ABSTRACT
The preceding chapters in this book have discussed in great depth the design and use of wearable computers and augmented reality displays. The chapters on wearable computers have emphasized computational resources that are carried by the user, external to the surface of the skin, and not directly integrated with the wearer’s biological systems. However, based on developments in microelectronics, sensor technology, and medicine, it is actually possible to apply computing resources under the surface of the skin and in some cases to integrate digital technology with the user’s physiological systems. Such capabilities will allow computing technology to monitor and control various physiological processes, or to act as a sensory and motor prosthesis. In fact, due to advances in technology that have occurred in medicine over the past thirty years, there have already been major developments that relate to placing computational resources under the skin (e.g., cardiac pacemakers/defibrillators). This chapter reviews past developments that fall in the general area of “computing under the skin,” while also discussing the recent advances in digital technology
that are allowing smaller and more powerful circuitry to be placed under the skin.
