pipeline including content gener-ation, coding and transmission, and dis-play. ATTEST provides two approachesto content generation. First, the ATTEST

team modified a range camera to pro-vide full-resolution 3D video. The 3Dcamera delivers higher depth and pixelresolution. Second, the research groupdeveloped algorithms to convert exist-ing 2D video material into 3D. TheATTEST team has also developed MPEG-2 compliant coding schemes that sup-port the transmission of depth infor-mation and 3D displays for single andmultiple users. A.C.T. Kern is market-ing the single-user display under theFree2C name. The Free2C uses a finematrix of lenses that are applied to thefront of an LCD display to generate thestereographic images. To limit stereo-graphic separation, the display contin-ually monitors the position of the user’seyes and adjusts the lenses accordingly.It offers a usable resolution of 1200 �1600 pixels and a stereographic imageresolution of 600 � 1600 pixels. The

OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005 PERVASIVEcomputing 5

Figure 3. IO2 Technology’s 3D Heliodisplay.

viewing angle is 60 degrees and thestereo cross talk is less than 2 percent.

TWO-WAY DISPLAYSharp has developed an LCD that can

simultaneously display different imagecontent in its right and left views (see fig-ure 5). As with the prototype display wereported on in the July–Sept. issue, theSharp LCD can provide different con-tent tailored to specific users dependingon the angle at which they view thescreen. The display uses a superimposedparallax barrier on a standard thin-filmtransistor LCD to cause the light from

the backlight to separate into right andleft directions, making it possible toshow different information and visualcontent at the same time. Toyota hasincorporated this display into a naviga-tion system for its special edition of theAlphard minivan, which is available onlyin Japan. If customers react favorably,Toyota will consider incorporating thenavigation system into other models.Other possible applications includepoint-of-sale displays that offer infor-mation to clients on one side whilerevealing internal data to sales person-nel on the other and advertisement mon-

itors that tailor ads to the direction thatpassersby approach the display.

ULTRAPORTABLE PERSONALSERVER

BlackDog by Realm Systems is a self-contained personal server that packs ina small form factor (0.5 � 1.75 � 3.5inches and 1.6 oz.) a 400-MHz Power-PC processor and 64 Mbytes of DRAM(see figure 6). It also offers a built-in fin-gerprint reader for user authenticationand a secure digital expansion slot thatcan accommodate up to 1 Gbyte ofFlash or a 20-Gbyte hard drive. Black-Dog runs Debian-based Linux with a2.6.10 kernel. To access the BlackDogserver, you simply plug it into any PCwith a USB port.

BlackDog launches an X WindowsSystem server, a windowing system forbitmapped displays, on the host PC andtakes over the monitor, keyboard,mouse, and Internet connection. The

NEW PRODUCTS

N E W P R O D U C T S

6 PERVASIVEcomputing www.computer.org/pervasive

Figure 6. Realm Systems’ BlackDog self-contained personal server.Figure 5. Sharp’s dual-view LCD.

Figure 4. The Free2C 3D display.

users can then exploit the host’s I/Odevices to interact with applications run-ning on their BlackDog or access back-end servers through an encrypted virtualprivate network tunnel. When BlackDogis unplugged, the host PC returns to itsoriginal state. BlackDog is poweredthrough the host computer’s USB portand doesn’t require an external poweradapter. BlackDog support for intermit-tent connectivity lets users stop writingin mid-sentence in their word process-ing or other application, unplug, and go.When the user plugs in at another loca-tion, the cursor will be waiting in thesame place—no long boot-up required.

COMPONENTS

PROXIMITY-BASEDBROADCASTING

Filter UK, a company specializing inbringing marketing to mobile devices,has developed a proximity-basedbroadcasting system called BlueCast-ing. Directional Bluetooth transmittersbroadcast content to nearby Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones. If the Blue-Casting server discovers a phone, itattempts to identify the phone’s Blue-tooth ID. If it obtains an ID, the serverchecks the device’s transmission historyand transmits tailored content to thedevice. This content can be a simpletext message, an audio or video clip, ora Java application. When a phonereceives such a transmission, unlessconfigured otherwise, it will prompt theuser to accept the download. Thebroadcasts can be configured using arule-based framework, thus letting theserver’s owner tailor the media deliv-ery. For example, the owner mightchoose to deliver a given ad every 100times the server identifies a phone or todeliver a different ad each time it iden-tifies the phone. BlueCasting transmit-ters are available in ranges of 25 to 250meters. While BlueCasting servers cur-rently support individual coverage (forexample, in the vicinity of a billboard),Filter UK is developing versions for use

in mass-audience coverage, such assports venues. The BlueCasting systemis available in the UK.

BIONIC ARMTodd Kuiken at the Rehabilitation

Institute of Chicago at the Northwest-ern Feinberg School of Medicine hasdeveloped a thought-powered bionicarm. The arm is based on a pioneeringmuscle reinnervation procedure thattakes an amputee’s nerves and connectsthem to a healthy muscle. Doctors takenerves that used to go to the arm andconnect them to chest muscles. Thenerves grow into the chest muscles andcan contract the muscle when thepatient thinks, for example, “closehand.” Electrical signals from the chestmuscles drive the arm. Surface elec-trodes sense these impulses from thepectoral muscle and carry themthrough to the arm, causing it to move.Jesse Sullivan, a high-power linemanwho had both of his arms amputatedafter being severely electrocuted, is thefirst patient to be outfitted with bionicarms. The arms have enabled him to dodaily activities such as put on socks,

shave, eat dinner, take out the garbage,carry groceries, and vacuum. Futuregenerations of the arm will incorporatethe sense of touch and feeling.

NEW PRODUCTS

OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005 PERVASIVEcomputing 7

Figure 8. Jesse Sullivan is outfitted withthought-powered bionic arms, developedby Todd Kuiken at the RehabilitationInstitute of Chicago at the NorthwesternFeinberg School of Medicine.

Figure 7. Filter UK’s BlueCasting system broadcasts content to nearby Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones.