We were impressed with Montreal-based Omsignal’s smart running bra when it first surfaced at CES 2016. It’s well designed, both as clothing and technology, and you can’t help believing that something hugging your chest is going to get a more accurate breathing and heart rate data than something on your wrist. OMsignal recently completed a $10 million funding round, and the … [Read more...]
OmSignal’s Sports Bra Talks to Your iPhone: CES
Seems as if everything these days tracks biometrics, either as a basic function or an added feature. Most of those trackers are not gender-specific, but when you’re talking sports bras, you’re talking a decline in gender diversity. But in a good way. We think. Canadian company OmSignal has developed the Om bra, a sports bra that tracks biometrics, calories burned, and your … [Read more...]
Hexoskin Raises Nearly $1 Million for Connected Fabrics to Chase FDA Approval
It's been a good year for the connected fabrics business: OMSignal shipped shirts with Ralph Lauren, Clothing+ got scooped up by Jabil (which developed a reference platform), and now Hexoskin has closed a funding round of just under $1 million so it can chase FDA approval for a new line of clothing. Hexoskin's parent company, Carre Technologies, says the upcoming line will … [Read more...]
Ralph Lauren Sensor Shirt to be Available to the Public
You may remember that last year, Ralph Lauren put a branded version of an OMsignal sensor shirt on some ball boys at the US Open (the tennis Open, not the golf one). This year, Lauren -- which puts great promotional weight around the tournament -- will make the shirts available for sale to the public. The shirts are tight across the shoulder and chest and loose at the bottom … [Read more...]
Re/Code Tries on Tech Clothing; Wishes It Were Better
A reporter for Re/code built a feature story out of trying tech workout clothing from Athos, OmSignal, and Sensoria. She basically acknowledged why someone would want it, but eventually came to the conclusion that it's a little early for general adoption. The drawbacks: none of it, she said, works all that well. Looking at a smartphone (which is how all these devices report … [Read more...]
Little-known Sarvint Sues Tech Clothing Industry for Patent Infringement
A small and little-known Atlanta company is suing leaders in the technology clothing business for patent infringement, claiming that those companies have fallen afoul of exclusive licenses granted by Georgia Tech. Sarvint on Friday filed suit in U.S. District Court in Atlanta against Adidas North America, Victoria's Secret Stores, Ralph Lauren Corporation, Athos Works and … [Read more...]
Ralph Lauren Brands OMSignal Shirts at the US Open
Is it possible that a major fashion brand is actually embracing the function of wired clothing? The NYTimes says Ralph Lauren is branding OMSignal's instrumented compression shirts at the US Open, the tennis tournament that opens today in New York City. The shirts aren't going on the players, who are probably quite well instrumented during their training already. Rather, the … [Read more...]
Salesforce Brings Wearables Into the Enterprise with Salesforce Wear
We've long believed that the most exciting thing about wearables isn't the Quantified Self movement as much as it is how wearables can change the relationship between people and entities. (It's much the same as early personal computers: standalone computer were much less interesting than computers connected to the Internet.) Salesforce -- the world's top CRM platform -- … [Read more...]
OMsignal Starts Taking Orders for Biometric Shirts
Montreal-based OMsignal has started taking orders for its smart workout wear -- base layers that track heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing rate and depth, calories burned, and steps taken. The shirts, the first set of which all of which are in men's style, have embedded monitors; reportedly, silver-based thread connects them to a small black box that clips onto the … [Read more...]