Essential to personalised processing of passengers is a portable information store that holds your identity and profile. That profile might combine long-term data such as passport details or seating preferences, with transient information such as the itinerary of a current trip. The profile is used to customise interactions with otherwise faceless technology.
The iButton is an example of a wearable computer that we’ve used at BT Labs to personalise an exhibition experience. Attendees were issued with a button, and individual exhibits could then be automatically tailored to their interests.
The iButton is a 16mm computer chip housed in a stainless steel can. It can be attached to a badge, key fob, watch or ring, and means that information travels with the person or object. Information is transferred between your iButton and a PC with a momentary physical contact. More recent developments in wearable computers offer wireless data transfer.