Programming language support for adaptable wearable computing

Software on wearable computers must adapt to dynamic environmental conditions, such as changes in packet loss behavior on wireless communication channels. This paper investigates the use of programming language constructs to realize adaptive behavior. A prototype language, Adaptive Java, was used to construct MetaSocket components, whose composition and behavior can be adapted to changing conditions during execution. MetaSockets were then integrated into Pavilion, a web-based collaboration framework, and experiments were conducted on a mobile computing testbed containing Xybernaut MA-V wearable computer systems. Performance results demonstrate the utility of MetaSockets in reducing file transfer time and enhancing the quality of interactive audio streams.