i*CATch: A scalable, plug-n-play wearable computing framework for novices and children

There has been much recent work in wearable computing that is directed at democratization of the field, to make it more accessible to the general public and more easily used by the hobbyist user. As the field becomes more diversified, there has also been a shift away from the highly specialized functionality of earlier applications towards aesthetics, creativity, design and self-expression, as well as a push towards using wearable computing as an outreach tool to broaden interest and exposure in engineering and computing. This paper presents the design and development of the i*CATch wearable computing framework, which was developed specifically for children and novices to the field. The i*CATch framework is based upon a bus-based architecture, and is more scalable than the current alternatives. It consists of a set of plug-and-play components, a construction platform with a standardized interface, and an easy-to-use hybrid text-graphical integrated development environment. We will also present results of the evaluation of the i*CATch framework in real teaching environments.