It’s the end of October, and what’s a publication that can’t figure out a holiday news peg, right? Here’s a story about an honest-to-goodness rocket scientist who found himself with a booming business making Halloween costumes based on wearable technology.
Mark Rober worked for the Jet Propulsion Lab on the Mars Curiosity Rover. Two years ago, he strapped a couple of iPads to himself, turned on the cameras, and made it look like he had a hole going through his middle. Last year, he made a smartphone app and sold a t-shirt with strategic pockets and instructions. It was enough of a hit that he sold $250,000 of them and attracted investors. From the article:
When a friend pretends to punch the wearer in the back, the app makes it look like the wearer’s intestines are being ripped out. Two weeks before Halloween, Rober says sales are up 400 percent from last year.
He’s sold the company to a Morphsuits, a company that makes full-body spandex suits (note to self: there’s a company that sells full-body spandex suits) and the costumes are being sold in Party City stores, which would account for the sales bump.
Not everything about wearables is serious. Some of it is fun, and cool.