Simulation and augmentation: Issues of wearable computers

  • Authors:

  • Ana Viseu

  • Affiliations:

  • Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto 252 Bloor St. West, 9th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V6 Canada Fax: +1. 416. 9 ...

  • Venue:
  • Ethics and Information Technology
  • Year:
  • 2003

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Abstract

As the physical and digital worlds interact,some fields of technoscience have started toshift from an approach emphasizing simulation –in which the physical is replicated in thedigital – to one focusing on augmentation, inwhich the digital is utilized to enhance thephysical. A good place to study theimplications this shift has on the individualis the field of personal wearable technologies.Here, the body is not simply extended byinformation and communication technologies(ICTs), but also becomes their intimate host.This represents a new step in theconceptualization of the synergy betweenindividual (body) and technology (environment),and also affects the ways in which the role andcharacter of each actor are defined. This paperexplores some of the theoreticalre-orientations underpinning the development ofwearable computers and how these shape therelationship between body and environment.