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Communicator Clothing

Posted by samzenpus on from the can-you-wear-me-now dept.

coondoggie writes "The crew of the classic science-fiction show's Starship Enterprise wore small devices on their chests that they could tap to communicate instantly with their colleagues. Such communications technology is now closer to reality thanks to a Finnish company which this week demonstrated high-tech clothing that can send and receive messages via satellite. The demonstrator antenna, built by the Patria Aviation Oy company, looks like a simple patch of cloth but is capable of operating in the Iridium and GPS frequency band as part of clothing. The Iridium satellites allow two-way voice and data communication, while GPS provides positional data to the user. Iridium could also relay the position of the user."

16 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. !Classic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "The crew of the classic science-fiction show's Starship Enterprise wore small devices on their chests that they could tap to communicate instantly with their colleagues."

    No, that was the crew of the tenth-rate spin-off's Starship Enterprise.

  2. Allrightium by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Cool, but I really dislike anything that makes tracking people any easier.

  3. chests? by martin-boundary · · Score: 4, Informative

    I thought the classic crew had to press a button on the wall and talk into the microphone?

    1. Re:chests? by CyprusBlue113 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Bad summary, the specific (first instance) show is Star Trek: The Next Generation. The origional series did not have wearable communicators, but instead, handheld devices.

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    2. Re:chests? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 5, Funny

      Captain Kirk would rather walk up to the cute Ensign, tap her chest, and say, "Do you mind if I use your phone?"

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      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    3. Re:chests? by bickerdyke · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Oh come on....

      perhaps meanwhile TNG became a classic too?

      --
      bickerdyke
  4. As in by Huzzah! · · Score: 5, Funny

    Pardon me sir, I believe your fly is ringing.

    1. Re:As in by Huzzah! · · Score: 5, Funny

      Or even, lends new meaning to the phrase, "Would you PLEASE hang up your jacket?"

    2. Re:As in by Telecommando · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's why I always keep my fly on vibrate.

      Woo-Hoo! I'm getting a call!

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  5. Awesome by rossi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Make it sew....

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    I want to meet the guy who invented beer and see whats he's up to now.
  6. Keeps happening by fridaynightsmoke · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Every now and then a 'designer' unveils a jacket or whatever with some kind of technology built into it (for the past ten years at least), and says that its 'new' and 'amazing' or whatever, and that its going to change the world.
    IT WON'T. People DON'T WANT that stuff built-in to their clothing. It's uneconomic to build that stuff in to clothing. Not only do you have to manufacture the device(s) in question; you have to build them in to garments of differing styles, colours, sizes etc etc, and that utterly destroys any economies of scale.
    Anyway, what happens when you need to wash this jacket? What about if you want to use the tech on a warm day? What if you want to wear a different jacket that day?

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    1. Re:Keeps happening by Kinky+Bass+Junk · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'd say its uses would be more in line with the emergency services, and the device would either be washable, or removable.

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      Anonymous Coward
    2. Re:Keeps happening by JustOK · · Score: 3, Funny

      What if you are inside and there are ladies present?

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      rewriting history since 2109
    3. Re:Keeps happening by 10Ghz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Every now and then a 'designer' unveils a jacket or whatever with some kind of technology built into it (for the past ten years at least), and says that its 'new' and 'amazing' or whatever, and that its going to change the world.

      IT WON'T. People DON'T WANT that stuff built-in to their clothing. It's uneconomic to build that stuff in to clothing.

      Patria is a defence and aerospace-company. So you wont be seeing this technology on some average jeans, but you might see it in military flight-vests, uniforms and the like.

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  7. So its a phone then? by MosesJones · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've got this amazing thing that is just like something out of Star-Trek, you put it on your ear and it enables you to make and receive calls. I can even TELL IT WHO I WANT TO CALL and it automatically connects me with them.

    Oh wait its a Bluetooth headset and a Nokia 6310i

    2001 called they want the future back.

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
  8. picture by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
    The article shows a poorly sketched picture - the type you'd do on MS Word Art when you were 12.

    Going to the website, a proto example of is here