Roger Laverne Johnson

Application of high-definition display technology to the design of mobile client/server systems

Although the major market force behind the development of high definition display systems is consumer television, there are also a number of important applications for this technology in computer systems which are being designed for the transportation, manufacturing, field engineering, maintenance, and scientific research industries. In many of these applications the computer workstations will need to be highly mobile (i.e. easily transported and often hand carried) and will require flat panel, projection, and virtual image high definition displays to provide graphics and imagery to the user at the point of action. One such important area of endeavor which includes all of the above applications is the international manned space exploration and science program. Current research work underway at SAIC is focused on the development of advanced mobile computing systems which utilize high definition displays. These systems are being specifically designed to support the user in the remote field environments anticipated by the space exploration program. This paper provides a view of future utilization of high definition displays and mobile computing systems in the remote field environments associated with the manned space program. The presentation will illustrate how the development of these systems can be used to greatly improve worker efficiency through the concept of telepresence.