The invention of the first wearable computer
Thorp, E.O.
Wearable Computers, 1998. Digest of Papers. Second International Symposium on
Volume , Issue , 19-20 Oct 1998 Page(s):4 - 8
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/ISWC.1998.729523
Summary:The first wearable computer was conceived in 1955 by the author to
predict roulette, culminating in a joint effort at M.I.T. with Claude
Shannon in 1960-61. The final operating version was rested in Shannon's
basement home lab in June of 1961. The cigarette pack sized analog
device yielded an expected gain of +44% when betting on the most favored
“octant”. The Shannons and Thorps tested the computer in Las
Vegas in the summer of 1961. The predictions there were consistent with
the laboratory expected gain of 44% but a minor hardware problem
deferred sustained serious betting. We kept the method and the existence
of the computer secret until 1966
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