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Ready to Test a 'SmartShirt'?

Roland Piquepaille writes "In a very brief article, Health Data Management reports that Sensatex Inc. is looking for beta testers for its SmartShirt system. These fully washable shirts are using nanotechnology to weave a conductive fiber grid into the cotton fabric to monitor your movements or your heart rate and transmitted wirelessly to a central computer. If the tests are successful, these shirts could be used to remotely check old people living alone, but also soldiers in the field or athletes. Read more for additional details and pictures of these 'smart' shirts."

128 comments

  1. Help! by mfh · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've fallen and -- oh you're here already. Thanks.

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
    1. Re:Help! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it's for the elderly, I hope they come out with a SmartUnderwearSystem.

    2. Re:Help! by ozmanjusri · · Score: 1
      I hope they come out with a SmartUnderwearSystem.

      They have that already. If one of those little accidents occurs, the SUS sytem turns pale yellow and starts smelling strange.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  2. I, for one... by bwd234 · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...welcome our new SmartShirt overloads!

    1. Re:I, for one... by nairb774 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Underlords anyone?

    2. Re:I, for one... by epp_b · · Score: 1

      ...welcome our new SmartShirt overloads!

      You mean buffer overloads?

    3. Re:I, for one... by grammar+fascist · · Score: 1

      Underlords anyone?

      Underlings? Definitely. If you fit these with TASER tech, you could keep people penned in. Could do wonders for parole enforcement, or just general oppression...

      I'm not sure I'd even consent to wearing one with just GPS enabled if only my wife had access to it. What if I wanted to buy her a Mothers' Day present without her knowing? It was hard enough keeping the kids from blabbing, and now I'd have to worry about my shirt blabbing?

      --
      I got my Linux laptop at System76.
    4. Re:I, for one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ok. It'll go something like this :

                      Great investment oppo for (ta-dah!) tinfoil overcoats, shirts, anoraks... more !!! The 3-l337 version even comes with an 'undergarment programmable-state' transmitter ! Convince your trusting and beloved significant other, loyally and devotedly plugged in to your undergarment monitor 24/7, that your stats ping for her and for her alone. (disclaimer : gender-specificity is only included for brevity's sake.)... You get the idea.

          * And, just curious, of course, but, will they be easier or more difficult to hack - than cell phones ? Can they be used as rectennas ? Will we need firewalls ? Fireproof BVD's ? Is it ok to take a plane wearing one ? Can they be turned off ? What's the (protocol?) for a 'non-incidental poweroff ?). What happens when the signal is blocked by buildings, overpasses etc. ? Evidently *only* the proper authorities - and mini-Bells - will have the garment's private key for activating the built-in mandatory personal taser crime prevention device.

              So.

            "NO ! Great overlord. I did not poweroff purposefully ! I did not mean to tune you out ! Honest ! I mean it ! The off switch snagged while in the commute ! No ! Please, please......

            I can't wait till I 'need' one. Or more ?! Bet it'll have a lot of company talking to my walmart-rfid'ed wardrobe.

  3. New dangers? by Poromenos1 · · Score: 1, Funny

    I don't trust these shirts. How are we sure that nanotubes won't break away or escape from the shirt and enter the lungs? How do we know that they're safe for people to wear? I think we're set for another DDT-style disaster here.

    --
    Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
    1. Re:New dangers? by suv4x4 · · Score: 1

      How are we sure that nanotubes won't break away or escape from the shirt and enter the lungs?

      How often does a loose cotton thread, say, end up in your lungs? Get real :)

      Also what's bad with that, you get to monitor the condition of your lungs for free.

      How do we know that they're safe for people to wear? I think we're set for another DDT-style disaster here.

      How about highly toxic rat poison called sodium fluoride being in your water supply and tooth paste?

      Oh wait...

    2. Re:New dangers? by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      How will you know unless you test it?

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    3. Re:New dangers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As long as it can run Linux, I'll feel safe.

    4. Re:New dangers? by grammar+fascist · · Score: 1

      How will you know unless you test it?

      I got a guy to let me light him on fire once with the same logic. Can't say much for the overall experience, but by the end, by golly, he knew.

      --
      I got my Linux laptop at System76.
    5. Re:New dangers? by Gooba42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You are aware the shirt you're (presumably) wearing now is constructed of nano-scaled materials, right? They're called "molecules".

      Why you're worried about *a* nanofiber when you're inundated with billions and trillions of nanoparticles a day from wind, water and earth I don't quite grasp. Not even touching on the fact that nanotubes are based on buckyballs terrestrially found in smoke which is an ingredient in the smog you breathe every moment of every day, why are you specifically concerned about this shirt?

      Any why, pray tell, are you worried about *a* fiber in your *lung* where it alone will cause virtually no damage when a particle this small could just as easily wind up in your brain where a single fiber could conceivably cause a real problem by messing with your synapses?

      --
      I just found out there's no such thing as the real world. It's just a lie you've got to rise above. - John Mayer
    6. Re:New dangers? by renoX · · Score: 2, Insightful

      >You are aware the shirt you're (presumably) wearing now is constructed of nano-scaled materials, right? They're called "molecules".

      Yup and you notice that to make those shirt we use materials that have been known to be harmless to man for centuries, we don't know anything about the new materials, they could be harmless or they could be a new abestos.

      >nanotubes are based on buckyballs terrestrially found in smoke

      Bah, arsenic in dose low enough is used as a drug, because there are buckyballs in smoke don't mean that the same material used in a different concentration shape wouldn't be dangerous: all the types of abestos are not dangerous after all, but some are.

      As for the lung, brain, agreed there are dozen of way a new material (nano or not) could be dangerous for the body, this just means that instead of creating a new desaster like abestos'one, we ought to test new materials on animals before making them widespread not after.

    7. Re:New dangers? by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 1
      Yup and you notice that to make those shirt we use materials that have been known to be harmless to man for centuries
      Nylon and polyester have been around for centuries?
      --
      It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
    8. Re:New dangers? by renoX · · Score: 1

      Coton has been in used for centuries.

    9. Re:New dangers? by NZBeeMan · · Score: 1

      and have you seen what cotton will do to your lungs if you keep breathing it in? It's almost as bad as asbestos. There are many things that can cause white lung type syndromes.

    10. Re:New dangers? by renoX · · Score: 1

      Nope but I beleive you, as said before the material must be checked against the usage intented: even arsenic isn't always bad depending of the use.
      Cotton in shirt is not breathed.

      My point is that with old materials we know when to use them or not: you wouldn't use lead to make a new water pipe. For the new materials caution is advisable..

    11. Re:New dangers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cotton? You can wear that?

  4. I hope they have them in XXX-Large by linzeal · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    For the Slashdot crowd, I can just imagine CowboyNeal putting one on and getting up and it exploding off him in shreds like confetti. Wonder how that will be interpreted?

    With a flashing sign of a man with a being torn apart by wolves flashing in red, perhaps?

    1. Re:I hope they have them in XXX-Large by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For the Slashdot crowd, I can just imagine CowboyNeal putting one on and getting up and it exploding off him in shreds like confetti. Wonder how that will be interpreted?

      whoa thats kinda hot...

  5. FTA: by farker+haiku · · Score: 4, Informative

    Now, if you want to be a beta tester, please contact the company (link under the "Press Room" tab).

    Just thought you should know.

    --
    Your sig(k) has been stolen. There is a puff of smoke!
  6. Soldiers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And the enemy wouldn't be able to pinpoint these soldiers?

    1. Re:Soldiers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod parent up insightful/informative. This would not be used for soldiers in the field. Radio silence is too important in combat operations. GPS is a passive signal detection. Active transmission os very restricted.

    2. Re:Soldiers by bhiestand · · Score: 1
      The only enemy the US will dare fight is one which lives in 3rd-world conditions, so there won't be any danger of them having the technology.

      I know you're just a troll and an idiot, but I just have to respond.

      You can buy direction finding equipment at your local radio shack. If a country has the means to procure food and weapons, it can certainly procure radio and simple direction finding equipment. It can also manufacture its own with relative ease. This isn't exactly high-tech stuff we're talking about.

      On top of that, you've got it all wrong. The only enemy that will dare force the US to attack it is one which is self-destructive enough to still live in third world conditions.
      --
      SWM seeks new sig for a brief fling
    3. Re:Soldiers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know you're just a troll and an idiot, but I just have to respond.

      Then I have won and you have lost.

    4. Re:Soldiers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      won't be any danger of them having the technology

      How do you explain the fact that those Afghans seem to have acquired US military USB flash drives full of data?

  7. Can't wait to see this stuff. by farker+haiku · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Frankly, I'm signing up to be a beta tester for several reasons. First, wireless anything is attractive to me.

    Biometric information is wirelessly transmitted to a personal computer and ultimately, the Internet.

    And I'd like to sniff the packets just to see what they are actually sending/what kind of encryption they are using/etc. Secondly, as someone who is trying to lose weight via an exercise program (I mean program literally - I play the dance game In The Groove) the following is also attractive:

    The Athletic SmartShirt System allows the comfortable measuring and/or monitoring of individual biometric data, such as heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, caloric burn,

    --
    Your sig(k) has been stolen. There is a puff of smoke!
    1. Re:Can't wait to see this stuff. by JRock911 · · Score: 1

      Hey.. a fellow DDR player. I also use ITG as well as DDR for weight loss/cardio training. People laugh when I tell them I do this but once you get them up on the pads and they go through a couple of songs and have to stop and catch their breath, they learn new respect for the DDR workout.

    2. Re:Can't wait to see this stuff. by kfg · · Score: 1

      the following is also attractive:

      Indeed it is. I wouldn't mind being able to get rid of the chest band portion of my heart-rate monitor, although you really do cease to notice it after awhile.

      The "smaller than a PDA" thing has me going a bit though. My monitor already sends the data to a device about the size of a wrist watch.

      In fact, it is my wrist watch.

      KFG

    3. Re:Can't wait to see this stuff. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can sniff my packet, farker.

  8. No, I'd rather not by Pichu0102 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Considering all the abuses of privacy going on recently, who knows who gets to see the data collected by the smartshirts? What privacy are we getting about the data collected by the smartshirts? And would they even be required by law to keep that data confidental?
    There's too many privacy concerns, so until I feel secure enough in knowing that my private health information is not being sold or even placed into a national database, there's no way in hell I'm using those shirts.

    1. Re:No, I'd rather not by 4D6963 · · Score: 1
      What privacy are we getting about the data collected by the smartshirts?

      Are you scared of anyone to deduce how frequently and for how long you jack off from your heart and breathing rate? ;-)

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    2. Re:No, I'd rather not by MyOtherUIDis3digits · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There's too many privacy concerns, so until I feel secure enough in knowing that my private health information is not being sold or even placed into a national database, there's no way in hell I'm using those shirts.

      Hey, don't you want to do your part in the war on terrorism? If you don't have anything to hide, then why are you worried?

      I was aiming for funny, but the prevalence of this mentality just makes me sad...

      --
      Ignore anything I said above, I actually agree with everything you believe - mod accordingly.
    3. Re:No, I'd rather not by pHatidic · · Score: 5, Funny

      DVD Jon says you can trick the shirt by jacking off while working out.

    4. Re:No, I'd rather not by Garrett+Fox · · Score: 1

      Exactly. I would definitely not wear such a product, not with the news floating around that England's trying to track all car travel and my own country working on a similar system. I don't want some lout watching me, even though "I have nothing to hide."

      --
      Revive the Constitution.
    5. Re:No, I'd rather not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WHO CARES?

      Why do you care if someone knows your heartrate? I care about privacy with my credit card number, not my blood pressure.

    6. Re:No, I'd rather not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which mentality: the want for privacy or the willingness to give it up to chase ghosts?

    7. Re:No, I'd rather not by Malakusen · · Score: 1

      Or by, um, taking it off.

      I for one don't consider wearing a shirt necessary to masturbation.

      --
      Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to conviction
  9. mod parent troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It will be interpreted as TROLL -1.

  10. Re:FP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i agree with this post.

  11. Skip the spam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  12. Here's a thought by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If these things can monitor your movements, how about making a set of tights that can be used for motion capture.

    1. Re:Here's a thought by adyus · · Score: 1


      ... then we can finally have that animated version of the Men in Tights song from Mel Brooks' masterpiece :D

  13. What'll they think of next? by brownsteve · · Score: 5, Funny

    Embedding software into softwear...

    1. Re:What'll they think of next? by zoloto · · Score: 1

      Oooh, one handed.
      Difficulty rating.... seven.
      Burn's software matches her wet-wear!

      IMDB

  14. Did we not learn... by MyOtherUIDis3digits · · Score: 1

    Did we not learn anything from Wesley's experiment with nanotech on STNG? Of course, it would be nice to hang one shirt in an empty closet and come back a week later to a full wardrobe.

    --
    Ignore anything I said above, I actually agree with everything you believe - mod accordingly.
    1. Re:Did we not learn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Did we not learn anything from Wesley's experiment with nanotech on STNG? Of course, it would be nice to hang one shirt in an empty closet and come back a week later to a full wardrobe."

      Except the rest of the bedroom is missing because it became the raw materials for the wardrobe.

  15. the opposite of another failed project. by priestx · · Score: 0
    --
    "To be is to do." -Socrates
    "To do is to be." -Jean-Paul Sartre
    "Do-be-do-be-do." -Frank Sinatra
  16. A conversation with my shirt by ACK!! · · Score: 5, Funny

    My shirt and I having a conversation in a club.

    Shirt: "You do realize that deodorant is not in limited supply?"

    Me: "Shut up damnit I sprayed the pits."

    Shirt: "Yeah but what freakin' century and what is with those dance moves I mean Anthony Michael Hall doing the geek moves in the Breakfast Club had more grooves than you."

    Me: "Ok crap this is the last time I take you out."

    Shirt: "So, you are saying you are actually going to start having a social life?"

    Me: "Life critiques from my apparel, wonderful."

    Shirt: "Listen if you want to ditch me to the floor man that is all you there is a hottie right over there that is just dying to rip me off of you."

    Me: "Really? Damn, point that out dude."

    --
    ACK /ak/ interj. 2. [from the comic strip "Bloom County"] An exclamation of surprised disgust, esp. i
    1. Re:A conversation with my shirt by BorgHunter · · Score: 1

      You and your shirt could really benefit from this new invention that I hear is also in beta testing. It's called a "comma".

      --
      "Excuse me, did you say 'Trekker'? The word is 'Trekkie.' I should know; I created them." -- Gene Roddenberry
    2. Re:A conversation with my shirt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whoever modded this funny needs to be punched in the groin.

    3. Re:A conversation with my shirt by krbvroc1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      He used nanocommas. They are just hard to see.

    4. Re:A conversation with my shirt by DigitalHammer · · Score: 1

      You must be new here.

    5. Re:A conversation with my shirt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, he obviously is implying that the hot chick wants the smartshirt for herself.

  17. Heat sensitive t-shirts by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 1

    Talking about smart shirts, whatever happened to those t-shirts that changed colour depending on temperature. Do they still exist?

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    1. Re:Heat sensitive t-shirts by Who235 · · Score: 1

      Generra Hypercolor.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercolor

      I don't think they make them anymore, since they crapped out afer a few washes and turned mottled.

      Those shirts ruled until it got hot outside and your pits and back turned one color while the rest of your torso was another.

      I think they had shorts too, but I was too chicken to wear them - being a pubescent male at that time - in case I got excited and had a boner shaped spot of "Hypercolor" on my shorts.

    2. Re:Heat sensitive t-shirts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've got this black and white t-shirt I recently purchased that turns colors when UV radiation hits it. More specifically, a large square on the front has a black and white outline, and the areas get filled in with color when they come in contact with the UV radiation. It's pretty interesting, since they made specific areas turn different colors, and in the end it looks like the finished page of a coloring book.

      Different, yet similar.

      Here's a website describing what sounds a lot like the stuff they put in those t-shirts: http://www.kenencoregroup.com/photochromic-colour. html

    3. Re:Heat sensitive t-shirts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    4. Re:Heat sensitive t-shirts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I remember those. I think I started wearing then just after they went out of style.

  18. that's total fucking bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's at least 25 years away. They are full of shit.

  19. Functional Clothing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, this is not a shirt but it is also called functional clothing.

  20. First moron... by js92647 · · Score: 3, Funny

    to ask "But does it run linux?" gets a punch in the face... from Sensatex.

    1. Re:First moron... by Leith+Jones · · Score: 3, Funny

      but does it run linux?

    2. Re:First moron... by cashman73 · · Score: 1

      This sounds like any nerd's wet dream! A beowulf cluster of panties!

  21. Re:Sex by SpacePirate20X6 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps then we'll actually believe you.

  22. Alternative uses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can imagine that such shirts would have interesting applications in the sex industry. Positional information, transmitted wirelessly to a central computer -- just think of the possibilities if this were part of, say, underwear. All that is needed now is something that is able to move the fabric based on wireless signals. Testing *that* fabric could be a bit more dangerous though.

    1. Re:Alternative uses by Who235 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      I don't know about you chief, but I like to have sex without clothes on.

      When you get laid for the first time, you'll understand.

    2. Re:Alternative uses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I read your parent as talking about the porn implications. While porn stars often tell you that they get off at work, they'd probably just as well have "sex" with their clothes on. Not sure that we have a good use for the data once collected though.

  23. Maybe not so useful for Athletes by MBraynard · · Score: 3, Informative
    The athletic smartshirt is inferior to other products on the market that provide more useful information - namely the Timex Bodylink with HRM and GPS, and the Garmin Forerunner 305 with GPS.

    Apparently it does not unify GPS data with the heart rate, and other things like body temperature/caloric burn/respiration rate/etc either can be derived from the HRM/GPS or are just not that useful.

    Also, while in the midst of training, the last thing you want to do is have your coach have to haul a laptop out - a simple stop watch and asking you about your own HRM readout will do the job.

    In theory, there are some better products out there that can be developed, but this is not one of them.

  24. T-Shirt by suv4x4 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ohhh, now I get it.. T-Shirt, T-600, T-700, T-1000...

    Now we know how it started. Well who's keen on testing nano technology bent on world destruction and extermination of the human race on his shoulders.

    Anyone?

    1. Re:T-Shirt by OldManAndTheC++ · · Score: 1

      I, for one, welcome our new shrink-proof, color-fast overlords...

      --
      Soylent Green is peoplicious!
  25. Don't forget... by myowntrueself · · Score: 0

    to take a towel with you!

    You wanna get high?

    --
    In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    1. Re:Don't forget... by Arceliar · · Score: 1

      I think you mean don't forget to bring a towel. And the last thing we need is clothes or towels spying on our heart rates. Anything that happens in the bathroom, stays in the bathroom.

  26. Soldiers?! by bidule · · Score: 4, Insightful


    I can see it from here:
    Soldier #1: Where is the enemy hiding?
    Soldier #2: Let me do some packet sniffing.

    --
    ID: the nose did not occur naturally, how would we wear glasses otherwise? (apologies to Voltaire)
  27. OK, since nobody else is saying it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...imagine a Beowulf cluster of these things...

    1. Re:OK, since nobody else is saying it... by kfg · · Score: 1

      It's called a "closet."

      KFG

  28. Teledildonics by tm2b · · Score: 1

    OK, combine this tech with some really good piezoelectric bits, and we're starting to see the underlying tech of the future teledildonic rig.

    Talk about force feedback...

    --
    "It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
    1. Re:Teledildonics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I Love how Bill O'Reilly is on the see also list:

      Teledildonics

      See also
      Dildo
      Haptics
      Sleeper
      Orgasmatron
      Hot chat and Toothing.
      The virtual sex machine
      Simulacrum
      Bill O'Reilly

    2. Re:Teledildonics by jlarocco · · Score: 1

      This is great! A group of geeks who can't get dates, using the power of open source, to make sure they never will.

  29. Interesting but... by dracken · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...something like this have been around for years in academic labs. Georgia tech for example has had a smart shirt for years.

    1. Re:Interesting but... by morie · · Score: 1

      RTFA

      This is the same Georgia Tech thing

      --
      Sig (appended to the end of comments I post, 54 chars)
  30. Crime detection by backslashdot · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you're being mugged, you probably cant use a cell phone. But with this when a sudden elevated heart rate is detected, you may auto activate GPS and mics/video. Maybe even alert nearby people or police. Good for protecting kids etc.

    Thered have to be reliable inputs or signal processing to detect the difference between fright/panic and running around etc.

    1. Re:Crime detection by darkpixel2k · · Score: 1

      Then a hot chick tackles you and starts ripping off your clothes...and the authorities kick in your door...

      --
      There's no place like ::1 (I've completed my transition to IPv6)
    2. Re:Crime detection by Apple+Developer · · Score: 5, Funny
      Then a hot chick tackles you and starts ripping off your clothes...and the authorities kick in your door...
      You know you're on Slashdot, right?
    3. Re:Crime detection by Planesdragon · · Score: 1

      You know you're on Slashdot, right?

      Ok, then, substitute "hot" for "geeky."

    4. Re:Crime detection by darkpixel2k · · Score: 2, Funny

      Then a hot chick tackles you and starts ripping off your clothes...and the authorities kick in your door...

      You know you're on Slashdot, right?


      Oh...right. Sorry. So you're watching this...video of a hot chick tackling some dude and ripping his clothes off...and the authorities kick in your door...

      --
      There's no place like ::1 (I've completed my transition to IPv6)
    5. Re:Crime detection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hot chick, tackling a slashdot reader? With luck like that, you should be playing the lotto

    6. Re:Crime detection by Main+Gauche · · Score: 1

      "If you're being mugged, you probably cant use a cell phone. But with this when a sudden elevated heart rate is detected, you may auto activate GPS and mics/video. Maybe even alert nearby people or police. Good for protecting kids etc."

      You've enlightened me to make some predictions:

      In 50 years, NYC junior high gym classes will be cancelled when parents complain that kids would have to remove "smart-shirts" during gym class.

      Decision will be reversed three years later when Hanes smart-jockeys finally get smart enough to distinguish between the "Help, I'm getting mugged in gym class!" heart rate and the "Look, Stacy finally hit puberty!" heart rate.

      Mark my words.

    7. Re:Crime detection by Valdrax · · Score: 1
      Good for protecting kids etc.

      Then a hot chick tackles you and starts ripping off your clothes...and the authorities kick in your door...

      Some parents might consider this a feature and not a bug.

      --
      If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
  31. What she'll say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My router monitor says your underwear is saturating our network again...or are you just happy to see me?

  32. Oblig Simpson's Reference by damneinstien · · Score: 1

    Homer: (in a backstage bathroom, wearing a motion capture suit and microphone) Urinal cake eroding...eroding...GONE!

    Oh, think of all the motions that are going uncaptured!

  33. Nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I like the idea that this could be connected wirelessly to your local network, emailing/alerting the nearest hospital at the first signs of problems. This could reduce the amount of time taken for assistance in an emergency and i would certainly welcome it. It would also reduce the amount of stress on emergency call centres. :)

  34. hmm. by Nekomusume · · Score: 1

    While the concept is good for it's described purpose, I get this mental image of the government coming under fire in 20 years for illegally wiretapping somebody's panties.

    1. Re:hmm. by Kadin2048 · · Score: 1
      While the concept is good for it's described purpose, I get this mental image of the government coming under fire in 20 years for illegally wiretapping somebody's panties.

      Quote from the Washington Post, circa 2015:
      The new survey found that 63 percent of Americans said they found the NSA's undergarment monitoring program to be an acceptable way to investigate bioterrorism, including 44 percent who strongly endorsed the panty-sniffing effort...


      --
      "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
  35. interesting by senatorpjt · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now the NSA can monitor my shirt. Great.

  36. DDT by grolschie · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I think we're set for another DDT-style disaster here.
    Yeah sure. Is DDT actually safe for humans?
  37. Nothing new by FRiC · · Score: 1

    Polar and Adidas have had wearable heart rate monitors for ages. What's special about this?

  38. Death by Mysteerie · · Score: 1

    Does it die when ripped?

  39. Hrmm by NitsujTPU · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If the tests are successful, these shirts could be used to remotely check old people living alone, but also soldiers in the field or athletes.

    I'm sure that on the battlefield of the future nobody is going to want to wear a shirt that makes them glow like someone who killed one of their teammates in Counter Strike.

  40. Looking for beta testers by reset_button · · Score: 2, Funny

    All they will figure out from /. users is a correlation between fast heart rate and trying to get first post on the latest article.

  41. Your clothing could begin to flash messages... by gd23ka · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... like "Attention! This person is WANTED. If possible, DETAIN this person!"

    1. Re:Your clothing could begin to flash messages... by OldManAndTheC++ · · Score: 2, Funny
      Wouldn't it would be great if you could hack the shirts?

      I'd hack the President's shirt. Every time he came out of the bathroom his shirt would read, "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"

      --
      Soylent Green is peoplicious!
  42. This has already been done by medevs · · Score: 1

    check out this shirt. http://www.vivometrics.com/site/index.html I think the smartshirt is not so smart, more of a duplicateshirt

  43. Funny by The+Cisco+Kid · · Score: 1

    They are 'looking for testers' but nowhere on either article are any instructions or linked forms for anyone interested in being a tester. I also didn't find anything on their own site about them 'looking for testers'. They did have a normal 'contact us' page, but you'd think if they were actively seeking testers they'd actually say that somewhere and have some specific contact instructions - even so much as 'Call us and ask for Dr. So-and-so'

  44. Speed reading... by Agram · · Score: 1

    Man, this is definitely one of those headlines that does not pay to skim over (although I guess at least either way it manages to grab your attention)...

  45. Ah, invention. by mcpkaaos · · Score: 1

    The mother of all necessity.

    --
    It goes from God, to Jerry, to me.
  46. WOW, SmartShit.... by ShadowXOmega · · Score: 0

    eheh
    i readed "SmartShit" and i went crazy allucinating about shit that speaks to you after leaving your body. XD

    i thought: wow, finally, something to do in those long minutes after eating all those chili beans....

  47. wow, SmartShit.... by ShadowXOmega · · Score: 0

    HEEHHE
    i readed "SmartShit" and i went crazy allucinating about shit that speaks to you after leaving your body. XD

    i thought: wow, finally, something to do in those long minutes after eating all those chili beans....

  48. And now in Alpha testing...SmartyPants by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, and now they will know your real intentions.

  49. In Soviet Russia.... by SonicSpike · · Score: 1

    shirt reports you!

    --
    Libertas in infinitum
  50. Back to the Future 2 by thebdj · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one who thought about BttF2 when they are in the future and the coat Marty is wearing auto-adjusts for size and dries itself? Screw monitoring, I want clothes that do that.

    --
    "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."
    1. Re:Back to the Future 2 by ErikZ · · Score: 1


      Actually, I was thinking of "Rise of the Cyber-men".

      --
      Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
  51. You got that right by T1girl · · Score: 1

    Paranoid? I think not. You can't be too careful who has access to your private medical information. Notice elsewhere in Health Data Management the article GAO Report Rips HHS for Lack of I.T. Security says:

    HHS has not consistently implemented effective electronic access controls designed to prevent, limit and detect unauthorized access to sensitive financial and medical information at its operating divisions and contractor-owned facilities," the report states. "Numerous electronic access control vulnerabilities related to network management, user accounts and passwords, user rights and file permissions, and auditing and monitoring of security-related events exist in controls designed to physically secure computer resources, conduct suitable background investigations, segregate duties appropriately, and prevent unauthorized changes to application software.