Wearables: Smart Clothing

Health

As manufacturers create new devices and sensors that can be integrated into our clothing, the types of activities that can be tracked increases. This allows for better data gathering and ultimately better insight into the activities you are doing and informing the goals you have. They can even protect you from harm. But sometimes wearable technology is just fun to wear.

Want to brighten up that music festival you’re attending this summer? The Revival Hoodie from InLighten uses fibre optic lighting to illuminate the entire garment. Once you pair the hoodie with your smartphone over bluetooth, you can program your favourite colours to fade, flash or loop and even use your phone’s microphone to make the lightshow pulse to the music or sounds around you.

Local Vancouver company, Vessi has developed a process that allows for a completely waterproof and breathable shoe that can be worn in all seasons. The technology that comes into play here is their method of creating the waterproof knit fabric that allows your feet to breath but keeps water out. They’ve also figured out a way to dramatically reduce the amount of material waste during the production of their shoes.

Some activities are harder to track than others. Activity specific devices like the Nexus uses a custom sleeve and arm band for different ways of measuring specific exercises during Crossfit workouts that a traditional fitness tracker wouldn’t be able to measure. Similarly, the Nadi X are yoga pants that can detect if your poses are aligned and even provide haptic feedback to identify the body part that needs adjustment – almost like having an instructor there to help.

If you’re a sun worshiper, the Neviano Swimsuit tracks your exposure to the harmful UV rays and is offered in an impressive number of different style options. The UV sensor can last for 280 days without a charge and you can even have alerts sent to a friend or loved one who can ensure you’re covering up when needed.

Sometimes you don’t want to advertise you’re tracking something, such as your weight. The Welt Belt integrates its sensor into a traditional belt clasp allowing you to wear it with any clothing without any obvious ‘tech’ showing. Its companion app connects via bluetooth and tracks the measurement of your waist in real time as well as the amount of time spent sitting, steps taken and even eating time. By taking these measurements, it generates a ‘health score’ and over time it will recommend changes to your habits and help you set more accurate goals.

What kinds of activities do you think could benefit from integrating technology into your clothing?

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smart clothing, Wearables

John Biehler

Editorial Director/Host: 3D Printing expert, photographer, technologist, traveler, maker, craftbeer fan, eurorack enthusiast and book author - not necessarily in that order