October 5, 2016

Top with tech corrects the wearer’s posture

Filed under: Design,Fashion,Technology by Orangemaster @ 9:20 pm

fysiopal-posture-vest-fashion-technology-pauline-van-gongen-elitac_dezeen_2364_col_4-468x593

Dutch designer Pauline van Dongen, who designed the full solar jacket for Wadden Sea walkers and a few other items, has now introduced the FysioPal undershirt, designed to correct bad upper-body posture by alerting the wearer when they are slouching, which helps correct their posture.

The top, which contains sensors that send information to a smartphone, measures the position of the neck, shoulders and back. The measurements are then sent to an app, which visualises the data and assesses the wearer’s overall posture. If it it detects slouching, the top will softly vibrate, alerting the wearer to change their posture.

It’s the modern-day version of having your parents tell you to stop slouching, but way cooler.

(Link: www.dezeen.com, Photo by paulinevandongen.nl)

Tags: , ,

July 29, 2016

Smiley cubes with real-life applications

Filed under: Technology by Orangemaster @ 7:00 am

Smiley-cube

Physicists from Dutch FOM Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam and Leiden University together with colleagues from Tel Aviv University have developed a method to design patterns that can appear on any cube’s surface.

AMOLF group leader professor Martin Van Hecke explains that if pressure is applied to, for example, a 10x10x10 cube, some of the sides cave in, while others bulge out. By stacking several of these blocks researchers could make three-dimensional structures. Their research is said to pave the way for the use of ‘machine materials’ in, for example, prostheses and wearable technology, as published in ‘Nature’ today.

“Although Van Hecke’s research is fundamental in nature there are applications on the horizon. This type of programmable ‘machine materials’ could be ideal for prostheses or wearable technology in which a close fit with the body is important,” says Van Hecke. “If we can make the building blocks more complex or produce these from other materials then the possibilities are endless.”

(Link and photo: phys.org)

Tags: , , ,

October 20, 2015

Earphones steer your phone while driving

Filed under: Design,Technology by Orangemaster @ 10:16 am

During Dutch Design Week, designer Pieter Husmann presented ‘Hélo’, a 3D-printed wireless in-earphone, a very classy wearable that helps car drivers answer text messages and calls while hopefully keeping their eyes on the road.

We’ve all been in a car where the driver is so addicted to checking their phone that the passenger has to interfere before the car hits the guard rail. Some drivers are addicted to the point of risking death for next to nothing, which makes you wonder if new technology is the solution or better awareness. New technology should help, but I still believe that leaving your damn phone alone is the safest option.

Husmann’s creation combines technological innovation and hearing aid technology that fits into one’s ears, with which you can answer your phone with your finger. It has four buttons for four different configurable functions from answering your phone to opening an e-mail. These earpieces can also be used for running and I would imagine cycling, skating, etc. That sounds like a useful invention even without the driving.

A while back we told you about satirist Johan Vlemmix who had thought of a free app that sends replies when driving because he admitted being addicted to checking his phone and answering people straight away. However, that was just an idea, and clearly Husmann has a real solution for addicts like Vlemmix.

(Link: www.bright.nl, Photo by Hello Turkey Toe, some rights reserved)

Tags: , , ,

February 28, 2015

Unique clothing made with 3D scans

Filed under: Design,Fashion by Orangemaster @ 4:49 pm

3D dress

Dutch industrial designer Leonie Tenthof van Noorden, who uses 3D scanning to produce unique custom-made dresses, calls the technique she uses ‘digital tailoring’. She also claims that going to a shop that will scan you and make clothes for you is probably not that far off, either.

Her Master’s graduation project at the Eindhoven University of Technology ‘This Fits Me’ is called the way it is because the clothing is fitted specifically to someone’s body using 3D scanning techniques and generative design, explained in the video which was filmed in Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week 2014.

(Link and screenshot: www.dezeen.com)

Tags: , ,

October 16, 2014

Wearable tech onesie turns into Wi-Fi hotspot

Filed under: Design,Technology by Orangemaster @ 10:35 am

BBSuit

Borre Akkersdijk, a ‘textile developer’, designed a onesie called the BB.Suit that “allows you to become technology”. Presented at the SXSW in Texas earlier this year, the knitted BB.Suit has Wi-Fi, GPS with room gadgets and computer chips. At the time it was a prototype, and the issue of washing the onesie with tech in it was definitely a problem. Akkersdijk aptly points out that wearable technology still has a long way to go.

Walking around and being a Wi-Fi hotspot seems like the most practical use of this outfit, especially abroad.

Embedded with copper wires that enable WiFi, GPS, NFC, and Bluetooth, the BB.Suit turns its wearer into a mappable hotspot with mp3 streaming ability. Batteries, processor boards, and UI actuators live in the BB.Suit’s pockets, making the rest of the suit feel seamless, and it’s made of two layers of cotton to hide and protect the copper cables, with filling that puffs when it’s steamed, meaning the onesie is super-comfy too!

(Link: www.shinyshiny.tv, Photo: byborre.com)

Tags: , ,