Clever Clothes. How is wearable technology changing our world?
Clever Clothes. How is wearable technology changing our world?
Real life sci-fi. How designers are cleverly repurposing every day objects to improve lives and inspire wonder.
What's the story?
From intelligent watches to internet dresses; designers are adapting everyday wearable objects so that they are more useful, insightful and exciting! Here are just some examples of how:
Smart Sweating
Smart watches such as Fitbit can detect how many calories we burn and how much sleep we are getting. Keeping track of this simple yet insightful information can help us monitor our personal health. Over time it may even help users prevent serious illnesses such as heart disease. Having intelligent technology fitted into items worn everyday, such as a watch, means that an already existing design is gaining an additional useful function. Wearable tech could mean that looking after our health slides seamlessly into our busy daily routines.
Eye-catching Fashion
Imagine a dress that could change colours depending on your mood, or the mood of your friend's on facebook! Designers are beginning to use technology to make clothing even more spectacular. This year at the Met Gala, the dress code was: "Fashion in the Age of Technology”. Karolina Kurkova wore a dress with 150 LED lights designed to light up in different colours in accordance with her twitter feed.
Safety in Style
Fitting clothing and jewellery with tiny GPS devices could help parents keep track of where their children are. If all clothing had this in-built technology, people who are missing may be found more quickly. Trackers sewn into clothing may mean that faster help can get to those who are in an emergency.
What can I do?
The first wearable computer was designed at M.I.T by Claude Shannon. It was a small computer timing device that fit into a shoe and helped roulette players. The first version of this computer was tested in 1961!
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