Total Recall, Personal Informatics and Life Logging

It’s been a little while since my last post and figured it was time to get back into my blogging groove. I recently came across a few interesting links that I thought I would share. The two topics I want to discuss are Personal Informatics and Life Logging. I found it fascinating that both of these topics, complex and mysterious sounding on their own, are very much related to my primary research project: My Personal Memex.
For those not familiar with the concept of the Memex:

“Consider a future device for individual use, which is a sort of mechanized private file and library. It needs a name, and, to coin one at random, “memex” will do. A memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory.”  — Vannevar Bush (1945)

Total Recall
Fast forward fifty four years, and we finally have the technology (hardware and software) to make the Memex a reality.  My project has been primarily focused on fulfilling a small portion of the the original idea, but has only touched the surface.  The Memex fully realized would be a system that completely (and automatically) digitizes experiences, memories, and interactions with the environment.  The capability for Total Recall , offloading human memory to a digital space, is not too far away (think Cyborgs).  Now for the fun!

Dante Cyborg from Flickr

Personal Informatics
According to Johnny Holland, Personal Informatics is:

“… characterized as the monitoring and displaying of information about our daily activities through intelligent devices, services and systems. This information allows us to see trends and opportunities for change that we would otherwise miss.  With the rise in network and RFID technology we are pointing to a time where personal informatics can play an important role in our lives. If people can access this information about their daily routines, and interact with their own personal data currently invisible to them: would they make more informed decisions?”

The example in this category that I wanted to share is a new product called FitBit.  The Fitbit accurately tracks your calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled and sleep quality. The Fitbit contains a 3D motion sensor like the one found in the Nintendo Wii. The Fitbit tracks your motion in three dimensions and converts this into useful information about your daily activities.