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Chic Gear to Suit Net Generation
Roland Piquepaille writes "In this article, BBC News Online says that fashion specialists and engineers are preparing the next generation of wearable computing fashion accessories. Current ones are too conspicuous and expensive. Joseph Dvorak, a researcher at Motorola US, predicts the computers and technology we wear in four or five years time will not draw attention to ourselves. And Dr. Dianne Jones from textile company SOFTswitch, maker of the Burton Amp jacket which integrates an Apple iPod, thinks that the wearable computing industry will grow rapidly. She says that in ten years, 20% of our clothes will incorporate some kind of electronic components. This summary contains more details and references."
She says that in ten years, 20% of our clothes will incorporate some kind of electronic components.
Unless she's including RFID tags, that 20% figure sounds far too high. I can't believe that one-fifth of socks, pants, underwear, shirts, etc will contain electronic components in 10 short years.
Also, how will all these clothes be cleaned? Will they be safe to throw in our 2003 "stone age" washing machines when 2013 rolls around?
Trolling is a art,
If the impending war against machines wasn't bad enough, now we're gonna have to do it naked.
Current Karma Status: Roadkill
Didn't he also say that in four to five years, everyone would be using his keyboards? We see how well THAT turned out.
I guess this means we'd be wearing a Beowulf cluster?
Interesting, it would mean computing power was greater in winter with more clothing layers.
Sorry for using "interesting" and Beowulf cluster" in the same post.
Troc
Troc's dubious podcast and blog: http://www.trocnet.net
i wont be convinced until I have a pair of nano-khakis that don't force me to "shake" for three goddamn minutes after I take a piss
Seriously, PDA's are really coming along, in a couple years you'll have a fully functional computer inside a PDA with free wireless and everything you need. And if you need to hide for a while, its easy to 'forget' your computer in the house or car. You can't really do that with clothing.
From 0% to 20% in ten years? That means about 220 million articles of clothing will be produced in the year 2013 for sale in the U.S. market alone.
Riiight.
Its amazing how much these researchers get blinders on and inflate the importance of their research. There must be a term for this.
A computer in my clothes.. Talk about a dress code!
um... sewing an ipod-sized pocket into a jacket somehow makes her an expert on trends in embedded systems?
Well hell, I can fit five AA cells in my mouth -- I say in 6 months we'll all be living underwater on the moon!
Now where's my consulting fee?
Let it out slowly.
Now chant.
"It's OK to spend part of my day away from computers and the Internet."
Repeat as necessary.
Wiggle your toes and clench your buttocks if that helps. Actually, that's good advice for any time of day.
--- Ban humanity.
Yeah. The world's first yearly-subscription laundry detergent.
Please help metamoderate.
On a related note, the International Symposium on Wearable Computing is being held this October 21-23 in White Plains, NY.
One of these days I'll attend one...
--The more you know, the less you know.
Now wheres my mobile phone?
Oh damn its in the wash..
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
What I want out of wearable computing is an eyepiece or specs that connect to a pda/computer wirelessly that overlays what I see with information.
Doing things like facial recognition and putting people's names under them and maybe some information you wanted to remember about them. Like 'don't ask john about his wife'.
As x approaches total apathy I couldn't care less.
It appears that your boxers are out of date, there exists a security hole that could allow your wang to show. A patch exists that could repair them, would you like to install it?
OK
Always Trust the Microsoft Corporation
I've been violated
Tenner, anyone?
Integrating electronics into clothing gives you a many to many problem, you have to be wearing this for that to work etc. Then there's the batteries, washing, changes in fashion, worn out clothing etc.
The ability to stick this electronic device into that pocket gives you a many to one relationship and will remove any market demand for integrated devices. In fact they are a disfeature[1].
[1] Is that a real word? Go on, pedants you know you want to look it up for me.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
"Is that a 30 GHz Opteron beowulf cluster in your pants or are you just glad to see me"?
"There are already a million monkeys on a million typewriters, and Usenet is NOTHING like Shakespeare." - Blair Houghton
Went to CompUSA and looked at the only armband they have for my iPod. It's a huge, too-wide band of stretch fabric with the same stupid black leather-and-plastic cover over the iPod itself. Black? Bulky? Did they notice the iPod itself is white and pretty danged sleek? I wanted something that'd be like a watchband to wear, and they gave me scuba gear.
Take a look at technologies that are more mature, and you have a different level of refinement altogether. Binoculars, high end ones, really do give a rip about balance, the strap design distributing weight, and every little detail of focus speed and so on. My Swarovskis cost just under a grand retail, and every little detail of their design reflects thought about how you can use them for days at a time in comfort. No ostentation, just good design.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
I think Batman and his belt own the rights to this.
Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
Joseph Dvorak, a researcher at Motorola US, predicts the computers and technology we wear in four or five years time will not draw attention to ourselves.
Heck, what's the point of being a geek if your wearable gear doesn't draw attention?
I can just hear the excuse some girl will come up with to not go out with me on a Friday...
"I'm sorry, I'm defragging my pants that day.