Golden-i headset computer to run over Verizon's 4G LTE

Computerworld - LAS VEGAS -- At the Verizon Wireless booth at CES, engineers demonstrated a headset computer called Golden-i for use in public safety and other field workforce applications.

The Golden-i is being shown at Verizon's booth by representatives of headset maker Kopin Corp. because it is designed to function over Verizon's 4G LTE networks. The device could, for example, give a roving security guard the ability to use voice commands to control remote cameras via a fast wireless connection.

Kopin is offering the rugged headset and a software developer kit for $2,500. The headset was built in a partnership with Motorola Solutions.

In a demonstration, Kopin engineer Stephen Pombo showed how a security guard wearing the headset computer could receive a radio report of a missing child in a shopping mall, or view a list of incident reports on the headset display. Then, he could use a voice command to ask the system to show a map of the layout of the mall, and then command security cameras to pan and tilt to search areas where the child was last seen.

In a brief test, I got to wear the headset and found the display in front of my right eye easy to read, and the sound easy to hear, even on the noisy showfloor. I could navigate easily to a home screen to find various applications, then speak the name of an app to open it.

Kopin has incorporated noise cancellation technology that makes the device unique on the market, Pombo said. Because the device would run over LTE, it can handle bandwidth-rich video that other heads-up computers could not. The device can also connect via Bluetooth.

Pombo said the device is a full computer, similar to a smartphone. Golden-i runs the Windows CE 6 operating system with a Texas Instruments OMAP processor.

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Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed. His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.

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