Players of Fallout 3 will no doubt draw some similarities between the conceptual design image above and the Pip-Boy 3000 so integral to the game. Working with HP Labs, the US Army has been developing a device to replace much of the equipment soldiers currently carry in their packs. Using an e-ink screen with the components stamped on to flexible plastic, the wrist-mounted display unit could replace field laptops, GPS units and radios as early as 2011.
Right now, the technology is only capable of outputting a monochrome image (just like the Pip-Boy) but it is expected that the device will have a color display by the time it is ready for deployment. It’s currently undergoing field testing, but the tech seems to be durable. “You can strike these things with a mallet, and they just keep on working,” claims HP’s director of information surfaces, Carl Taussig.
As I’m sure is the case with a lot of sci-fi fans and tech nerds, I’ve long prayed for the day that I can have a computer on my wrist, however impractical it may be for my everyday needs. With devices like this in development, my dreams of having a big ass screen on my forearm seem just a little bit closer today.
