The blog Neomujer has a slightly breathless report about a wearable tech fashion show at the Women 2.0 conference in Las Vegas. Constant readers will find some of the participants familiar -- the Hovding bike helmet and the Hate Couture project -- but there was also a jacket that translates movement into MIDI data, eyelashes that control an RC copter, and a sweater that … [Read more...]
Geek & Fashion Culture Agree: Form is Key For Wearables
The weekend brought a couple of articles about wearables from central journals in geek and fashion culture: Wired and Black Book. Interestingly, they agree: if the wearables revolution is going to take off, product designers had better think hard about the physical form of the technology. Intuitively, this makes sense -- and it's something that the tech world is hearing a … [Read more...]
Smart Trench Coat from Motiif
Does the world need a "smart" trench coat? Could be. Motiif, a New York City fashion company, is prepping a pretty snappy-looking waterproof cotton trench that includes a 4G data hotspot and wireless telephone charging station in a breast pocket. The first 1GB of data per month is free, and it's $14/GB above that. No idea what the charging cord will look like, or how many … [Read more...]
Report from Smart Fabrics Europe
I remain convinced that materials science is where most of the foundational technology advancements will happen in the next couple decades. Consumers will see a lot of those advancements in wearables -- specifically, in fabrics and fashion. Here's a report from the recent Smart Fabrics Europe conference in Barcelona. They're doing one stateside next year -- April in San … [Read more...]
Big Sports, Big Money, Big Wearable Tech
A press release just popped up promoting the Sports Analytics Innovation Summit in March 26 and 27 in London. The release makes the interesting point that elite athletics are in an entirely different realm when it comes to wearables than consumers. Basically, our Fuelbands and Fitbits are just oh so cute to powerhouses like Chelsea FC and Red Bull professional soccer. The … [Read more...]
Graphene as a Medium for Printed Wearables
Graphene is a crystalline form of graphite (you, know -- carbon) that's one atom thick. It turns out to be a great conductor, and there are efforts to print flexible graphene circuits onto fabric to create wearable electronics. Britain's Telegraph newspaper reports on efforts at Cambridge University to print graphene circuits. This first video shows a printed piano … [Read more...]
Creepy Subcutaneous Temp Sensor
There are limits to the DIY movement, you know? The Motherboard channel of Vice has the story of Tim Cannon of Grindhouse Wetware, who inserted what appears to be a larger-than-necessary sensor under his skin to monitor his temperature. It happened at a body modification conference in Germany. Oh -- and there are status lights that shine through his skin and light up his … [Read more...]
OhMyGod!! It’s Wearables Barbie!!!
If there was any question about wearable technology being A Thing, here's the final word: Digital Dress Barbie. From the Mattel website: This innovative doll features a cool touchscreen, so girls can swipe through preset animations or create their own customized designs right on the front of her dress. Select a look and watch the designs react to music or the sound of … [Read more...]
Myo Wrist Band Controls With Gestures
The Canadian startup Thalmic Labs is building a motion controller called the Myo. The company says it senses motion and muscle movement to to send control signals over a Bluetooth 4.0 connection. The sizzle reel is pretty cool and gives an idea of where their heads are at in terms of applications. And yes, there will be an API. It looks more like a Wonder Woman bracelet than … [Read more...]
Cute Circuit Animated Dresses About to Hit The Market
You probably missed Katy Perry's performance at this year's iTunes Festival. If you did, then you missed the animated dress she wore to close her set with the hit "Roar." Cue up the video at 37:00 and watch what she's wearing. Now that's cool. The dress is made by a company called Cute Circuit, and their computerized animated dresses go on sale next month. Fast … [Read more...]