Steve Mann was recognized as "The Father of The Wearable Computer", IEEE ISSCC, Feb. 7th, 2000.

<p>
Nicholas Negroponte also recognized his role in founding the field of wearable
technologies:

<h2>Interview with Nicholas Negroponte, Director of MIT Media Lab,
describing how Steve Mann founded the MIT Wearable Computing Project,
as its first member</h2>
<blockquote>
<strong>
      "Steve Mann ...  brought with him an idea... And when he arrived here
       a lot of people sort of said wow this is very interesting... I think it's
       probably one of the best examples we have of where somebody brought
       with them an extraordinarily interesting seed, and then ...
       it grew, and there are many people now, so called cyborgs in
       the Media Lab and people working on wearable computers all over the
       place."
   </strong>
       <br/>
       -- -- Nicholas Negroponte, Founder, Director, and Chairman,
       MIT Media Lab
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
<strong>
"Steve Mann is the perfect example of someone... who persisted in his vision
and ended up founding a new discipline."
</strong>
<br/>
-- -- Nicholas Negroponte, Founder, Director, and Chairman, 1997
</blockquote>
<hr>

<h3>Background:</h3>
Since early childhood, as an amateur scientist and inventor, Mann has been
designing, building, and wearing computer systems, wearable vision systems,
and something he called ``Digital Eye Glass''.  He originally built it as a
seeing aid for electric arc
welding (i.e. as a smart welder's glass;
see "<a href=http://www.slashgear.com/quantigraphic-camera-promises-hdr-eyesight-from-father-of-ar-12246941/>Quantigraphic camera promises HDR eyesight from Father of AR</a>")
and later used it in his everyday life, being called
"the father of the wearable computer", February 8th, 2000 (IEEE ISSCC2000).

<h3>Founding of the MIT Wearable Computing Project:</h3>
In 1991, Mann was accepted into MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
and brought his Digital Eye Glass invention to the MIT Media Lab to found
the MIT Wearable Computing Project, as its first member.
Mann's portfolio (part of his application materials sent prior to being
accepted into MIT) included his
<a href=http://wearcam.org/swim/>S. W. I. M.
(Sequential Wave Imprinting Machine),
<br />
<img src=/swim/swim74/swimcrop334x260.gif>
</a>
<br />
wearable augmented reality computer system
[Steve Mann, "Wavelets and Chirplets: Time-Frequency Perspectives",
pages: book cover + 99-128,
in "Advances in Machine Vision: Strategies and Applications",
Colin Archibald and Emil Petriu, editors, 1992].
<p>
At that time the Director of the MIT Media Laboratory was Nicholas Negroponte.
<p>
Broadcast nationally on CBC Television (``Steve Mann, Creator, Wearable Computing'', 1996), Negroponte, in his own words, said the following:
<blockquote>
<strong>
      "Steve Mann was, uh, building wearable computers in high school,
       and I think its [a] perfectly good example, that here's a young man
       that brought with him an idea... And when he arrived here a lot of
       people sort of said wow this is very interesting... I think it's
       probably one of the best examples we have of where somebody brought
       with them an extraordinarily interesting seed, and then it sort of,
       you know, it grew, and there are many people now, so called cyborgs in
       the Media Lab and people working on wearable computers all over the
       place."
</strong>
</blockquote>

<h3>See one of the following video file formats:</h3>
<ul>
 <li><a href=nn.mpg>MPEG download: http://wearcam.org/nn.mpg</a>
 <li><a href=http://vimeo.com/51330179>See it as part of a longer video
     of Steve Mann, selected art works, on Vimeo.com/51330179 (scroll forward past the first minute to get to the Negroponte interview)</a>
 <li><a href=http://www.glogger.mobi/v/75560>Streaming video from Glogger: http://www.glogger.mobi/v/75560</a>
</ul>

<hr>
<h3>Additional Negroponte quote:</h3>
<blockquote>
<strong>
<a href=http://wearcam.org/tpw_torontostar/>"Steve Mann is the perfect example of someone deemed to be on the lunatic fringe, but who persisted in his vision and ended up founding a new discipline."</a>
</strong>
<br/>(Bangor Daily News - Sep 26, 1997;
      the same quote later appeared in Toronto Star, 2001.)
</blockquote>
<br>
<img width=720 src=SteveMann_founder_MIT_MediaLab_Wearable_Computing_Group_selfie_1995september25th.jpg>
<hr><hr>