Several novel portable and wearable form factors have been prototyped at IBM over the last eight years. Each of the different form factors has some unique advantages and addresses different user needs. This invited paper will present our experience building these prototypes and describe how improvements in technology have advanced our prototypes over time.

Recently we have been investigating the middleware necessary to use a collection of devices symbiotically to address some of the limitations of each form factor. Drawbacks of some form factors include battery, small screen size, limited bandwidth and limited user interface capability. However form factors with such limitations also typically come with several advantages, i.e., they are always with you and provide a private display and a trusted platform.

The paper will sketch a few applications that could use devices symbiotically and outline some of the challenges that need to be overcome to enable this symbiosis.