Forget Izod. Think iPod when you're buying that next shirt.
Stuff is reporting on just how high-tech clothing is getting - including suits that power your iPod, and mobile phones built into clothes (just talk into the collar), intelligent fabrics that conduct electricity (talk about "power suit"), change shape to fit the wearer, and more.
The pub looks at a handful of exist smart clothes that are changing the way way wear - and use - clothing, including:
Auto-fit clothing: Electronics giant Philips has developed a way to change the size and shape of clothing so that it fits the wearer perfectly. The fabric is woven with so-called "muscle wires" that are made up of shape-memory alloys that expand to just the right size when a current is passed through them. Once the electricity is removed, they remain exactly the right size.
Hug Shirt: Nominated by Time as one of the best inventions of last year, the Hug Shirt enables the wearer to send "virtual hugs" to loved ones from across the street or across the globe, simply by using their mobile phone. When a friend sends you a virtual hug, your mobile phone notifies the shirt wirelessly, via Bluetooth. The fully washable shirt then re-creates that person's distinctive cuddle, replicating his or her warmth, pressure, duration and even heartbeat.
iPod suit: Earlier this year, British retail giant Marks & Spencer became the first retailer to sell the iPod suit. The suit - a collaboration between British smart-fabric specialist Eleksen and innovative tailors Bagir - features Eleksen's smart-fabric, touchpad technology that transforms the lapel into a five-button electronic control panel. The pad is then attached to a cable that runs beneath the lining of the jacket and plugs into the iPod, which has its own inside pocket. The lapels even have loops to hold and hide the earphones. The suit retails for about $350.
Solar bikini: New Yorker Andrew Schneider is the brains behind the solar bikini that charges your iPod while you sunbathe. The bikini is covered with 40 flexible photovoltaic (solar) cells that feed into a USB connection that can plug straight into your iPod. Schneider says two hours of sunbaking is enough to charge an iPod shuffle. And, for the guys, Schneider is also developing solar-panel shorts, which, with the extra sun-capturing area, will be capable of generating enough power to chill a beer.
3rd Space vest: The 3rd Space vest is embedded with pneumatic cells that allow computer gamers to physically feel game events such as getting hit, stabbed, or punched.
The technology was designed by a US surgeon as a way to give medical exams via the internet to those in isolated communities with limited access to medical services. The medical version is used to poke and press patients' bodies remotely and get feedback on what they are feeling.
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