Wearable computers are body-mounted, interactive personal computers (PCs) designed for applications where operators are required to be mobile, keep their hands free, view data in bright sunlight or darkness, and/or keep a largely undisturbed view of the environment while viewing computer or video data. This rugged, full-function computer system will be configured with a head-up display in which the image is projected onto the inner surface of the eyeglass lenses. The unit is designed to maximise the view of the outside environment while the display is in use. The wearable computer includes a voice-recognition system with integral microphone. Accessories such as a wrist-mounted/pocket mini-keypad, roll-up/fold-up keyboard, or data gloves can also be utilised. So, a wearable computer is a PC that can be worn, like tools, clothing and glasses, and interact with the user based on the context of the situation. With head-up displays, unobtrusive input devices, personal wireless local-area networks (LANs), and other context-sensing and communication tools, the wearable computer can act as an intelligent assistant wherever the user is. Other applications for wearables include: communication devices, mobile inventory management, medical assistance and telemedicine, smart appliances and vehicles, and military and optical applications.

There are several reasons why such computers will be successful. First of all, there is the sex appeal. Movies like "The Matrix" and "Johnny Mnemonic" (loosely based on a short story by science-fiction writer William Gibson) have made the mirrorshades- and black-leather-wearing antisocial persona appealing. Secondly, the power enclosed in the tiny box, either because of smaller, faster chips or due to being able to access information elsewhere, such as via the internet or world-wide web, allows more processing power and gets more projects done. The Enterprise from "Star Trek" is one such example. The ship itself is the network, and all of the tricorders, data pads, comms. badges and other portable devices access the ship's main computer to do their job. Thirdly, the wearable computer will offer seamless integration between the user and the technology for increasingly lower cost. The comms. badges from "Star Trek" and "Babylon 5" are worn by aficionados of the television shows already. There are also throat mikes and earpieces disguised as jewelry and other accessories. Tattoos and body-piercing art can also be integrated into mobile computing's growth, with the ever-smaller devices hidden in earrings, tongue studs and necklaces.

A "wearable" computer taken to its ultimate level is described by Robert L. Forward in his "Rocheworld" series, which started with "The Flight of the Dragonfly" in 1984. In another story, "The Christmas Bush," jointly conceived by Forward and scientist-writer Hans P. Moravec, there is a futuristic "wearable" computer used mostly for medical diagnostics, communications and housekeeping. William Gibson is the master of seamlessly integrating man and machine. He demonstrated this when he wrote "Neuromancer" in 1984, touching off the cyberpunk movement. Many of his characters displayed technological enhancements à la "The Six Million Dollar Man" or "The Bionic Woman". But some of them also were able to "jack in" to their computers or the internet directly because they were "hardwired" with technology in their bodies.

We already use cellular phones, pagers, two-way radios and other tiny, portable devices for communication. A wearable computer would incorporate communications with its computing power. The old tricorders in the original "Star Trek" series (1966-68) would be like the cell phone. The communications badges worn on the chest in the more recent "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager" series and on the hand in J. Michael Straczynski's "Babylon 5" are examples of wearable computers for communications. But in fact one of the earliest examples dates from the 1940s, when the lantern-jawed comic strip detective hero Dick Tracy used a two-way wrist watch to communicate with his HQ. In the 1980s, a camera was added to the watch so that he could take pictures at the crime scene and transmit them back to base. Nowadays, it is fairly commonplace for wrist watches to have calculators (often solar powered), television, cameras or global-positioning features.

Wearables will be used in the medical profession. Here again "Star Trek" comes to mind with the tricorder and various portable medical devices used by the medical staff. The tricorder is able to scan someone's body and transport information to the main ship's computer and then get information back for the doctor to utilise in the field. The holographic doctor in "Star Trek: Voyager" could be argued to be at least a portable computer, as well as an artificial intelligence, as could the character "Seven of Nine". One of the applications that the company Blue Fire is currently working towards is for the paramedic industry and has the ability to utilise this "tricorder" function by getting data, video and voice to and from databases, hospitals and doctors, which can assist in life-saving in the field.

Optical computing technology is also being considered. In the movie "The Last Starfighter", the aliens are shown with hydraulic see-through optical pieces that flip back to allow full vision. Cyberpunk master William Gibson best demonstrates the optical technology. In "Neuromancer" and "Mona Lisa Overdrive", the mirrorshades are often more than just plain glasses, and in "Virtual Light" Chevette Washington steals "a pair of innocent-looking sunglasses." But, as the story goes on, "these are no ordinary shades. What you can see through these high-tech specs can make you rich – or get you killed." IBM's television commercials seen during the Superbowl and the Olympic Games show a tiny acrylic box that is used to see the computer screen. Blue Fire, Xybernaut and many other optical engineering companies are working on true, see-through head-up displays for the wearable computer, much like those in Apache helicopters and high-end cars such as the Cadillac.

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