Wearable Customizable Displays

igargoyle writes "France Telecom has done some fun R&D to display pixilated images from your cellphone on your shirt or sleeve. These raver garments can even be used as a standalone device that can animate based on sounds and gestures. With better resolution, designer memes and logos might become the hot intellectual property being shared by the young hipsters. Then again, maybe it will just be another place for advertisers to exploit."

Comments

Ads

[DMUTPeregrine]

Oh dear. Penis enlargment spam saying the following: Is your penis this tiny?....

animation ?

[mirko]

Could be cool to wear a demo or a game of life :)

Re:animation ?

[mirko]

I just thought of something even better :
display animations on some translucent clothes, so that it suddenly gives women a new way to improve their sensuality :o)

Re:animation ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Could be cool to wear a demo or a game of life :)

Next best thing to getting one

Re:animation ?

[DrEldarion]

Ugh, I'm not sure I want shirts with animation. A lot of t-shirts are annoying enough already ;)

Will be really interesting ...

[maxwell demon]

... if T-Shirt spammers start to sent typical spam messages (probably with the help of virii). Imagine your T-Shirt suddenly turning to "cheap Viagra at www.somewhere.com". But even more interesting would it be for girls if suddenly a typical porn message shows up on their back ...

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[el-spectre]

Actually, Yes. Virii still isn't a valid word YET (give it a few more years and it will be)

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[aj50]

This could take the hatred of popups, adware and spyware to a whole new level, especially if clothes have cameras.

"I know who you are, I know where you live, I know your family, I know your girlfriend and where she works and all because you were dumb enough to download dodgey free software without using ad-aware regularly."

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Could I please point out that radii actually *is* the plural of radius (although you have spelt it with one too many I's) and yes it is in common usage. Definition of radii

Octopi is actually the proper plural for octopus although octopusses is much more commonly used.

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[albino eatpod]

Actually, the correct plural of Octopus is Octopodes. Octopus is not a Latin word, but a Latinised version of the Greek work Oktopous.

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[Anonymous Coward]

excuse me the three i's were of intent by the parent one radius, two radii his point was: not one radius, two radiii and yes, according to people who know latin, "virii" is an incorrect form. wikipedia even agrees with me: "The plural of virus is viruses, not virii, which is sometimes used incorrectly, both knowingly and otherwise." I really don't care (be knowingly wrong all you like) but the parent's point stands.

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[Zone-MR]

Ummm, why the hell would you expect the clothes to have camaras, yet alone support the execution of custom software?

Is this a knee-jerk reaction to find an excuse to put on your tin-foil hat? It's nothing more than a semi-intelligent display which will let you upload an animated GIF. And even if they did have cameras (I still have no clue where that came from), they will be less flexible than your average mobiile-phone or digital camera. AFAIK my digital camera is NOT spying on me and my family because I didn't run adaware on it (!)

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[el-spectre]

Ah I just figured the triple I was a typo.

A note on Wiki, while generally correct, there are constantly petty little "political" wars on there, so I wouldn't suggest it as the definitive, er... definer of words.

Maybe Webster, which agrees (I checked) with you that virii is not a word. In time, with common enough usage, it may be deemed a real word (email, "spam" in the email sense, etc. weren't in the dictionary 20 years ago).

Out of curiousity, how can you know the original poster's intent? Unless you ARE the OP, in which case, why hide behind the AC???

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[Lord_Dweomer]

"AFAIK my digital camera is NOT spying on me and my family because I didn't run adaware on it (!)"

Ok, I agree he was jumping the gun with the whole camera on clothing thing, but then I thought about it, and realized why that might not be so farfetched. Just hear me out.

So, in the near future, wireless internet because ubiquitous. You can walk anywhere and be connected.

Cellphone cameras have undergone HUGE innovation enabling more powerful cameras to be made smaller and smaller.

The next step with cellphones is of course to shrink their form factor, and already we are seeing moves to merge the cellphone with clothing.

Well, the camera is now part of the clothing.

As a handy dandy tool, some people might want to turn their cellphone clothing into 24/7 camcorders to record their lives, but since they won't have the HD space on their clothing to store it, they have to transfer it via the web to a home server.

BAM. There's your cellphone digicam that you have to run adaware on once someone makes some spyware for them for the first time.

Now, of course this is HIGHLY unlikely, but it was kind of fun to extrapolate.

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[Anonymous Coward]

although you have spelt it with one too many I's

That's the point.

Virus -> Virii, from 1 i to 3.
Radius -> Radiii, from 1 i to 3.

Wrong, see?

Re:Will be really interesting ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Here. Dictionary.com FAQ on the very subject of virii. Would you like fries with that?

Medical uses

[furball]

This could be very handy for medical purposes. In normal uses, you can do whatever you want. But sensors inside the wearable can pick up that you're having a heart attack for example and provide the appropriate display on the wearable, eg. "I'm having a heart attack, call for help" etc.

If you suffer a grand mal for example, it could give life saving instructions to people around on how to assist you in such a scenario.

Re:Medical uses

[nkh]

"I'm having a heart attack, look at me, make fun of me, and stare at me for a few minutes before you realize this is not Real TV but real life..."
I'm afraid this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, but people don't help each other anymore these days. I understand it's an off-topic rant about society, but I doubt this kind of display would help anyone, especially if you look at what happen to handicapped people...

Re:Medical uses

[FryGuy1013]

Why not "Help I'm having a heart attack.. wait let me send these electric wires into your heart and send some current to restart it." Seems better to me :)

Re:Medical uses

[xsupergr0verx]

This would be defeated by too many people crying wolf says I.

I know alot of immature people.

Re:Medical uses

[node 3]

If you suffer a grand mal for example, it could give life saving instructions to people around on how to assist you in such a scenario.

A: That guy's freaking out, I think it's a seizure or something... Hey, look at this display on his chest.

B: Cool. Check it out, it can play Tetris.

A: Don't you think we should help him?

B: Two-player Tetris.

A: Oh yeah?

Re:Medical uses

[Anonymous Coward]

I know alot of immature people.

I know a lot of immature people who can't spell.

Re:Medical uses

[Anonymous Coward]

or possibly...

"Help, I've been bitten in the penis by a snake. The only way to save me is to suck out the poison."

Re:Medical uses

[Patrik_AKA_RedX]

Not necessary. We could also save you by cutting it off.

Re:Medical uses

[velo_mike]

I'm afraid this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, but people don't help each other anymore these days

How about this, when people stop suing each other for chickenshit things, I'll start helping. If it's truly life or death, I'll get involved: Choking, CPR, major life-threatening bleeding and I'm there until the medics arrive. Anything otherwise and I'll be more than happy to call 911 for you but that's where my involvement ends.

It makes me sad to look at the world this way, but I'm also unwilling to put myself at risk unless the outcome is certain death.

Re:Medical uses

[OneHungLo]

If you suffer a grand mal for example, it could give life saving instructions to people around on how to assist you in such a scenario.

Yes, and to make sure that it's an attention grabber, you could also have it say, "I'M HAVING A SEIZURE", in big, flashing letters.

Re:Medical uses

[perly-king-69]

but people don't help each other anymore these days

Isn't it actually illegal in France NOT to help someone who needs medical assistance? Not sure how well applied the law is though.

Just a coincidence that this system is being developed by France Telecom. C'est la vie!

Re:Medical uses

[MrFreshly]

hummm...Only one joystick?

Re:Medical uses

[proj_2501]

there may be laws that protect you if you try and perform first aid, for example, rhode island's "good samaritan" law.

Re:Medical uses

[Anonymous Coward]

there may be laws that protect you if you try and perform first aid, for example, rhode island's "good samaritan" law.

Fine, and what about the other 49 states... got time to look them up while you wonder whether you're going to get sued for jumping into a life-or-death situation?

Hell with that, unless it's someone that I trust won't be suing me afterwards (or their relatives, who are a big unknown factor), they can choke on their own refuse and we'll just consider it cleansing of the genetic pool.

Re:Medical uses

[velo_mike]

there may be laws that protect you if you try and perform first aid, for example, rhode island's "good samaritan" law.

First, IANAL, but I am the only member of my immediate family not to be sued by someone after competently helping someone.

Good Samaritan laws are your defense _AFTER_ you're sued, they protect you from incurring damages. The problem is, you still have to defend yourself in court: spend the money on lawyers, lose time from work, deal with the bad publicity that comes with being sued for negligence and the stress that comes with it. Fuck that, who needs it.

Re:Medical uses

[proj_2501]

we'll just consider it cleansing of the genetic pool.

cause getting hit by a drunk driver is a product of not being a member of the master race?

Re:Medical uses

[megalomang]

If you at risk of needing help due to a potential heart attack why would you hook this lame thing to your heart sensors? Why not hook it up to a mobile phone that calls the ambulance for you automatically instead of involving additional humans and delays in the process? If your phone has GPS, now they also know exactly where to find you. Try doing GPS with the "pixilated" display device. :)

Re:Medical uses

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course even a case thrown out of court will still cost you money perhaps not all that much but it's a shitty deal.

Re:Medical uses

[danila]

And we've got the graphics already!

Re:Medical uses

[Fred_A]

France indeed has a law often called "Non assistance à personne en danger" (which roughly translates to "non assistance to endagered person") under which you can sue anyone who doesn't promptly assist someone who is in danger if by doing so he doesn't put himself in peril. It is a penal offence and offenders face 5 years in prison and a 75000 fine. See the article or the English translation (scroll to article 223 - 6).

An example that comes to mind is tourists who knowledgely taped someone drowning from afar in the assumption that someone had called for help. Well it turned out nobody had. I remember they were convicted but not the outcome... It was five or six years ago and I can't seem to find anything about the incident on the Web.

Nothing new with ads...

[MagicDude]

Then again, maybe it will just be another place for advertisers to exploit

People are already paying for the apparent privilidge of advertising nike and Abercrombe and what not. If anything, it'll just become the rotating billboard of the fashion industry, every thirty seconds it changes to another advertisment. Now, the real problem is when the wrong types of ads flash across your chest. Think about it, you're trying to pick up chicks and an add like "Levitra helped me with my erectile dysfunction" comes up. Bad news all around.

Re:Nothing new with ads...

[jamesh]

Well at least the chicks would know you had the erectile dysfunction problem solved.

On another note, cruel and unusual punishments could be taken to a new level. A drink driver could be forced to wear a t-shirt that cycles a slideshow of the faces of the people they'd killed.

Re:Nothing new with ads...

[isopossu]

Think about it, you're trying to pick up chicks and an add like "Levitra helped me with my erectile dysfunction" comes up.

Looks like an excellent way to break the ice. I'd like that. Makes the world even less formal and humorless.

Re:Nothing new with ads...

[BlackHawk-666]

The future: MS makes some software to run on a mobile device to control the display. Hackers find a buffer overflow and use it to change everyones' display at the rave to the Penguin ;-)

Re:Nothing new with ads...

[Jaysyn]

Even better: "Levitra helped my Erectile Disfunction. Ask me how."

Better than a "Kick Me" sign.

Jaysyn

Re:Nothing new with ads...

[Anonymous Coward]

Think about it, you're trying to pick up chicks and an add like "Levitra helped me with my erectile dysfunction" comes up.

"Ask _me_ for a free sample..."

"... you'll love the results!"

is this the "within 5 years" category from ars?

[dan501]

they're right - if anybody could properly exploit this technology, it would be burning man people. much better than the high-tech iteration of the guy who stands on the street corner waving a big arrow pointing toward the pizza joint or the apartments for rent.

if they sell them as individual units that you can affix to fabric, I'd buy a bunch and make a shirt covered with them. with cameras in every haphazard direction.

two things I would not do is use it to display pacman. nor would I make my outfit a star trek tng get up.

Re:is this the "within 5 years" category from ars?

[MoonBuggy]

Cyberdog has been selling T-shirts with working animated graphic equalisers for a few years now, and it appears to be using the same flexible circuitry as these things so the only bit that's really new is transmitting from a phone. Since Nokia already sells jewelery that shows pictures sent from a phone and Cyberdog already sells animated display clothing, I wouldn't think it'll be too long until there's a production model combining the two.

Re:is this the "within 5 years" category from ars?

[proj_2501]

if you aim the cameras right, you could predator style camoflage.

Fashion to Finance

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

If these were available widley, I have no doubt that people would link them up to mp3 player and walkmen so an avatar would bop to the music for all to see as they walked around, or the name of the song floated across.

But how long before we see people walking around with T-Shirts displaying scrolling Benneton or Nike logos, animated unpaid advertisements, possibly updated wia the same AP that loads new avatars displaed on the side. We already have logos on our cloths anyway? maybe some would be proud to a 30 second commerical arounf with them

Sooner or later, your shirts will display softcore porn ads as you eat breakfast and wait for the bus. Along with bilboards, TV, radio, signposts and probobly the pavement as well!

This will bring...

[Biogenesis]

..."Kick me" into the 21st century!

Re:This will bring...

[Biogenesis]

Lol, yeah it's only running on a 128kb capped upload :p.

Still no flying cars

[October_30th]

But we still won't have those flying cars we were promised decades ago!

Projected garments

[random_culchie]

I can see this developing.

Think cloths whoese colours change to the beat of the music.

Re:Projected garments

[Biogenesis]

Or even better: to the level of one's arousal and heart rate.

Re:Projected garments

[random_culchie]

Yeah thats all I need.
Not only will my face go red with embarrasment my cloths will too!

Sunglasses

[FrenZon]

I'm still waiting for LCD displays to appear on the outside of glasses - as the eyes are where all the emotion in expression is, it could become a reasonably powerful medium for expression.

... Assuming everyone just doesn't go for the red-crosshairs. Bleh.

Just what we need.

[bs_02_06_02]

Fantastic! More distractions for those idiots that drive 11mph on the freeway and yack on their cellphones.

Now they're going to want to check their clothing for these images while they drive.

Perfect!

I still wish I had a little gizmo that would zap the cellphone calls on the freeway around me.

Re:Just what we need.

[sjwaste]

I think you're looking for something called a Tesla coil. Oh, don't get hurt making/using it :)

Re:Muscle & Fitness

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, penis is sort of a muscle - love-muscle, that is.

Maybe?

[tempest303]

"maybe it will just be another place for advertisers to exploit."

Yeah, and maybe Microsoft would love to see SCO win their case with IBM...

Is there really any question that marketing people would love to exploit something like this? Any surface they can manage to slap a brand name onto, they'll use.

I'll leave you all with a little Bill Hicks:

"By the way if anyone here is in advertising or marketing... kill yourself. No, no, no it's just a little thought. I'm just trying to plant seeds. Maybe one day, they'll take root - I don't know. Kill yourself. Seriously though, if you are, do. No, really, there's no rationalisation for what you do and you are Satan's little helpers, okay? Kill yourself - seriously. You are the ruiner of all things good. This is not a joke, you're going, "there's going to be a joke coming," there's no fucking joke coming. You are Satan's spawn filling the world with bile and garbage. You are fucked and you are fucking us. Kill yourself. It's the only way to save your fucking soul, kill yourself. Just planting seeds... I know all the marketing people are going, "he's doing a joke..." There's no joke here whatsoever. Suck a tail-pipe, fucking hang yourself, borrow a gun from a Yank friend - I don't care how you do it. Rid the world of your evil fucking machinations. I know what all the marketing people are thinking right now too, "Oh, you know what Bill's doing, he's going for that anti-marketing dollar. That's a good market, he's very smart."

Re:Maybe?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, the late, great Bill Hicks. Gone but not forgotten. If ever there was a voice we needed in the world at this time, it's his. Bush thinks ol' Michael Moore is against him - man, I'd love to hear Bills take on what is happening now! The worrying thing is how close to the mark all of his old material on the *last* Iraq war have been - hell, not even the names have changed!

RikF

Re:Maybe?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, Bill Hicks - the drunk man's Noam Chomsky.

Thanks Bill.

Re:Maybe?

[Cus]

Looks like you're going for the 'anti-marketing' dollar. That's a big dollar. Our marketing research has proven it. ;-)

I remember that from some where?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone remember a show in the 70's called "A Year At The Top" starring Greg Evigan and Paul Shaffer? They wore shirts just like this. Cept it was probably LEDs. What was once old is now NEW!

Pixilated images

[ericvids]

France Telecom has done some fun R&D to display pixilated images from your cellphone on your shirt or sleeve. These raver garments can even be used as a standalone device that can animate based on sounds and gestures.

I dunno, but it's not my style to put pictures of animated drunk people on my shirt. ...

Oh, you mean pixellated.

(Previous comment might sound snobbish, but I learned the meaning of aforementioned word the hard way -- after the graduate aptitude test I took, where the friggin' word showed up. Not fun.)

Re:Pixilated images

[Anonymous Coward]

Laugh, too funny. Thanks for sharing that one. I never would have spotted that. Now I have a new word to drive people nuts with! Life is good...

Re:Pixilated images

[fraudrogic]

Etymology: irregular from pixie
1 : somewhat unbalanced mentally; also : BEMUSED

I guess that can mean drunk.

Videos

[Hufo]

Two videos are available here. The page is in french but you can easily find the videos.

Re:Videos

[stripyd]

French I can cope with. C'est le .wmv que je ne comprends pas.

Re:Videos

[Knx]

The page is in french but you can easily find the videos.

FWIW, here is a (bad) translation of the 4th and 5th paragraph below the video links. Some technical aspects are detailed.

The screen is connected to a mobile phone through a Bluetooth link which allows to send pictures or animations via MMS to another user provided with the same equipment. Thanks to an embedded software, the mobile phone is used as a remote control to enable the screen functionalities: brightness adjustment, choice of displayed patterns, text input, donwloading of animations from Internet ... An improved picture editor has also been developed to allow professionals to submit their own animations, which will be put online and made downloadable via Internet, using the mobile phone.

It's also possible to use the screen in "autonomous" mode, using its built-in sensors (rendering of visual sequences, specifical animations according to physical activity, sound environment...).

Re:Videos

[sploo22]

$ mmsclient mms://wmt-vod.video.francetelecom.com/www2.francet elecom.com/ftrd_2004/image_portee-hd.wmv
$ mplayer image_portee-hd.wmv

Now stop complaining.

Re:Videos

[JohnFluxx]

mplayer can play mms:// streams directly

which means mencoder can as well

mencoder mms://... -o image_portee-hd.wmv -oac copy -ovc copy

Political use

[CdBee]

Groups of demonstrators could use them en-masse to project messages onto prominent political persons or buildings.

Re:Political use

[Biogenesis]

Would that mean goodby to the protest banner? Just get 20 people walking in a line with a letter each. It would make for intenesting displays at football games too actually...

Re:Political use

[Anonymous Coward]

Groups of demonstrators could use them en-masse to project messages onto prominent political persons or buildings

Yeah, and on that day all the trolls who shoot for an +5 insightful with a comment that shows they didn't read the article will reform.

Seriously, I find GNNA more interesting that these dipshits. This is the genesis of the "imagine a beowulf cluster" shit. There was an origin to that joke, and it's in the dipshits who are SERIOUS when they make these inane comments.

Re:Political use

[CdBee]

I resent the implication that I'm a troll, especially when made by an anonymous coward no doubt anxious to keep his own Karma from being further burnt. I post under my own UID, and as a simple click will show my karma is high despite occasionally getting modded down (as doubtless this will be, as being offtopic)

If you want to make points like this, misguided as they may be, at least have the courage of your convictions and post under your own UID.

More Pictures

[Hufo]

Here you can see other photos, including the electronic board.

Re:More Pictures

[Poingggg]

Did you see that small, headless, white pianoplayer too? Must be the one typing in the display-input and owner of the smallest phone ever!

Nice try

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice try dan501 (223225), but if you're going to post anonymously at least try to conceal your normal posting style (no caps!).

Muscle Suit

[Anonymous Coward]

Talk about muscles... why not wearing a suit that displays bulging muscles.

Chick sees me with the muscle suit:
"Are you excited to see me or is .... oh wait! That is the battery to power your shirt!" (running away from the geek)

Re:Muscle Suit

[Anonymous Coward]

No thanks, that would be like cheating in an exam.

"I pay my dues every day, do you?
Yeah, you pay your gym dues but it goes beyond that.
You pay your dues every time you squat.
You pay them every time you choke down another can of tuna.
You pay them every time you puke.
This is what you pay just so you can respect yourself and call yourself a man.
This is membership in the brotherhood of iron"

Natural Development of Technology

[fuzzybunny]

I claim that

1. Pr0n drove the continuing development of the internet
2. Internet pr0n is becoming increasingly technologically sophisticated and interactive
3. Mobile devices are the natural extension of the internet
4. Use of cell phones among children is increasingly prevalent
5. Graphics from cell phones can now be projected on to your shirt
6. Oh dear...

Star Trekkers^H^H^Hies^U Star Trek people?

[FryGuy1013]

Is it me, or does the shirt remind anyone else of a Star Trek Medical Uniform? Certainly the type of person that would want to wear one of these shirts. (For the record my parents were members of a Star Trek club in Sacramento, and I participated some when I was a child)

Re:Star Trekkers^H^H^Hies^U Star Trek people?

[Kaemaril]

Nope, it's not just you. It looks like a Deep Space Nine/Voyager shirt ... and with that display, you could put your own insignia on it :)

Re:Star Trekkers^H^H^Hies^U Star Trek people?

[BlackHawk-666]

How on earth did a pair of Trekkies ever manage to get together and mate? Was one of them also a female?

fun research?

[rozz]

"France Telecom has done some fun R&D"

it may be fun but its definitely not "fun reasearch" ... giant telecoms just dont do that kind of thing

Re:fun research?

[mailtomomo]

Well, they do lots of fun R&D on their internet addicted customers behavior ...

Other Research

[Anonymous Coward]

More fun R&d

It's just wrong. Oh so wrong.

[sakusha]

I can'e believe the stupid demo videos. In one segment, a guest arrives at a conference or hotel or something, he is greeted by a woman with a high-collared jacket with a panel right above her tits, it's scrolling the message "bienvenue." I wasn't aware that women needed any technological assistance to get men to stare at their chests. If the women in this scenario truly wanted to make the men feel really welcome, they'd ditch the high collar and show some cleavage.
But what went way beyond stupid was the video of the girl walking down the street, she sees a sk8r b0i, she wants to hit on him, so she grabs her cel phone and types a message "cafe" to the panel on her purse. Once again, a little cleavage would do a much better job of attracting a man. The purse's display panel was pointed backwards, hanging back off the woman's ass, so I guess if you wanted to attract people stalking you from behind, that would be the perfect way.

Re:It's just wrong. Oh so wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

I personally find women who show a lot of skin and cleavage tasteless.

I like smart, hard, powerdressing business women. If they come with glasses and a tight hairdo, even better.

Re:It's just wrong. Oh so wrong.

[sakusha]

riiiight. And nobody would ever accuse a powerdressing business woman with a flashing sign on her chest of being tasteless..

Re:It's just wrong. Oh so wrong.

[julesh]

Displaying cleavage would attract every man's attention. This way, you get to be picky.

Re:It's just wrong. Oh so wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet if you did a study, a woman displaying cleavage is more visible to men than a woman carrying two lit road flares.

Re:It's just wrong. Oh so wrong.

[RollingThunder]

I wasn't aware that women needed any technological assistance to get men to stare at their chests.
You've got it backwards.

It's not technological assistance to get men to look at womens chests, is technological assistance to give men an EXCUSE for looking at a woman's chest!

"No, no! I was just looking at that LED thing. Honest!"

Re:It's just wrong. Oh so wrong.

[hattig]

Don't you know anything about the French?! :p
That's clearly how they pull! I think they are more butt people than tit people too, hence hanging it off your ass is the sensible option. if you are too cowardly to actually go up to the person and ask them if they want to go to a café and hook up.

I found the photos of poor France Telecom technical employees the best part. They looked slightly bemused with their Cyber Star Trek clothes.

I expect I'll see these in Cyberdog by next year. Must avoid. I was only talking in the pub on Tuesday about animated clothing as well ...

Hoorah for science!

[xsupergr0verx]

How long until we can hack these? I have long awaited the day when I could popup goatse on someone outside of a computer monitor.

Invisibility Cloak?

[oldwarez]

Could this be the basis for a viable invisibility cloak? You have a camera on the back and a camera on the front that hooks straight up to the shirt therefore making you appear trasnlucent. Would it be useful? Probably not. Would it be kickass? Yes. It does seem like a lot better of a method than the Japanese camera trick used to appear invisible. codeus.sexybsd.org

Re:Invisibility Cloak?

[Zone-MR]

Making the entire person appear transparent is difficult in practice, as it only works well when people look at you from just the right angle and distance.

However, for 50% of the population I'd be more than content if only the shirt itsself could be made to appear transparent, which would be easier to implement, and significantly more impressive visually (note: this depends on the wearer).

Re:Invisibility Cloak?

[hattig]

Not with the current technology!

"Sir, you appear to have a bright square hole in your chest."

Re:Invisibility Cloak?

[BlackHawk-666]

The slash crowd are not the type of people you want to suggest this to. I mean really, how many overweight middle aged men do you want to see walking around with a transparent shit? Uggh.

Shirt I saw the other day...

[Gordonjcp]

Had a kind of bargraph display thing with a microphone. It looked like a spectrum analyser, but I don't know if it really was. Certainly it was sound-sensitive, but whether or not it broke it up into frequency bands I couldn't say.

This was in Hellfire Clothing in Glasgow.

Re:Shirt I saw the other day...

[Cus]

Quite common in the clubs. Cyberdog do a few, including heart beats and EQs.

men fake boobs!

[earthstar]

Know what?
when a large area of the tshirt is used for display,one thing naughty guys can do is,display nice big dancing boobs in their chest , with a add-on " squeeze my boobs!!"

Safety warnings...

[Anonymous Coward]

Perfect for your STD list at the bar. "But won't people just lie?" It depends what you're looking for. Sometimes being herpes-positive is an easy in.

Maybe not for personal use - yet

[WegianWarrior]

...layered in a fabric layered sandwich, which they claim is fairly comfortable.

Maybe I'm not geeky enought, but given a choice I'll rather wear a t-shirt that is really comfertable and has a static picture than one thats fairly comfertable and interactive... but this may be just the next big thing in fastfood places and other retail related industries ("todays special is..."). And once the technology matures enought to show full colour video, we'll see teenagers walking around with not only the logo of their prefered shoes all over their chest, but actually the latest comercial for them.

For me, that will be the day I'll officially start to talk about the 'good old days' ;)

Re:Maybe not for personal use - yet

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe I'm not geeky enought, but given a choice I'll rather wear a t-shirt that is really comfertable and has a static picture than one thats fairly comfertable and interactive... but this may be just the next big thing in fastfood places and other retail related industries ("todays special is..."). And once the technology matures enought to show full colour video, we'll see teenagers walking around with not only the logo of their prefered shoes all over their chest, but actually the latest comercial for them.

They've probably been reading Transmetropolitan

Some really weird stuff in there, including people wearing stuff like this.

Re:Maybe not for personal use - yet

[Anonymous Coward]

Right. That'll be the day that I make a documentary about the good old days, to show on my shirt.

Our money in action ...

[herve_masson]

I'm glad to see that outrageous pricing this company inflicts me deserves such a really cool purpose. If this can bring more add and visible noise, that's just fantastic !

New Microsoft T-shirt available

[whimdot]

Only in blue

hahaha!

[manavendra]

Not sure if anyone noticed it, but the first comment on article's comments section at http://igargoyle.com/archives/000440.html is:

You've been Slashdotted, brace yourself and/or redirect!

mods be gentle please! :-)

Re:hahaha!

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's slashdot FT!!! :D

Practicallity? Battery use?

[Zone-MR]

Looks kewl in the R&D stage, but a 16x16 pixel LED display has obvious technical problems.

Lets take the image in the photograph. It has about 3/4 of the 256 pixels illuminated. Thats 192 LEDs. Assuming the image is remain visible outside, in sunlight, rather than in a dark room, you would need bright LEDs, each consuming an average current of at least 2mA.

So that's 384mA current consumption. To get through a 12 hour day (hardly impressibe battery life), you would need a battery with a 12*0.384 = 4.6Ah capacity. Your average huge+chunky laptop battery won't provide more than 2.5AH.

The shirt is a great idea, but if I need to carry around a backpack with a car battery, or plug myself in to recharge every hour or two, I say no-thanks.

Re:Practicallity? Battery use?

[julesh]

So that's 384mA current consumption. To get through a 12 hour day (hardly impressibe battery life), you would need a battery with a 12*0.384 = 4.6Ah capacity. Your average huge+chunky laptop battery won't provide more than 2.5AH.

Well, yes. But an average huge+chunky laptop battery provides that 2.5AH at either 12 or 18 volts, depending on your model of laptop. Running an LED display will require no more than 3v, possible less, depending on the type of semiconducter in use. 4 standard AA batteries should be adequate to provide 4.6Ah at 3v.

(The moral of this story: amp-hours is a useless unit).

Re:Practicallity? Battery use?

[Anonymous Coward]

On the other hand this is 4.6AHr at 3-4V if you are lighting up blue LED. One single cell Li Ion battery would do. Most people wearing this wouldn't wear it for the whole day.

Laptops use multiple batteries in series to get higher voltages.

Re:Practicallity? Battery use?

[Zone-MR]

You are right, I fucked up the comparison.

However my scenario was best-case. For a good visibility you would probably need 3mA @ 3V, possibly more in bright daylight.

Additionally the display is colour. While 2-3mA may be acceptable for red leds, green LEDs tend to require more current to acheive the same brightness, and blue LEDs might require 10-15mA+.

Battery life is still a large consideration, and undoubtably an annoyance. After the coolness factor wears off, your shirt will become another device you need to remember charging.

Re:Practicallity? Battery use?

[BlackHawk-666]

Perhaps they could use some of the electricity our bodies naturally produce? Does anyone know how much this is, and how many leds it could light up?

Re:Practicallity? Battery use?

[kryptkpr]

I have these rechargeable AA NiMH batteries that claim 2.1AH @ 1.2V. I just know they last FOREVER .. I get about 3x the rated playtime on my cd player with them. I think 2 of these, maybe one on each side of the shirt for balance, would provide more then sufficient power for an evening out.

If that isn't enough, I've seen rechargeable C cells come in up to 4.5AH, and rechargeable D cells are available up to 9AH (check eBay).

I'm shy

[SpaghettiPattern]

So I'd either look like your image or transparent.

Re:Something new for ThinkGeek?

[nametaken]

I'm thinking this:
Cellphone w/ RSS feeds + Little parsing app + Text-to-gif + goofy shirt = Slashdot headlines on your sleeve.

Oh dear lord. :)

Hmmmm...

[SilentSheep]

So if i was to "hack" into your t-shirt, i could put any images i want on it. Sounds interesting, could be a lot of fun!!!!

Like it hasn't already happened...

[axonal]

Then again, maybe it will just be another place for advertisers to exploit.

Like advertisers don't already exploit clothing and apparel already. Look at Nike! All you are really paying for is the logo!

Other safety uses

[Mark_in_Brazil]

A post below the article (yes, I RTFA! Please don't exile me from /.! And yes, I'm admitting I read this suggested by another person elsewhere. Please, please don't exile me!) makes an even better suggestion that could conceivably save more lives: cyclists and motocyclists could use a similar garment as extra turn signals and brake lights, helping other motorists see them.
I thought that was pretty cool.
It seems to me you wouldn't need a shirt to display medical data. You could use the same sensors and have a small display that doesn't restrict your clothing choices so much, like an active MedicAlert bracelet. A standard LCD display would work for that.

--Mark

Security

[areve]

How long before someone finds a security vunerablilty in your T-shirt, your T-shirt could endup full of worms!

Paranoia..

[jcostantino]

Why is everyone talking about this wearable display as if it's already out in the marketplace and people have no choice but to buy it because it has made "legacy" clothing obsolite?

Holy crap - I, for one will not buy something that I cannot control. People are making it seem as if you won't be able to buy a damn thing other than these clothes which will put up Cialis adverts or flash 3.9% mortgage rates across your bum.

You know what I'm going to do - assuming that this stuff comes to market? Probably not buy it. I don't want to walk around looking like a dick at night and attracting the attention of strangers - whose motives may or may not be bad. I certainly doubt that the owner of ShadyAdCorp will decide that he will hijack this stuff to spam from and have everyone else follow suit but even if that does happen, how long do you think it'll take for people to toss this stuff? Shit, I would be much more likely to buy a shirt with an animated Nike logo on it that did what it was supposed to do than one that would change based upon what I walked by (RFID tag or transmitter or spam antenna, etc).

I guess to sum up - I doubt that this will be turned into the über spam tool that people think it will be. Even if it does happen, I doubt people would be stupid enough to become light-up billboards selling personal adspace for products from labels other than the one they bought in the first place.

Cyberdog, thank you...

[Gordonjcp]

I was trying to remember the name of the manufacturer. Yeah, that was it. [/me googles]

free?

[Anonymous Coward]

After you buy the shirt, of course... will it be free?

If I were the type to have a cell phone man I think it would be cool to put all sorts of funny rings all over it. But the phones that I am familiar with all charge the user $.99 or something for ringtones. If I had a cell phone I would not buy rings for money. If they were free I'd have a huge collection and play with them all the time, just for the hell of it. But I don't think I'd attach any monitary value to it.

Likewise with the shirt. Damn if I'd buy a shirt and then go around paying for decals to put on it as well.

dreams come true

[timts]

so I finally dont have to work, only need to wear those shirts with advertisement in mall and other public places, to make my living, that's nice.

used in Minority Report movie

[peter303]

Any surface in the Minority Report movie becomes a video advertising display. An obvious extrapolation of flexible e-paper made cheap.

I can see hackers having fun here

[earthforce_1]

Just as the guy walks by a group of Hell's angels, sombody hacks his t-shirt to display a prominant logo for a rival gang. Ouch!

Another use for these

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's an idea, what about at some major sporting event, Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, World Series, etc, they give the shirts to everyone in a section, and have animated signs appear on their chests, like the old style signs, making one giant message.

Of course, this could happen.

Military Applications

[Anonymous Coward]

With proper camera's which display what's behind you, this display on the front of you could make you nearly invisible. A true cameleon.

Re:modern day version...

[ThatsNotFunny]

You think that's fun, if they could couple it with a RFID tag reader, you could walk down the street and your shirt could comment on the people around you based on what they're carrying on them.

Why settle for "I'm with Stupid" when your shirt can detect the prescription bottle of Viagra that the guy next to you is carrying and display "The Guy Standing Next To Me Can't Get A Hard On!"

Or perhaps you can scan his shopping bag and say "This Guy Just Bought Cat Food And AstroGlide. Sounds Like Another Fun Evening With Fluffy!"

Actually, I really want a color-changing shirt that has built-in GPS, that way it can change color based on whether the Bloods or the Cryps have control of the neighborhood.

C'mon nerds, Get Crackin'!

Cybersex Love

[boschmorden]

Perhaps more interesting than the article itself, was a previous story on the site where this was found on robot sex!!! Here

Better Camouflage?

[ShadowRage]

they could make cloaking devices out of this material as well, cameras adjusted at the right directions and you could "see through" someone because like on the back, the camera would be facing front, on the front display, the camera for it would be on the back, same for the sides, etc.

More Lawsuits Coming

[Anonymous Coward]

The RIAA will be sueing the makers of the display because it induces infringment by allowing people to display visuals that are of course derivitive works of the music.

The MPAA will be suing the makers of the display because it induces infringement in the area of illegal public displays of copyrighted works. They will also be asking congress for money to put "copyright patrols" out on the street to make sure no one is playing movies on them.

A whole new war on piracy will begin as trademark holders complain that their trademarks (which are also copyrighted) are being duped or recreated by hackers for use on "unauthorized" clothing.

However, in the end it will be a felony to possess such devices because they can be used, like tatoos, to allow terrorists to communicate in public settings without the chance of being overheard via electronic channels.

These are the tools of burglars and terrorists lets stop the companies from making them now before millions die and billions in revenue are lost to piracy!

fashion trolls

[prestonmarkstone]

Imagine Britney Spears appearing on stage in electroluminescent garb, when suddenly some PDA-toting geek in the crowd hacks her pants and across her ass we see, "first post!"

Re:fashion trolls

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, for Britney it should say "frosty piss".

NO Ads!

[johnty]

We can't have this... it'll make people wear adverts on them all the time... oh wait, they're doing that already.

Great for creativity

[wastedbrains]

If i had a shirt with a video screen i would place my art on it and have creative videos and stuff i have made play there it would be a simple way to get a small audience to see some of the stuff your doing.

Finally!

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I really can wear my heart on my sleeve!

Re: "Wearable Customizable Displays"

[Paracelcus]

Hello, boys & girls!
Can anyone say "cameleon suit"?
I know you can...

In bars, someone will have this one...

[Black Jack Hyde]

Hey ladies, Make Money Fa$T!!! Ask me how.

Re:a link from a blog of a blog of a blog? why?

[guapo42]

Is it just me or does that picture look horribly photoshopped to anyone else?

Smart Costumes

[dailywireless]

DailyWireless has more on Wearable Communicating Costumes and the Adidas Hot Shoe.

"Smart clothing" and wearable computing developers include:

• France Telecom invented a flexible fiber optic system that can be embedded in clothes. Static or animated graphics can be displayed.

• Chipmaker Infineon has created a packaging technology that allows circuitry to be woven into ordinary fabrics, which can then be normally washed or even dry-cleaned. The company created a prototype jacket with an embedded MP3 player.

• Orang-Otang Computers has patented designs for gadgets like a phone that fits under a shirt sleeve, a wrist-mounted audio recorder, a wearable laptop and a wearable camera.

• California's Charmed Technology, an MIT Media Lab spin-off, is poised to be a world leader in affordable, wearable Internet products. Their CharmBadge is designed for aiding the communication and networking.

• Fossil, best known for trendy watches, has created wrist devices that exchange information with handheld computers and Microsoft's Spot.

• The Smart Shirt System uses biological sensors to monitor heart rates or the locations of those wearing the technology, says Jeffrey Wolf, CEO of Sensatex Inc.

• Tactex Controls uses "smart fabric" for a touch-sensitive MIDI controller.

• Zigbee-equipped sneakers might record speed, body telemetry and even external sensors.

• Orientation, communications and geographic positioning electronics can all be incorporated into outdoor clothing. Heat can be transferred through conducting fibres to colder areas of the body

• The SCOTTeVEST shows the way traditional garments may be altered to meet the demanding needs of spies and undercover agents.

Interesting place to put ....

[gurps_npc]

pornography.

Be funny to have a naked picture of someone of the same/opposite sex portrayed on me.

Probably only be allowed to wear it at sex-related businesses, but be funny.

Wearable Displays

[baelang]

This would be great for the back of a motorcycle jacket. a nice, bright, flashing display to warn off cage drivers. maybe even an integrated turn signal indicator.

choices choices...

[silicon not in the v]

With better resolution, designer memes and logos might become the hot intellectual property being shared by the young hipsters. Then again, maybe it will just be another place for advertisers to exploit.

What is "a playground for the spawn of Satan to run rampant?"

I'm sorry, it was "What is advertising space?"

That's what I said!

Um ...

[aggiefalcon01]

With better resolution, designer memes and logos might become the hot intellectual property being shared by the young hipsters. Then again, maybe it will just be another place for advertisers to exploit."

Um ... isn't this just two ways of saying the exact same thing? Especially when the viral-marketing word "meme" is used.

You do!

[gd2shoe]

You do! I do. We all do. For one, [insert common argument about you needing help in an emergency; etc].

For two, in any situation, we all need to be more friendly and outgoing than we think the other guy will be. Only then can we start to turn society around.

Re:You do!

[velo_mike]

...we all need to be more friendly and outgoing than we think the other guy will be.

IMO, friendly and outgoing isn't the problem, a growing unwillingness to accept responsibility for one's actions is.

Someone getting shitfaced drunk and crashing her car and then suing the EMT's, police dispatchers, and the guy who stopped to see if they were OK.

Someone having a heart attack, nearly dying, then suing the guy who performed CPR (saving his life) for breaking a rib.

The list goes on and on, "It's not my fault" has become the chant echoing from the US populace, and there's a huge industry of personal injury lawyers with flashy TV ad's encouraging it. Only when people start standing up and saying, "whoops, yup that's my fault" and fixing the problem instead of passing the blame off to the deeper pockets will society begin to turn around. Award cap laws won't help the problem, there are always ways around the laws, we need to change what is now a deeply ingrained human behaviour.

thus endeth the sermon...

Re:You do!

[gd2shoe]

Being impersonal is close to the heart of the problem. Yes, accountability is too. One of the reasons people get that way is because nobody cared enough to straighten them out before they got that way (we are accountable to care). I would rather be angry at someone, than regret that I hadn't helped when I could have.

Second, the media is partly to blame. First for the lawyers (where did they get the idea, tv maybe); also for the common frame of mind. The odds of being sued in such a fashion are extremely low. How low, I don't know exactly. I would suggest you stop worrying about it. There are some people who won't set foot aboard an aircraft, too.

I'm sorry about your families experience. It might not bring the same suffering, but in some ways it's more tragic than knowing an air crash fatality. A plane crash will tighten standards. This type of "crash" only reciprocates more of the same. Just don't give up hope on humanity. When we do that, then there is no hope for humanity.

Re:You do!

[velo_mike]

Being impersonal is close to the heart of the problem. Yes, accountability is too. One of the reasons people get that way is because nobody cared enough to straighten them out before they got that way (we are accountable to care).

I do agree with you there, being impersonal contributes to the problem. I see more of this behavior in the city I live in now (pop 9 million) than the city I lived in before (2 million ppl) and way more than where I grew up (26,000 ppl). I've also spent time in rural Nebraska, a town of 400, where this sort of attitude did not exist. While there were grudges and catty comments behind your back, they were dropped when you took ill (and usually restored immediatly after).

Personally, I believe this all grew out of the boom generation in the 60's, rebellion against everything their parents stood for (accountability was a big one). That's how they've raised their children (my generation) and grandchildren.

To back this up, I point to my previous example of the cities - Their sizes also mirror their cultural experiences in that time: Paris in the late 60's was a bomb throwers delight. Boulder (Denver) was still a beat town. My little city in Ohio: Remember the song "4 dead in ohio"? Uprisings were not permitted, let alone encouraged. As for the little town in Nebraska, what do you think? Today, you're more likely to be helped by a casual stranger in the inverse order of my little population list. You're also less likely to be dragged into court for helping someone who got themselves into a mess through their own doing.

France is a little different, IMO, it's moved beyond suing people and they're trying to hold the state responsible for everyone's well being. To me, this is the inevitable end to the loss of accountability. Look at OB's (obstetricians sp?) in Illinois, they've largely been sued out of practice or out of the State. What is the next step, why a law of course, either banning lawsuits or banning OB's from quitting the practice. This is not entirely a new problem, Ayn Rand wrote at length about it in '57 with "Atlas Shrugged". It didn't have the magnitude then, but it still existed. Crying for new laws just further reduces our responsibility and in the end, exasperates the problem.

Second, the media is partly to blame. First for the lawyers (where did they get the idea, tv maybe); also for the common frame of mind.

Mass media, especially the info-tainment set, certainly play on this, I think the blame falls solely on the plaintiffs. True, the lawyers actively fish for clients, but the people with dollar signs in their eyes freely go along with it. Had they been brought up with some accountability, maybe, just maybe, they'd tell the ambulance chasers where to go. The lawyers are there because there are enough people ready to absolve themselves. And the media? Well, that crap sells, and selling crap is their job.

The odds of being sued in such a fashion are extremely low. How low, I don't know exactly. I would suggest you stop worrying about it.

don't give up hope on humanity. When we do that, then there is no hope for humanity.

By my count, there's a 4 in 5 chance [joke]. You're right, there is a low but ever increasing chance of being sued. As for giving up hope on humanity, sadly, I get a little closer to that every day.