Archive for March, 2009
Wearable Electronic science – hardware made soft
Traditional electronic components are stiff and rigid which makes them not only ‘unwearable’ when integrated into textile but also ‘unusable’ as those components will be damaged when bended.
Much efforts are spend into softening traditional hardware to allow smart electronics enter new application areas to improve our life and lifestyle.
e-Textile technologies usually start out from the [...]
Moda Milano – Catania iPod Jacket
Former Italian Davis Cup Champion Sergio Tacchini launched Moda Milano in 2007 as a premium elitist range for sports apparel and footwear inspired by the 80’s fashion style.
The Catania Retro Track-top iPod Jacket with Embroidered Sergio Tacchini logo on the chest, front zip fastening, ribbed collar, cuffs and hem and an outer shell with two [...]
e-textile DIY – light up your clothing
Our e-textile DIY project tip for this weekend has been around for more than a year on Instructables posted by Enlighted the company that is producing and selling a wide range of illuminated clothing and other fashion items.
There are two highly interesting aspects I found in the ‘Color-Changing Lighted Faux Fur Scarf‘ instruction: the use [...]
Small price for Big boys – iPod Bomber jacket
Republic, a UK high street retail chain launched last year under their hip and hot style brand ‘Crafted‘ the iPod Bomber jacket constructed with metallic yarn to give it a unique crinkled appearance and designed for the urban streetwear market, cool and gorgeous looking.
The jacket uses Fibretronic’s ‘ConnectedWear‘ audio control technology and works with all [...]
Music Bear iPod Speaker
Japanese love to make everything cute so it is no surprise that softening conventional technology is getting it’s share of cute products.
I like how Japanese using technology in such playful and fun way. The Music Bear iPod Speaker is such an example. Is it a high end speaker system? Properly not. Is it a multi [...]
Interactive jacket lets you feel the virtual world
Philips Electronics is on the forefront in research and development when it comes to blur the line between physical and virtual world. Extending the visual range beyond the boundary of a TV screen, ‘AmbiLight‘ is one example how to extend the sreen world. The ‘amBX‘ system is another technology where ‘rumbles and wind effects’ are [...]
iPod Shuffle and the need for more interactive clothing
Triggered by the recent release of Apple’s new iPod Shuffle with it’s size barrier breaking and usability paradigm shifting design by eliminating every button on the device I revisited my presentation I gave 5 years ago on my view of miniaturization and wearable electronics.
Electronic products get smaller with every new generation and at the same [...]
Italian luxury boom-bag
Tradition rich Italian luxury brand Pratesi embraces the digital age with the creation of the Guitar Backpack which incorporates a speaker/amplifier that connects to any audio player.
Made of vegetable-dyed calf leather with a mini speaker placed at the acoustic opening of a guitar. Inner slit and zip pockets along with adjustable shoulder strap complete the [...]
e-textile DIY – pressure sensor matrix
Hyper active e-textile DIY instruction creator Hannah Perner-Wilson aka Intructables user Plusea posted another simple to follow but highly interesting and useful project, the Pressure Sensor Matrix.
As her many other e-textile DIY instructions, the materials used are relatively easy to get, in this project an Arduino is needed to process the signals coming from the [...]
Second skin sense – Taiknam Hat
Ricardo Nascimento, Ebru Kurbak and Fabiana Shizue, students of the Kunstuniversität Linz, Austria, created an interesting interactive clothing item which is ‘feather rising’ literally and figuratively.
Their project, the Taiknam Hat is a kinetic head-wear that reacts and animates in accordance with the changes in its surrounding medium wave radio signals.
Taiknam Hat is an attempt [...]
