Humanistic Intelligence: WearComp as a new framework
for Intelligent Signal Processing
Steve Mann, 1998
Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 86, No. 11, November, 1998, 29
pages (30 including cover; cover picture of issue depicts an early
embodiment of Mann's WearComp invention) Pages 2123-2151
Abstract:
Humanistic Intelligence (HI) is proposed as a new signal processing
framework in which the processing apparatus is inextricably
intertwined with the natural
capabilities of our human body and mind. Rather than trying to
emulate human intelligence, HI recognizes that the human brain is perhaps
the best neural network of its kind, and that there are many new signal
processing applications, within the domain
of personal technologies, that can make use of this excellent but
often overlooked processor. The emphasis of this paper is on
personal imaging applications of HI, as we take a first step
toward an intelligent wearable camera system that can allow us
to effortlessly capture our day-to-day experiences, help us
remember and see better, provide us with personal safety through
crime reduction, and facilitate new forms of communication
through collective connected humanistic intelligence.
The wearable signal processing hardware, which began as
a cumbersome backpack-based photographic apparatus of the 1970s,
and evolved into a clothing-based apparatus in the early 1980s,
currently provides the computational power of a UNIX workstation
concealed within ordinary-looking eyeglasses and clothing.
Thus it may be worn continuously during all facets of ordinary
day-to-day living, so that, through long-term adaptation,
it begins to function as a true extension of the mind and body.