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Wearable Electronics

Sending out an SOS with the Stress Outsourced massage jacket

Three pairs of massage motors are set up in zones which are linked to source signal locati...

The phenomenon of social networking allows fragmented friends and families to keep in touch and empowers users to share their lives with the world. Four female students from MIT think that such a medium could also help to alleviate something else that many members of the global community share and suffer from - stress. The SOS: stress outsourced system consists of wearable units containing wireless signaling technology. Should a wearer feel the burden of stress, sending out an SOS to fellow users around the globe generates a haptic massage from the relief signals sent in response... Continue Reading Sending out an SOS with the Stress Outsourced massage jacket

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QUIETPRO+ Intelligent Hearing System headed offshore

The QUIETPRO   Intelligent Hearing System protects users from loud noises, while allowing ...

It’s a problem as old as the protective earplug itself - if you block out the loud, harmful noises, you also block out the quieter sounds, such as peoples’ voices... that is, unless you’ve got a QUIETPRO+ Intelligent Hearing System stuck in your ears. The setup consists of a pair of fairly regular-looking in-ear plugs, wired iPod-style to a small electronic control unit. When the system detects a dangerously-loud noise, it automatically sends noise-canceling sound waves to the headset. When things are quiet, it amplifies sounds like human voices, so the user is actually able to hear better than they would without it. .. Continue Reading QUIETPRO+ Intelligent Hearing System headed offshore

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The next wave in fashion: clothes made of sound-recording fabric

MIT researchers are developing 'functional fibers' that can detect and produce sound (Imag...

We all know of optical fibers, the filaments of glass that carry data in the form of light pulses and enable the high-speed global telecommunications networks we take for granted today. For the past decade, Yoel Fink has been working at MIT to develop fibers with ever more sophisticated properties which enable fabrics to interact with their environment. Fink and his collaborators have now announced a new milestone on the path to functional fibers – fibers that can detect and produce sound... Continue Reading The next wave in fashion: clothes made of sound-recording fabric

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Chemical sensors printed on elastic could lead to ‘smart’ underwear

Chemical-sensing electrodes printed directly on the inside elastic waistband of underwear....

As the technology to support wearable electronics advances, researchers are investigating new ways of making our clothing more "intelligent" – from smart shirts for theater ushers to the development of clothing that can respond to the wearer’s emotive state. So would it surprise you to learn that your humble underpants could one day save your life? A new study has shown that printed sensors on the elastic band of your underpants could monitor biomarkers in your sweat and tears, make autonomous diagnoses and even administer life-saving drugs... Continue Reading Chemical sensors printed on elastic could lead to ‘smart’ underwear

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Smart textiles designed to evoke memories of absent people

Clothing incorporating Wearable Absence technology

You’ve had a hard day at the office, your spouse is currently over 2,000 miles away and now your boss says he wants you to work late. It’s all you can do to contain your anger until you get into the bathroom, whereupon you let loose with a string of red-faced, high-cardio profanity. At that point, your spouse talks to you via your shirt. “Take it easy, it’s all right,” they coo from your collar, as they play your favorite song, and photos of them scroll across your chest. Hey, it could happen. No, really, it could happen, thanks to the Wearable Absence project. Researchers involved in the program are working on developing intelligent textiles, that comfort the wearer by evoking memories of absent loved ones... Continue Reading Smart textiles designed to evoke memories of absent people

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Ice Samurai watch - you won't believe what it's made of

The Ice Samurai watch

“A chilling blue Japanese inspired LED watch from an entropic tomorrow which gives its master below zero Kelvin supremacy by blurring the boundaries of how temporal intelligence (time) is shown...” Good Lord, I can’t top that. That’s how online retailer Chinavasion describes the Ice Samurai watch, a very cool-looking and suspiciously-inexpensive timepiece that offers yet another take on displaying the time. In this case, it’s done with blue - sorry, ice blue LEDs that are incorporated into the watch band itself. And you know what that watch band is made of? Get ready... “Samurai sword carbonized steel folded 1000x over!” .. Continue Reading Ice Samurai watch - you won't believe what it's made of

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Ever Increasing Watch plots the time on a graph

The Ever Increasing Watch

Watches, movies, poems and paintings... a lot of people think that the harder any one of these things are to understand, then the better they are. We’ve certainly covered some intentionally-obscure watches here at Gizmag before, with everything from a row of LEDs to numbers on a sphere to dots that get filled in and stained glass-like patterns used to display the time. Now, Japanese weird-watch-maker EleeNo brings us one that displays the hours, minutes and seconds on a climbing line graph... Continue Reading Ever Increasing Watch plots the time on a graph

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Kisai Round Trip Pocket Watch blends the old with the new

The Kisai Round Trip Pocket Watch from Tokyoflash says it's 10:54

Purveyor of weird watches, Tokyoflash, has blended the old with the new in its latest creation, the Kisai Round Trip Pocket Watch. Designed to attach to a key chain, belt loop or even on a chain in your top pocket like a traditional pocket watch, the Round Trip continues Tokyoflash’s history of releasing timepieces that make telling the time a puzzle to be decoded. .. Continue Reading Kisai Round Trip Pocket Watch blends the old with the new

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Honda's Bodyweight Support Assist selected for NY innovation exhibition

Honda's Bodyweight Support Assist selected for NY innovation exhibition

Some of you may recall our piece on Honda's Body Support Assist prototype last year. As a quick update to that story, those of you in the New York area will get a chance to see it in person as a part of the "Why Design Now?" exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution... Continue Reading Honda's Bodyweight Support Assist selected for NY innovation exhibition

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Time for church - the 'Broke' stained-glass window watch

Tokyoflash Broke watch with stained-glass window-like display - pictured watch's time is 1...

The "Broke" is the latest weird and wonderful watch design from Tokyoflash. Featuring a fragmented stained-glass window-like display, the outermost LED lit fragments on the Broke represent the hour, while inner fragments represent five minute intervals and central fragments indicate one to four minutes. The current time is displayed by which of the LED fragments are blinking. Got all that?.. Continue Reading Time for church - the 'Broke' stained-glass window watch

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Sony’s new Qlasp earbuds give wearers a clip over the ear

Sony's Qlasp headphones are all the colors of a gnarly rainbow

Either my ears provide a tight fit or I’m just not as active as I should be, but I wasn’t aware that earbuds falling out was a major problem. For those that do experience such heartbreak Sony has come up with a solution in the form of its new Qlasp bud headphones. The headphones feature a nifty “qlasp” that clips to the wearer’s earlobes to ensure they stay put even during the most extreme physical activities. .. Continue Reading Sony’s new Qlasp earbuds give wearers a clip over the ear

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Kisai Escape C - the Bluetooth 'fashion accessory'

Kisai Escape C

Hands-free calling using Bluetooth earpieces has become - shall we say - controversial over the years, as we've all seen that annoying guy at Starbucks trying to close the deal as he orders his cappuccino. But the latest receiver from Tokyo Flash, the Kisai Escape C, might just have enough features to offset the Bluetooth douche-factor... Continue Reading Kisai Escape C - the Bluetooth 'fashion accessory'

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HaptiHug telecuddle interface - physical interaction in a virtual world

You, too, could look this cool.

Think you spend too much time online these days? It's only going to get worse as mobile and virtual reality technology gets us connected more often, more inextricably and to the detriment of our 'real world' social lives. Which is why researchers like the guys at Tachi Labs are starting to work on how to break down the benefits of physical human interaction and see how they can be replicated in a virtual world. It's early days yet, so the HaptiHug interface and the rest of the iFeel_IM! Affective Haptics suite are painfully awkward and dorky, but this could be a glimpse into the kinds of technologies that can satisfy some of our needs for physical contact and help keep us sane as more and more of our lives go digital... Continue Reading HaptiHug telecuddle interface - physical interaction in a virtual world

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Halo sweatband headphones for active music-lovers

The Halo Headphones pump out the tunes and soak up the sweat

Like your music on-the-go but equally admire that John McEnroe look? Try the Halo Headphones that come in a headband. The manufacturers say they consist of specially designed high fidelity speakers that can be inserted into a comfortable headband – so comfortable in fact that they say you can wear them while sleeping... Continue Reading Halo sweatband headphones for active music-lovers

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Earpiece alarm keeps you from dozing off

Earpiece alarm keeps you from dozing off

For those who would rather not use coffee to stay awake, Takanoha & Co. has developed an ingeniously clever earpiece alarm. Its latest model, the Nap Vieeb Plus II, is designed to sense when you fall asleep and then trigger an alarm that wakes you up again. But how does the device know when you're falling asleep? .. Continue Reading Earpiece alarm keeps you from dozing off

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What's in a face ... the Stocking Watch tells time with circles

The Stocking Watch uses circles instead of hands to tell the time

When I look at this watch, I’m glad I don’t drink. Designer EleeNo has somehow managed to utilize two small circles, surrounded by increasingly larger circles, to replace the hands on a conventional time piece, hence combining elegance and simplicity in design with … confusion. .. Continue Reading What's in a face ... the Stocking Watch tells time with circles

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ITG-Vidix Goggles put the entertainment 'in your face'

ITG-Vidix Goggles combine a 50' virtual screen with a MicroSD slot and USB connectivity.

For those that like their entertainment as personal as possible, iTVGoggles has released an update of its ITG-Vidix video glasses. Along with offering a virtual screen of 50” and up to three hours on a single charge, they also feature 2GB of internal memory, a MicroSD slot and a built in media player. .. Continue Reading ITG-Vidix Goggles put the entertainment 'in your face'

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Seiko unveils active matrix E-Ink watch

SEIKO's active matrix Electronic Ink watch

Seiko has unveiled a new E-Ink watch which features a high-res active matrix display. Building upon the ultra-thin, high contrast, wide viewing angle and low power consumption properties of the world’s first "Electronic Ink" watch showcased at Baselworld 2005, Seiko says its new technology "allows figures, text and graphics to appear on the dial in a much soother and infinitely programmable way.".. Continue Reading Seiko unveils active matrix E-Ink watch

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Augmented reality hits the catwalk

Cassette Playa brings augmented reality to the catwalk of the London Fashion Show

It's not unusual to see some bizarre and extraordinary creations at the London Fashion Show and this year Cassette Playa continued this fine tradition with a live augmented reality catwalk performance. CGI animations on screens behind the models on the catwalk were triggered by different symbols on the clothing being shown, transporting the audience into a rich, colorful digital world where the boundaries separating reality and the virtual are blurred... Continue Reading Augmented reality hits the catwalk

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Casio's new solar powered Pathfinder watch

Casio's new Pathfinder PAG110C-3 watch is green in both color and intent

Casio has gone for a double dose of green with the latest addition to its Pathfinder collection. The new PRG110C-3 comes in an out-there shade of green and sports eco-friendly credentials, including solar technology that generates enough power for a day's operation in just 5 minutes... Continue Reading Casio's new solar powered Pathfinder watch

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Brace yourself for power shortages with the Universal Gadget Wrist Charger

The Universal Gadget Wrist Charger provides extra power on the go

The Universal Gadget Wrist Charger looks like it would be even more useful than the magical bullet-deflecting bracelets worn by Wonder Woman – for charging gadgets anyway. This device provides a convenient way to carry around some extra energy reserves to power the growing number of portable gadgets residing on your person these days... Continue Reading Brace yourself for power shortages with the Universal Gadget Wrist Charger

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World's first EEG spelling device reads your mind

An example of BCI control - each person controls their racket with motor imagery. The rack...

The award-winning French movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly brought to life the memoirs of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby - the victim of a major stroke at the young age of 42, resulting in him suffering “locked in syndrome”, where the brain is active but the body is not. Bauby can only communicate by blinking one eye and, with the help of a patient speech theraprist, writes his memoirs. For other stroke victims or sufferers of brain injuries who have lost the ability to speak and write, communicating with the outside world can be frustrating. Guger Technologies, makers of intendiX, has created a home-based system where wearers of a special EEG cap can communicate via a computer with the special software installed... Continue Reading World's first EEG spelling device reads your mind

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Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk watch keeps time in space

The Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk watch is perfect if you're planning a leisurely Sunday af...

Today watches are built to withstand varying degrees of water pressure and shocks and scrapes of all sorts. But a new watch from Seiko has been built to withstand the harsh environments found when the wearer is enjoying a pleasant Sunday afternoon spacewalk. Touted as the first watch ever designed for use in outer space might restrict the target market for the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk watch somewhat, which is probably why Seiko will release a limited edition of only 100... Continue Reading Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk watch keeps time in space

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Face-less watch concept uses laser hands

The faceless Aurora Watch uses lasers to indicate the time

The latest in our long list of weird watch designs is the Aurora Watch concept by designer Jihun Yeom. The watch features a faceless design that indicates the time using lasers. A red laser specifies the minutes, while a blue beam indicates the hour. With the wearer’s hairy arm visible through the watch it means that it’s always a freckle past a hair until the bevel edge around the watch ring is tapped to activate the lasers. .. Continue Reading Face-less watch concept uses laser hands

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Vuzix Wrap 920 3-D glasses promise big screen experience

The Vuzix Wrap 920 glasses are compatible with many video devices to deliver a virtual cin...

Can’t afford a big screen TV or projector but still want to experience that cinema feeling when watching a movie? The Vuzix Wrap 920 video eyewear is a sunglass-style display that delivers a virtual 67-inch screen as seen from 10ft away, displays 2D and 3D video and is claimed to be the most advanced wearable display available... Continue Reading Vuzix Wrap 920 3-D glasses promise big screen experience

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