Positive Technology Journal

Wearable displays allow the user to visually interface with the
omnipresent digital world whilst navigating their physical
environment. It's no exaggeration to say that the SCOPO could
very well be to the eye what the I-Pod was to the ear.

Wearable computing has been bandied about for many years
and many peripheral devices are trickling onto the market that
miniaturise the desktop model of interfacing (see Gizmo articles
http://gizmo.com.au/public/News/news.asp?articleid=3173,
http://gizmo.com.au/public/News/news.asp?articleid=3042, ).

The SCOPO, however, doesn't obstruct your field of vision like
some prototype displays. Instead it uses a small LCD screen that
hangs over your eye and fills your vision, providing the illusion of
a ten inch screen from a miniature surface. The headset has
optional headphones and a small belt carried unit that contains
the silicon that creates the images on the screen.

When plugged into a cell phone, PDA or laptop with video
functionality, you can stream directly to your field of vision or vice
versa, recording footage on the fly. The SCOPO belt unit does
not contain a hard drive for storing video or computing itself.

The SCOPO is expected to cost only US $400 and the initial
takeup is expected to focus on industrial and telecommunications
companies, as well as the personal user.

As a portable and affordable digital interface for your existing
PDA or mobile computer, the SCOPO promises real time data
feeds and information that can enhance your life whilst on the
move.

That gives you access to the full gamut of online resources,
whether GPS navigational maps, yellow and white pages data,
restaurant reviews and entertainment listings, or any text, voice
and image manipulation.

It also facilitates immediacy in that you can access your software
and data as you think about it, without having to reach for your
device. In fact, the easy access headset design allows the
SCOPO to be worn as a full time interface without interfering with
your daily activities.

With an industry leader like Mitsubushi releasing a cheap and
practical wearable display, substantial market penetration should
follow as well as new cultural trends. The street finds it's own
uses for things, and with the interaction of wearable displays with
wireless internet and other emergent technologies, the digital and
biological worlds are truly beginning to merge.