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Techno Jacket
Feersum Asura writes "Clothes equipped with fully integrated computer networks have been designed and developed in a joint venture between clothing company Levi's and electronics company Philips, following three years of intensive research. For more information visit the BBC website." I wouldn't be caught dead in one of these. Update: 08/16 11:11 AM by michael :More photos!
someone needs to print this article out in colour, laminate it and save it.
you know those articles from the 60s we read where they predict a jetsons-like world with flying cars, et cetera, which make use fall on the ground and roll around with laughter?
well, in 30 years, this is the article people will read and die of laughter.
oh...my...god.
...dave
Think different? I'd be happy if most people would just think...
You're right - I should have said 'anonymnity,' which is different from 'privacy.'
much as some glasses guarantee that the wearer won't get anyone pregnant anytime soon
Heh. A friend in grad school used to call Birkenstock sandals "birth control shoes" for that reason...
"Honey, the washer isn't starting."
"Oh, you see, that's because our son's Novell pants won't wash in the same WinCE-powered appliance with that Philips jacket of yours... Here, I'll write a little perl script... hmm... hard-code the wash and rinse cycles... almost working... have to add the laundry detergent manually... ... *humm* Hey! It works! Isn't technology liberating!"
Wah!
Yeah, wait until it rains the first time. You might just get caught dead in one of those...
kwsNI
Wah!
Some smaller companies have been making jackets in the same vein, often out of Kevlar (now all it needs is thermoptic camouflage (okay, so I was watching Ghost in the Shell last night)).
And of course you can buy vests specifically designed for the many wearable computers out there.
Cool to see more minds thinking about it, though. Maybe someone will get it right eventually.
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Klactovedestene!
Printemps sometimes sends their skaters out to do webcasts. The last one was at the Cannes Film Festival.
Hmm. A few days ago, an inattentive boob pulled out from a side street in front of me, totaling my motorcycle and sending me to the hospital. It would have been quite nice if my gear contained impact sensors and sent a message to my wife that there had been an incident, and whether to pick me up at the hospital or morgue based on lifesigns.
Given that I'm serious about integrating a bike-mounted GPS unit, radar detector, trip computer, and a small x86 system with a solid-state disk (for music, nav, communication) with display (mounted on the sleeve or upper thigh for visibility while riding) and other i/o (speaker/mic in helmet, minimal handlebar-based button input), it doesn't seem all that farfetched to add a couple of serial inputs such as impact, IR-based heartbeat, temp, and position. If you're wearing a big honkin' darth-vader-lookin' suit anyway (search for Aerostich or Cortech suits if you're unfamiliar with these) -- why not go to town with it?
I think not...(*poof*)
For someone who regularly forgets to put his washing in this could be great news! I forsee remote clothing administration! Soon I will be able to assign my clothes IP addresses and wash them remotely, then get them to hang themselves out to dry.
I can't wait!
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%46%55%43%4B !
Now the borg of the fashion industry become real borg. When does Tommy come out with his version.
We are the fashion borg, your chromatic and dimensional distinctiveness will be added to our own. From this day forward, you will dress like us.
Even the borg dress differently, but I wonder if greys are in?
Lowmag.net
Caller: Yeah, some script kiddies have hacked into my clothes and are running a recursion algorithm on the zipper of my pants. I've got tracks-marks on my penis from all the zipping and un-zipping. Can you get it to stop?
911: What OS are you running?
Caller: Debian 6.1.
911: Sorry, we only support Red Hat 9.3. Thank you for calling 911. [Click]
This would be great to take camping with you. Run out of toilet paper, just run a couple of printer tests, and voila!
If my mom was right, these things could save your life. She always said wear clean underwear in case I got in an accident. Connect these to your self-driving car, and you'd never get in an accident if your underwear was dirty!
If it rains, you might be.
"Hey baby, wanna cluster?"
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How cool would it be to ping your laundry?
http://crummysocks.com
The jacket looks fine as long as the earpieces are changed. I wouldn't mind one then.
It's a great concept, but I would have to say that this is still an alpha release.
The article didn't go very far into explaining what systems the jacket actually uses. I'd like to read up on those before I go and spend a lot of cash. Good concept, needs work...
What would happen in the rain?
trousers defragged while U wait
suits pressed and reformatted, 1 hour
This Week's Special: upgrade the memory in your UnderWare and receive a pair of USB socks
Mr. Ska
Keeping track of the kids is easy in this smart kidswear concept which incorporates GPS-driven locators and miniature camera's allowing parents to ensure they're safe, while a computer game console worn on the sleeve keeps the kids happy.
That's my daughter in the silver jacket :-)
As the years rolled by, my sheer hatred of Michael for what he had done to my family's name came to a crescendo. And then, he himself let me know how to get my revenge, albiet inadvertently.
I broke into his house and stole to his bedroom. There, sleeping in his four poster bed, was my enemy.
I pulled the pillow from the other side of the bed, gently, so gently! And then I leaped upon him, pressing the pillow to his face.
A mightly struggle ensued. He beat at me with his mighty fists, and thrashed against certainty. But, as the outcome must be in my favor, his hands were like the fluttering of moths, and then they were still.
I opened the box I had brought with me, and pulled out the Levis(R) brand Techno Jacket I bought for this occasion. It set me back about 600, but worth every penny for this humiliation.
I dressed his corpse in the jacket, grabbed the box and left the house. I drove to a 7-11, and from there, used the pay phone to call the police. I gave them the sparse details, and then hung up the phone.
Who knew that the instrument of my revenge would be something he had clued me in on..."I wouldn't be caught dead in one of these."
There's some areas people are mugged for their old trainers.
I think i'd worry about walking round in a jacket that everyone knows has £600 worth of electronic stuff sewn into it.
PigPog.
Damn. Blew my one-liner in the subject field. Nothing left to say.
PigPog.
Did you dump core into them?
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"When I grow up, I want to be a weirdo"
Three years of intensive research? All they needed was a Gore-Tex jacket, a Nokia phone, a Palm Pilot, a Diamond Rio, and a roll of gaffa tape.
PigPog.
What if someone were to crack your clothes?? Just imagine the damage that could be done assuming one added certian...peripherals.
I don't know about you, but I don't want my shoes that close to my nose...
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Seriously, if Info-Charms comes out with some ear-rings that have some useful gadget/feature I'd even get my ears pierced.
Mind you, all I'd like at the moment is a mixer for my MP3 player and mobile phone, so when I'm walking down the street listening to my music I don't have to rely on the vibrating alert to know that my phone's ringing. Aim big, start small.
This would go nicely with the eHolster.
They don't call us webslingers for nothing.
Kevin Fox
Kevin Fox
403: Connection refused
All opinions are my own - until criticized
I dunno -- one of the best things about being a nerd is the knowledge that if I go out of town and leave my phone, pager, Palm, laptop, and no phone number where I'm staying, the situation at work can degenerate into tight knots of people blaming each other as to why the DB server is down, they can't get their email, and nobody is getting any Quake time in.
I sure don't want people being able to beep my skivvies to let me know that they got a Word document with a macro virus.
I think we can file this under "Lamer". Just like those hilarious white-bread suburban boys who dress in some vaguely percieved "gangsta" style, thinking it gives them an "image". Think of the guy in the next department who has a Dual PIII at home running "Linux 6.0", but mostly uses it to surf the Web. There's the target market...
(But, I have to admit, I'd REALLY like to see some of those Victoria's Secret models doing the runway with these things on...)
Potato chips are a by-yourself food.
Can you imagine a bunch of these on a packed train setting each other off like a minefield that's been packed too dense - each one being flung into another when they touch? That's a pay-per-view event if I've ever heard of one...
(On a serious note, real photo-chromatic glasses rock, I'm never buying normal lenses again.)
Do they magically turn blue when something goes wrong?
Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
I remember reading about computers and circuits being embedded into clothing being developed at the MIT Media Lab a few years ago. They had, in fact, a Levi's jeans jacket that played music when you touched the buttons (which were actually just metallic thread). They might have had embedded networking, as well.
:)
If they used this technology, which it looks like they did, don't you think the students at MIT who did the original work should be given credit for it?
Then again, looking at the monstrosity Levis/Philips came up with, the students are probably happy not to have been associated with it.
If I forget to close a table tag and someone views me with Netscape, will they only see my head?
BilldaCat
To tell you if you're dropping packets,and when you need to launder them.
As for 'Disadvantages of the jackets include the possible implications of network crashes and the effects of rainstorms on techno-clothing while being worn.': the network in the current jackets is passive, and therefore there's nothing to crash, and the jackets are designed to be machine washed and so a little rain (or indeed a great deal of hot soapy rain) really isn't going to bother them...
There's a rather more accurate article in the Guardian online at: http://ww w.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4 051264,00.html
Asher Hoskins
Philips Wearables Project
(a engineer, not an official spokesman! go speak to Philips PR if you want one of those!)
If used in less "obtrusive" ways. The kid's jacket seems like it might be going in the right direction...but how about a jacket for climbers, skiers, or sailors with one of those GPS locators built-in.
The jacket could monitor movement and conditions. If the wearer doesn't move in a few hours or pulls on a strap (some sort of manual activation)...it would send out a signal. It would be a great idea to find skiers burried after an avalanche, or locating sailors lost at sea.
I could also see a sort of built-in weather radio (much like NOAA in the US uses) that would inform the wearer when severe weather conditions were expected. It should be relatively simple, but it could save alot of lives...
Seriously, the possibilities for electronics embedded clothing are pretty endless. Imagine:
:)
- Cell phones embedded in tennis shoes
- Jacket-Fax
- a virtual 80" screen from your ball cap
- personal certificates in your undies ( who would want to steal an old pair of underwear?)
Just don't forget any of it anywhere, or you'll be screwed
XenoWolf The Original - Since 1993
Forget technology; what will rob you of your privacy is looking like a freak in a suit like this.
Disadvantages of the jackets include the possible implications of network crashes and the effects of rainstorms on techno-clothing while being worn.
This sounds scary when you consider the fabric itself acting as the electricity conductor. A quick rain storm could fry you or what?! how much power would something like this take to run?
When did just keeping your mobile phone, a portable audio device, a remote control panel, a microphone and headphones in your pockets become passe?
YouTube & Google Video -> podcast http://castcluster.blogspot.com/
For the pranksters, you could include ultrasonic speakers to cause a little avalanche to eliminate the competition (in competitions of course!).
Then of course, there are night vision goggles... just because. And to put a Dune spin on things, lets add some gas collector/converter in your pants. Just think, everytime you fart, you recharge your gas powered burner (which is in your emergency kit). So burritos for everyone, before you mount up!
Actually, back to a more serious note, I can see this kind of technology being put into those folks' polar wear... you know, those guys that like to explore the North and South 'poles'. I could personally use some of that for diving.
However, I think most of those are silly, but I wouldn't be suprised at all if it caught on with some looser group that defines success as having the latest, not necessarily the greatest!
I seek not only to follow in the footsteps of the men of old, I seek the things they sought.
It'd be great to have some undergarments equiped as such so that it could control both my bladder and bowel movements. I suppose this would represent extreme operating conditions and would make for a good stress test of the equipment.
Praying for the end of your wide-awake nightmare.
Please pay no attention to the vocal but silly majority that is only coming up with dumb one-liners in reaction.
I think these look kinda cool. Between the cell I carry on my hip and the MiniDisc player with behind-the-head headphones hiding in my inside jacket pocket, I can assure you that some people would want these. I'm sure the prices will be pretty steep for at first, but who knows what might catch on, eh?
Check my Go-related blog for beginners: DGD
Here's a link to the high-resolution pictures on Philips' web site that bypasses the "Registeren nieuwe user" registration form. (What's that?--some kind of Jar Jar babble?)
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Have fun: Join D.N.A. (National Dyslexics Association)
Experts are predicting that this latest "geek chic" will lead to even further technological advances in the future
How many of us are going to be fooled by the coming wave of "geek chic" fashion design? Blame it on the opening-up of Internet society to the average person, or whatever, but it's coming. The world will be barraged with semi-sentient 'designers' and fashion industry marketroids, telling everyone that they want to be geeks and they can be geeks by wearing these clothes. Think about these fashion people:
- They aren't geeks.
- They don't know any geeks.
- They have no idea how a geek really thinks.
How exactly are these people going to create geek clothing? Easy: They aren't. What's most unfortunate about this trend is the potential stampede of sheep...err, people...who think themselves geeks just because they're wearing the geek chic clothes. We certainly don't need Cherry Cheerleader and Joe FootballPlayer going around saying "Behold, I am geek"! The geek subsociety has traditionally been our refuge from those people. If we let this fad catch on, it will destroy our heritage. We aren't, and will never be, mainstream; anyone saying so is a liar.All of that IMHO. Or maybe I should calm down. :P)
Washington, DC: It's like Hollywood for ugly people.
Forget these things, I want a taser jacket. A company in california used to make bomber jackets with a built in taser. The battery sat in the breast pocket and the jacket was woven with fine wires to carry electricity. You armed it by pressing a button in one sleeve and anyone that touched you got a nasty shock. Cool for feeling safe on a subway.
I remember seeing Richard Hart wearing one of these on the Next Step on Discovery channel back before he left for C|Net or whatever he is doing now.
So far I've gotten all my Karma from telling people they are wrong... :)
I think I just crashed my pants!
From the end of the article:
> Disadvantages of the jackets include the possible implications of network crashes and the effects of rainstorms on techno-clothing while being worn.
They must be joking! I think it would have been more accurate to write:
'Disadvantages of the jackets include the fact that you look like a complete prat and that the wearer will probably suffer fatal beatings by members of the public on account of their appalling clothing.'
"Techno Clothing"? "Totally Sad" clothing more like. Better to wear normal clothing and have people suspect you are a geek [0], rather than wear this jacket and confirm the fact.
best wishes,
Mike
[0] Not nerd.
Tales from behind the Lagom Curtain