WearTec

This is just a quick note to let you know that the guys at Crunchgear have dug up a wearable technology application that is similar to the Air Guitar Shirt I wrote about yesterday.
The wearable instrument is called Miburi and was released by Yahama. What’s really interesting about the Miburi is that it was released in the 1990’s - at least that’s what Crunchgear claims.

If anyone has more information on the Miburi, please let me know.

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Australians love 3 things: beer, sports and parties (and I should know because I live in Australia
Australian research organisation CSIRO has now developed the next big thing for parties and air guitar contests (yes, these really do exist):an air guitar shirt. The air guitar shirt uses sensors embedded in the shirt to wirelessly transfer the movements of your arms to a computer, which then maps audio samples. CSIRO claims that you don’t have to be a musician or know how to play the guitar to create some decent sounding tunes.

While the above example is certainly great fun it should not be mistaken for merely another party gadget. The air guitar shirt is an excellent example of wearable technology that is actually modelled to support its wearer in performing a task using natural motions, which doesn’t require the wearer to learn how the technology works. I think this is a key element in order for wearable technology to become successful and to be accepted widely by the general public.

Check out the CSIRO site to watch the air guitar videos.

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Warning to all the wearable gadget fans, this one does not require batteries and does not seem “technical” at all at first glance.
Caribongo designes clothes and more importantly prints and motives that are applied to the fabric using a special, photochromic ink.
The photochromic ink makes the whole product stand out from other clothing items. Because of it the motive appears gray, but walk into sun light and all of a sudden the motive is colored.

Their website explains how photochromic ink works:

All our products shown on this website use our unique photochromic technology.

Photochromic is the correct term for sun -or- UV activated pigments.

In short Ultra-violet (UV) light changes the molecular structure of the photochromic inks and makes them absorb color. The inks undergo a temporary physical change in which the molecules change state and appear colored.

When the UV source (sunlight) is removed, the molecules return to their original state and the inks lose their color.

Pretty cool and a “low impact” piece of wearable technology. My only concern is whether the effect will still work after a few washes.

[via Tshirt Island]

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Cutecircuit, the makers of the Hug Shirt, have announced on their website that Time Magazine has nominated the shirt as one of the best inventions of 2006.
As I wrote previously the Hug Shirt allows people to exchange the physical sensation of a hug over distance by means of Bluetooth technology and a mobile phone.
At the same time Cutecircuit has introduced a new design of the shirt, which they say is more comfortable to wear and even completely washable.

Congratulations Cutecircuit for the nomination!
Now can I suggest that we all go to the Time website and vote for CuteCircuit!

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If you have been reading my blog you will have seen the name Eleksen pop up a few times. Eleksen specialises in smart fabrics and creates wearable audio controls. A lot of the MP3 fashion that offers integrated audio controls, such as this one use Eleksen interfaces.

Eleksen has now decided to host several smart fabrics design seminars:

Aimed at product and fashion apparel designers, the design seminar series offers the opportunity to learn directly from the experts as Eleksen discusses best practices, case studies, how to incorporate ElekTex into products, and how to profit from current and future opportunities for smart fabrics. This essential seminar for designers will demonstrate how to create products which blend together consumer electronics with clothing and portable accessories.

Upcoming Seminars:

New York City: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at the W Hotel, 541 Lexington Avenue
San Jose: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at the Crowne Plaza, San Jose Downtown
Los Angeles: Thursday, November 16, 2006 at the The Standard, Downtown LA
At all locations: Seminar starts at 9am Registration from 8.30am. For more information and to register please visit www.eleksen.com/designseminar2006.asp

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The Age has published an article on how we could use our feet (and other parts of your body) to harvest energy and power wearable devices, such as cell phones, displays, laptops and MP3 players. An earlier idea to incorporate a mini piezo generator into footware was abandoned after the 9/11 attacks - “anyone wearing electric shoes would look like a bomber”.
(Piezo electricity is created by subjecting certain crystals to mechanical stress. Electric lighters and gas ovens use piezo electricity)

Apart from trying to use the forces generated when we walk, there is hope that energy can be harvested by incorporating piezo electric fibres into clothing. This could create electricity from fibre stretches caused by moving your arms and legs.

The article also talks about energy harvesting floors in public places, where pedestrians could be used to create 3-6 watts with each step.

People being provided with free electricity are getting paid to go to the gym and run kilometre after kilometre on a treadmill, wouldn’t that be nice…

[source: The Age]

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“Casio Computer Co., Ltd. just announced the release of the GPR-100 — a small, lightweight wrist-worn device that uses u-Nav GPS technology to display real-time data on distance, speed, and pace. This new model in the CASIO SPORT® series will be available in retail stores shortly.”

u-Nav specializes in the development of low powered miniature GPS solutions, which is probably why Casio has decided to integrate their technology into their watch. In fact, the GPS antenna that’s integrated into the watch is only 19mm long and the GPS module measures only 12×11mm, quite astonishing really. The GPR-100 watch does not only display distance and speed, but also receives the exact time anywhere in the world, thanks to satellite data.

Steve’s opinion: the GPR-100 will be useful for runners, as it will measure distance and speed more accurately than the devices that rely on the number of steps you take. The GPR-100 does not seem to be display the actual position though, so you can’t use it for finding your way.

[source: marketwire]

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Apple announced that the new iPod shuffle will be available in stores on Friday, November 3. The new iPod shuffle is about half the size of the original iPod shuffle and has been labeled “the most wearable iPod ever”.

The iPod shuffle has storage capacity of 1GB (up to 240 songs, has a battery life of up to 12 hours and will set you back $79.

As you can see from the images, this newest iPod is much smaller than the old iPod shuffle and tiny compared to the standard iPod and the iPod nano.
Like the old iPod shuffle, the new one does not come with a screen though. It will be interesting to see how it will stand up against similar sized competitors. In this MP3 player segment, there are lots of (cheaper) alternatives, but frankly I have had too many negative experiences with no name MP3 players (ease of use and user interface being the biggest problem). So if you are in the market for a relatively inexpensive MP3 player with limited storage capacity, I would recommend you to have a look at the new iPod shuffle and compare it to the cheaper alternatives.

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This is just a quick note to let you know that MediaMatic will run a wearable workshop in Amsterdam from November 10th to November 12th.
For 125 Euros you will use the Arduino board to create your own piece of wearable technology.

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Some modern cars no feature rain sensors, that automatically activate the windscreen wipers when the windscreen gets wet. Similar technology has new been used by Elise Co, to create the prototype of a rain coat equipped with wearable technology.
Co’s rain coat is equipped with water sensors that, when exposed to water (ie rain) cause a number of electroluminescent panels to light up and flicker, simulating falling rain drops.

Personally I think this is an interesting idea that needs to be modified to have some commercial potential. After all, who needs a rain coat that simulates rain when you’re already getting drenched?
Use the rain sensors to light up areas at the back and front of the coat to increase visibility in poor weather conditions (and safe the rain coat wearer from being run over by a car or two), and you have found yourself a potential market.

[source: Discovery Channel]

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