WearTec

The university of Washington is working on a device to help the vision impaired. Using infrared technology, the device is capable of analysing the distance of objects and warn the wearer of the device of a possible collision by projecting an icon onto the their retina. The icon is projected using a vibrating crystal fibre that is attached to a laser diode. The vibration of the fibre creates horizontal lines which give the viewer the illusion of a translucent image.

At the moment the prototype is still fairly large and bulky, and needs to be carried around in a backpack, weighing around 10 pounds. Apart from reducing the size and weight of the device the team could also be looking into using laser light to stimulate the optical nerve in the eye directly, so that people whose eyes’ photoreceptors don’t work could see again.

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PixelOptics is researching the development of dynamic lenses that can automatically adjust their focus, without any moving parts and without the need for multiple lenses.
This means that glasses with bifocal lenses or lenses with separate sections could be a thing of the past, because the lens would be able to automatically focus on the object you are looking at, no matter whether the object is located in the distance or in close proximity (e.g. a book)

Such lenses could then be used to give people vision better than 20/20, as contact lenses and hopefully even intra ocular lenses. This may even help people with a partly damaged or diseased retina as an intelligent lens could be used to project the visual information onto a healthy part of the retina.

How long till you can buy these lenses? PixelOptics is very careful and doesn’t mention a specific date or even a timeline. They hold however, already several patents and have additional patents pending, so hopefully they are on the right track.

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Myth or Fact? Technology or a bit of plastic with a fancy description? Springbak is selling Speedsoles a performance enhancing insole for your shoe that is supposed to make you jump higher and farther, help you run faster and speed up your recovery time.
According to Springbak, the Speedsoles achieve this through two different processes:
Vibration Frequency
“What happens is that Speedsoles speed up the flow of electrical currents in your body. Independent laboratory tests show that electrical currents will increase a minimum of 10% with Speedsoles. That enables athletes — and everyone else — to increase their capacity to draw a little more energy from their bodies.”

Recoil Process
“When Speedsoles strike any playing surface for practice or compeition, enough energy is returned to absorb foot shock.
The major benefit of the “recoil process” is the shock absorbing quality which prevents and eliminates shinsplints and most all tendonitis.”

According to their website, “Speedsoles were standard issue for the 2004 U.S.A. Olympic volleyball teams — both men and women teams.” They also have a range of university and lab tests on their website that claim to prove the effectiveness of the Speedsoles. At 25 dollars a pair it sounds tempting to give it a try.

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Some people might think you have an identity crisis trying to be the Terminator, but these ultra lightweight ‘glasses’ actually allow you to enjoy 640×480 resolution from a variety of devices, such as PDA’s, laptops, cell phones, cameras, etc. The M920-Video (the official name of this Eye Wear device) is powered by two AA type batteries, which last for 2.5 to 4.5 hours.

While the M920 is certainly one of the eye display devices I have seen, the question is whether a 640×480 resolution directly in front of your eyes is high enough. Also, you should check whether the device you are intending to connect the M920 to actually supports the 640×480 resolution, otherwise you might be wasting 800 dollars.

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NewScientistTech reports that the MIT Media Lab is developing a device that can analyse emotions and is capable of telling you when the person you are talking to gets bored or annoyed. The aim is to help autistic people determine the emotional state of the person they are talking to, something that an autistic person often can determine by themselves.
The device is a little camera, that can be attached to a pair of glasses, which is connected to a hand-held computer. Facial recognition software runs on the handheld computer and causes the computer to vibrate if it detects particular facial expressions that signal boredom or annoyance.

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Tired of having to retie your shoe laces after they have come undone? Are you uncomfortable running because you haven’t tied the laces evenly and now they are too tight in one spot and too loose in another spot?
Speed Laces might be the answer. This system distributes pressure evenly and allows you to open and close the shoes within seconds.
Speed Laces can be fitted to any standard laced shoe by simply removing the old laces and screwing the fitting devices into the shoe’s eyelets. The Speed Laces come in a variety of colours and can be ordered either as non elastic for a tight fit or as elastic for a comfortable, more loose fit. At 9 dollars a pair, the Speed Laces certainly don’t break the bank and are cheap enough to give them a try.

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What’s the next best thing to fancy frames to decorate your eyes? Inserting jewellery right into your eyeball of course! If you always wanted to have a decorated shape inserted in the top layers of your eyeball then this might be the right type of fashion for you. Surprisingly, this technique has been around since 2002, I really can’t understand why it is not used more widely .

The process involves creating a little incision in your eyeball and then inserting the shape through the created tunnel. So far patients have reported no side effects and follow up controls of more than a year have found no complications.

Eye Jewellery is currently available in the following shapes:
* Heart
* Star
* Eurosign
* Four-leaved clover
* Music note
* Other shapes on request

via Styleborg

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PDC has developed a durable wristband with an integrated RFID chip. The RFID chip can be used to store information on it and retrieve this information wirelessly. A case study shows the successful use of this technology in triathlons, where medical personnel could read out personal details and medical details from the wristbands of exhausted athletes that required medical attention.
In combination with PDC’s smart kiosk, the RFID wristbands can be used as a wireless payment system, where money can be loaded onto the wristband at the kiosk. This technology is applied in water and amusement parks.

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I’m not quite sure how old this project is, as I couldn’t find any dates, but is clearly wearable technology, so I can’t see why I shouldn’t post it.
The MIT Media Lab has developed a musical jacket that combines a ‘keyboard’ (pictured separately in the photo), sewn into the jacket above the right breast pocket, and a mini MIDI module with speakers (the small brown boat shaped device near the jacket buttons on the left hand side of the photo). “What’s so great about this,” says Orth, “is that we’re maintaining the tactile and material properties that we’ve come to expect from everyday clothing.” This means, if you take out the MIDI module and the batteries, the jacket is fully machine washable, as the ‘keyboard’ is sewn into the jacket using mildly conductive thread.

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The Inquirer reports that Kingmax has presented USB sticks as fashion items in form of jewellery at the CeBIT IT trade show in Germany. A bracelet with an ultra thin usb stick was shown, as was the picture flash memory ear ring. While not particularly attractive yet, there is certainly an opportunity for jewellery designers to experiment with pendants with enclosed flash memory, given the minute size of the flash chips these days. Storage capacity ranges from 256MB to 1GB.

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