Heat Dissipation in Wearable Computers Aided by Thermal Coupling with the User

Wearable computers and PDA’s are physically close to, or are in contact with, the user during most of the day. This proximity would seemingly limit the amount of heat such a device may generate, conflicting with user demands for increasing processor speeds and wireless capabilities. However, this paper explores significantly increasing the heat dissipation capability per unit surface area of a mobile computer by thermally coupling it to the user. In particular, a heat dissipation model of a forearm-mounted wearable computer is developed, and the model is verified experimentally. In the process, this paper also provides tools and novel suggestions for heat dissipation that may influence the design of a wearable computer.