Wearable Electronics

Rising to the challenge: true world time in a mechanical watch

By Loz Blain

June 15, 2007 Despite what the average world time watch might tell you, there's actually 39 distinct time zones across the world, not 24, and they rarely follow straight geographic lines. This prompted the master watchmakers at Blancier to rise to the challenge of producing the world's first truly accurate mechanical world timer - and they've come up with a masterpiece. Read More

Video sunnies are on their way: MED's miniature eye-screens are now ready for mass-production

By Loz Blain

June 4, 2007 We've long been excited by the possibilities offered by wearable micro-screens. The ability to mount a miniature display in a set of glasses opens up a whole new portable video experience where any seat on the bus can be a personal movie theatre and you'll be able to enjoy your video in complete privacy. Now, with the anouncement of a volume manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany, MicroEmissive Displays (MED) is ready to step beyond the prototype and bring commercial microscreens into the mass market. They'll start things off with mass production of the eyescreen ME3204, a 320 x 240 RGB display packed into a 6mm pixel array. It's tiny, bright and clear, with ultra-low power consumption, and the wearer sees the equivalent of a 30" screen at a 2 metre distance. Read More

The mophie Bevy – the first Illuminator-built product

By Mike Hanlon

May 8, 2007 Mophie today announced the US$15 Bevy, the first product to be released from the highly successful Illuminator project. The mophie Bevy is a multifunctional case for Apple's iPod Shuffle that features a bottle opener and key chain and was designed by a 17-year-old from California. The Illuminator project at MacWorld Expo transformed mophie’s booth into a live community collaboration and creation lab where, over a four-day period, 30,000+ MacWorld attendees were invited to doodle a product concept that enhanced any of the newest Apple products. Concepts were voted on by MacWorld attendees at the show and on mophie.com. Finally, mophie designers and engineers took the winning concepts and developed prototypes in the booth. Read More

Sensear - letting you clearly hear speech in a noisy workplace.

By Loz Blain

May 8, 2007 This clever technology protects workers from damaging ambient noise levels while still allowing them to clearly communicate in plain speech. Sensear's earmuff and earplug systems promote easy, clear communication in environments where ambient noise is above 85 decibels. Hearing damage is an extremely common consequence of working in high-noise environments. In many countries, workers are obliged by workplace law to wear hearing protection to combat the damage exposure can cause. Of course, this is rendered much less effective when workers have to pull their earmuffs off to talk to each other on the factory floor or answer a mobile phone. Read More

The Tokyoflash Shinshoku LED watch

By Mike Hanlon

May 7, 2007 If the wrist-watch of today is merely the homely older sister of fancy, time displaying mobile phones, Tokyoflash is determined to give it an extreme makeover. With the Pimp Watch and Equaliser Watch already lighting up shelves and wrists all over Japan, Tokyoflash has now released the Shinshoku LED watch, a 4cm wide wristband style it promises will make a “truly unique statement.” Read More

TAG Heuer's Latest Timepieces

By Mike Hanlon

March 15, 2007 It’s coming up to the annual Basel Watch and Jewelry Fair in Switzerland, where some of the world’s most desirable gizmos will be shown for the first time, and luxury watch manufacturer TAG Heuer has announced its sporty line of spring 2007 timepieces in advance of the event today. The collection includes a redesigned TAG Heuer Formula 1 line, 2007 Monaco Vintage Limited Edition, the latest SLR for Mercedes-Benz, the Aquaracer Automatic Chronograph Day-Date line and Aquaracer Calibre S models. Read More

The first commercially available Brain Computer Interface

By Mike Hanlon

The evolution of the Computer Human interface may seem to be rooted in the infernal keyboard and its recent travelling companion, the mouse, but much work is being done in the areas of virtual worlds, voice recognition, handwriting recognition and gesture recognition to give us a new paradigm of computing. It now appears we are on the edge of another brave new virtual world – the direct interface between the brain and the computer is here. One of the Holy Grail’s of research, there are many such projects going on around the world at present. Now the German g.tec (Guger Technologies) group has taken the technology out of the lab and into the real world with a complete BCI kit, and amazingly, there’s also a kit for a pocket PC - a super-low-weight biosignal recording system “g.MOBIlab” is used to measure the EEG and the data processing, analysis and pattern recognition are performed on a commercially available Pocket PC or in this case, your windows PC. The first BCI system will enable the composition and sending of messages, and control of a computer game. There’s also an invasive (implanted) option still being trialled in the laboratory – this is significantly more effective abnd the system can already accept and process input from both the embedded array and the cap array. Though the first work in the area is focussed on enabling paralysed humans to communicate far more freely, the potential to enhance one’s communications quite freely is clearly not that far away. There’s also the potential unlocked by putting such a device into the hands of thousands of eager and capable amateurs who will no doubt broaden the understanding of the human mind with their pursuits. The BCI system is nominated for the 2007 European ICT Grand Prize. Read More

Urban Tool sportHolsters for people who need to carry a lot of stuff elegantly

By Mike Hanlon

February 7, 2007 Part of the collateral damage in the invasion of personal technology has been the increase in the number of important belongings we need to carry with us to function efficiently – just a few short years ago, it was just keys and wallet and sunglasses and maybe prescription glasses and perhaps a filofax, but most of us now also carry a mobile phone and MP3 player, a PDA and maybe we’d even carry a compact camera if we had a spare pocket ... and so it goes. Briefcases, backpacks and bags are the most popular solutions to this gadget clutter, but they make vulnerable targets for thieves, and heaven knows how much pain the loss of a phone, PDA or keys might cause. Indeed, for this humble writer, the personal inventory checks which need to be carried out every time I move location seem to take a disproportionate amount of my limited CPU activity. Now there’s a new and interesting range of garments which carry all of these objects and can be worn under existing clothes. Urban Tool sportHolsters come in a number of functional and quite diverse designs suitable for slipping your whole digital ensemble under a tux or being able to work out in the gym while wearing one comfortably. We really like this idea – for the next decade at least, we’ll have lots of gadgets to carry and this body-hugging holster concept appears the most practical solution. Read More

Xplorer shoes offer advanced personal location services

By Mike Hanlon

January 29, 2007 We’ve written several times about the concept of electronically fencing dogs and cats for their safety, or the safety of others. Similarly, as GPS technologies have become commercially viable, of tracking assets and loved ones to ensure their safety. Now personal location services company GTXC Corporation, is set to unveil a line of Xplorer Smart GPS shoes at the World Shoe Association (WSA) in Las Vegas on February 1 which offer a range of new opportunities. Xplorer shoes incorporate a small and robust GPS tracking device which hooks up with GTXC's internet user portal to offer a very compelling array of personal location services. The portal enables caretakers to easily define safe zones or un-safe zones or geographical boundaries on a Google Earth map and to set up cell phone alerts if a perimeter is breached by the wearer. This should significantly benefit caretakers of children and the elderly, as they can easily customize their monitoring and text location alerting through a simple "set it and forget it" system. The shoes also employ assisted GPS for enhanced indoor location accuracy, and will transmit for days before a recharge is needed. The intelligent power source enables a guardian to track the whereabouts of a loved one and the performance and status of the device itself from any handheld. Xplorer is inviting discussion with footwear and clothing manufacturers interested in pursuing the myriad opportunities for the device in areas such as military, maritime and law enforcement, personal health monitoring, physical training, live real-time gaming for groups of wearers, and even extending to interaction with appliances and other household items. Read More

iRiver S10 - postage stamp-sized audio video player and recorder

By Mike Hanlon

November 20, 2006 iRiver released an interesting new personal media device onto its home Japanese market last Friday (November 17) which is one of the first of an entirely new breed of wearable device that combines the elegance of jewelery with some compelling functionality. Firstly the S10 is little larger than a postage stamp and with dimensions of 42 x 30 x 10.8 mm, small and light enough (17.5 grams) so it won’t get in the way. It also has a small 96 x 128 pixel, 65,000 color 1.15 inch OLED screen which can play MPEG-4 video or run a slide show and its Lithium polymer battery offers eight hours of continuous playback so the lights don’t go before the party's over. Read More

The FMP3 watch, USB seat warmer and a bunch of other things you didn’t realise you needed

By Mike Hanlon

November 13, 2006 The impact of ubiquitous personal digital technology on the way we live is only starting to become evident, though it’s a safe bet that what we do and say is far more likely to be recorded (and published) than ever before given that most people in developed nations are now carrying an audio recording device (in their MP3 player or phone), a digital camera (in their phone) and perhaps even a digital video recording device in one of their toys too. That’s one of the aspects of RareMonoShop’s new FMP3 watch that we think makes it a killer app. The otherwise normal-looking watch can record up to a Gigabyte of conversation/negotiations and suddenly the worth of that verbal contract being the paper it’s written on (i.e. nada) increases substantially in value. Apart from service as a covert recording device, there are several other aspects of the FMP3 watch that make it a winner – it records audio direct from any source such as a CD player or radio, with or without a computer (USB2.0 and Windows or Mac), has an FM transmitter which means you can play it through your car audio system and sells with 1GB memory for JPY16,800 (US$143) and 500MB for JPY12,800.00 (US$109). A few examples of other new products to be sold from the new English-language website designed for international customers include a clever portable Aluminium lap-desk, a laptop holder for the car, a Silent Keyboard/Mouse and a bunch of USB-powered devices such as a bottle cooler and warmer, an Aroma Diffuser, Warmer Slippers/Gloves, Seat Warmer, Eye Warmer and a 9 port USB Hub that looks like a Gold Ingot. The new web site opens this week though we have the Japanese-language address if you want a sneak peak. Read More

iPod-infused jacket in 15 new designs

By Mike Hanlon

October 27, 2006 If you were hankering for one of those iPod-infused jackets but they didn’t have anything in a suitable style to begin with, things are looking up, as the Kenpo Jacket for iPod range has just added 15 new styles and more than a dozen colors including bubble jackets (some with fur-lined hoods), sleek sprinter’s jackets, snowboarding jackets and windbreakers. From snowboarding to a night on the town, wearers can pause, skip tracks and adjust volume, without fumbling with awkward zippers and gloves, or hard to get to pockets, all the while leaving one’s iPod tucked away in the jacket's inner padded pouch. There's also a new locking feature that prevents the settings from being changed due to accidental bumping. Read More

The iPod-enabled Messenger Bag

By Mike Hanlon

October 24, 2006 Electronics are slowly forcing their way into our clothes (the iPod-enabled suit) and our carry-alls. G-Tech’s new Messenger Bag includes an integrated external speaker and provides a space to stash a cell phone and Apple iPod inside and control the iPod from the strap of the bag. The US$130 bags will be available mid-November and offer use of the built-in speaker to deliver stereo-quality external sound, or a built-in, universal 3.5mm extension jack that plugs into virtually any device, including laptops, to route audio through the speaker. The bags utilize Eleksen’s ElekTex smart fabric controls, a unique five-layer laminate of electrically conductive materials that transforms fabric into an electronic touchpad. The technology replaces hard touch pads, flexi-circuits and polymer switches which have limited the growth of the wearable electronics market with restrictive wiring. Read More

Hands-free, voice-directed wearable computer for extreme environments

By Mike Hanlon

October 11, 2006 Enterprise Mobility Company Symbol Technologies yesterday introduced a new wearable mobile computer and scanner system for high-performance computing in extreme environments. Worn on either the wrist or the hip, Symbol's WT4000 series of wearable mobile computers allow users to move freely and scan data, access business-critical information, and accurately perform data entry in real-time. For maximum flexibility, Symbol’s new wearable mobile computer also offers headset support for voice picking. Read More

Philips shows production-ready Lumalive textile garments

By Mike Hanlon

September 2, 2006 The world’s largest consumer electronics trade fair, Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) opened in Berlin yesterday, and one of the big stories is the demonstration of promotional jackets and furniture featuring Philips’ innovative Lumalive technology. Lumalive fabrics feature flexible arrays of colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fully integrated into the fabric - without compromising the softness or flexibility of the cloth. These light emitting textiles make it possible to create materials that can carry dynamic messages, advertisements, graphics and constantly changing colour surfaces. Fabrics used in drapes, cushions or sofa coverings become active and designers can use different inputs to change the illumination based on user behaviour. Prototypes of the technology were first exhibited at IFA 2005 but unlike those early example, the products on display at IFA are ready for commercialization, particularly by companies in the promotional industry looking for a new, high-impact medium. We can’t wait to see what the design industry can do with these capabilities. Read More

Casio reclaims the title of world's smallest GPS watch

By Mike Hanlon

August 23, 2006 Casio was the first watch manufacturer to create a wristwatch with a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) way back in June, 1999 with the release of the SATELLITE NAVI as the top model of the outdoor watch series, PROTREK. It created a new genre of wrist worn devices but alas, in the ensuing seven years, the likes of Garmin, Suunto and Timex have come out with smaller, more elegant wrist worn GPS solutions but as of September 30, Casio will be back with the smallest GPS watch available in the form of the GPR-100 priced at JPY54,000 (USD$464). To achieve its goal, Casio has had to develop a “microminiature high sensitivity GPS reception antenna of length 19mm” and a small advanced GPS module (11mm-12mm). The result is the world’s lightest GPS watch, weighing just 64 grams, and the world’s smallest GPS watch at 63.1mm x 49.5mm x 17.1mm. Read More

The EgoKast - wearable personal video player

By Mike Hanlon

August 15, 2006 Unlike other members of the animal kingdom which reproduce sexually, human beings have one significant difference which greatly complicates the criteria for desire and selection – humans can think. Humans apply not only physical, but societal, cultural and economic criteria to desire and selection and we suspect that the way things are heading with wearable technologies, things are set to become even more complex in the near future. The field of wearable electronics began not all that long ago with rudimentary devices such as heart rate monitors and high tech wrist watches, but will stretch its boundaries beyond belief over the coming decade as displays, microprocessors and sensors invade our clothing. Their function will be quite diverse, from monitoring health, to helping us meet compatible people for business and pleasure to simply expressing who we are, and fashion will take advantage of new technologies to offer expression in ways we haven’t even considered yet. Somewhere between the TuneBuckle and the flexible displays in Nyx clothing is the EgoKast, a Personal Media Player with a 3.5 inch 320x240 pixel screen that can double as a belt buckle to display the true you in video format at 30 fps for up to five hours. The manufacturers of the US$289 Egokast are hoping the word will catch on as a term describing “media players turned outwards” and is creating a range of appropriate videos to continuously loop as well as promoting the use of original, personal video content to display our values to our public. Almost certainly at some point in the near future a man or woman will choose their life partner based on the catchiness of their personal video content displayed outwards. At least it makes more sense than some of the mating rituals of the past and present. Read More

LandWalker 3.4 metre exoskeleton hits the market

By Mike Hanlon

August 4, 2006 Last year we reported on the world's first 340cm bipedal exoskeleton, the extraordinary Land Walker. The Sakakibara-Kikai Land Walker weighs 1000kg and shuffles along at 1.5kmh. Now Japan Times (via BornRich) is reporting that the Land Walker is on the market and selling made-to-order for 36 million yen (US$312,000). There’s a great video available here. Lots more detail in the original story.

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Motorola and Burton Snowboards launch second generation of Audex wearable electronics

By Mike Hanlon

August 4, 2006 Motorola and Burton Snowboards this week announced the expansion of their joint Audex wearable electronics collection at the 2006 Burton New Zealand Open Snowboarding Championships. Available at select Burton Authorized Retailers this month, the new 2007 Audex collection offers the ultimate blend of technology and snowboard function, enabling easy wireless communication and music entertainment for consumers on the move. New for 2007, the Audex Bluetooth Stereo System allows consumers to stream downloaded music wirelessly from a compatible Bluetooth enabled mobile phone to the Audex jacket allowing users to listen to music and make calls with a push of a button on the jacket sleeve. Outerwear styles that feature this system include built-in DJ-style speakers in the hood and/or an integrated headphone jack. Read More

Electric Cinderella Shoes with built-in stun gun

By Mike Hanlon

May 10, 2006 The Electric Cinderella shoes idea began as part of Simona Brusa Pasque's thesis at the Interaction Design Institute in 2002 and was inspired by a beautiful woman who Simona interviewed for her thesis who wanted to be able to “intimidate her intimidators.” She wanted to be empowered without losing her femininity, to have the freedom to be sexy without fear. The shoes certainly achieve that, offering 100,000 volts of high fashion stun gun power which can be activated by a control on the matching necklace. The weapon is hidden and when the wearer taps on the matching necklace an electric spark is displayed in the transparent tip, warning the would-be assailant to back off. The weapon is designed for a one time use, in case of emergency, by breaking the tip of the shoe. The shoes have now evolved through several prototypes with earlier versions exhibited at SIGGRAPH 2005 in Los Angeles, at Nemo Museum, Amsterdam, and at Pica Museum in Perth, Australia with the latest incarnation getting its debut outing at the recent CTIA Wireless Fashion Show in Las Vegas. “I believe this type of capability is a dream of many women and it is my intention to bring it to market,” Simona told Gizmag. Simona is seeking "the right business partners." Excellent images! Read More

Multimedia headset with attitude

By Mike Hanlon

April 17, 2006 One of the more visually arresting wearables on display at the recent CTIA Fashion in Motion shows was this vertebral wireless interface to be worn around the head and neck. A distinct possibility for a sci-fi horror movie role, the vertebral form of the Synapse concept came to University of University of Bridgeport student David Salonen in a dream, and has created such interest that he is interested in discussing options on how to bring the idea to market. “It’s completely free from buttons, plugs, wires and doohickies,” says David, “and an ideal way to stand out from the masses of umbilically-connected techno babies." Read More

Triple Watch Cell Phone design

By Mike Hanlon

April 14, 2006 The Triple Watch Cell Phone is a wrist watch that can be transformed into a cell phone. You can slide the unit out of the wristwatch band, and extend it to use it as a normal cell phone. As a wrist watch, it would have a speakerphone button that allows the user to answer the phone and hang up while driving or the user can combine the Triple Watch with a Bluetooth headset. The Triple Watch Cell Phone was conceived by University of Bridgeport student Manon Maneenawa and won the US$10,000 Fashion in Motion Scholarship at CTIA WIRELESS 2006 last week in Las Vegas. Read More

The new Blancpain Women Collection

By Mike Hanlon

April 14, 2006 Ever since 1930, Blancpain has been firmly convinced that women are well able to appreciate the know-how and the magic of mechanical horology. The Blancpain tradition of feminine Haute Horlogerie timepieces is thus no recent development, but instead boasts a rich and diverse history. Over the past 75 years, Blancpain’s numerous achievements in this field have included the first ladies’ self-winding wristwatch, the smallest round movement and more recently the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar. From an initial role as a purely functional object, the wristwatch has become a piece of jewellery or an accessory accompanying a particular clothing style. This graceful transformation has proved fundamental to contemporary watchmaking. While the Blancpain ladies’ models created in the past can lay claim to many world firsts, Blancpain has never dedicated an entire collection to women. Accordingly, and for the very first time and coinciding with the arrival of spring, Blancpain is revealing how it has imagined and developed its approach to feminine mechanical timepieces. Far from being mere reductions or adaptations of existing men’s watches, the three first models making up this collection were specifically developed to meet the expectations and desires of contemporary women. The hours of the BLANCPAIN WOMEN collection are exclusively feminine. Remaining steadfastly faithful to its roots in the Vallee de Joux, Blancpain has endowed each of its women’s watches with a meticulously hand-finished and decorated mechanical self-winding movement. Nonetheless, the Manufacture is now exploring an entirely new path by creating a collection that is completely innovative in terms of its aesthetics. Read More

The World’s First Water-Resistant Bluetooth Headset (with 3 weeks standby time)

By Mike Hanlon

February 26, 2006 Sometimes it takes a breakthrough to recognise what you’ve been missing. Would you buy a car that you couldn’t get wet? You don’t need to be a red-blooded, its-only-a-flesh-wound kinda guy to find yourself caught in the rain occasionally … and wanting to talk on the phone at the same time. Well the announcement by French Bluetooth specialist Bluetrek of a Bluetooth headset for extreme conditions makes so much sense that the rest of the headset world must surely follow suit – at least with water-resistant models. The X2 is designed for active outdoor use and its makers claim it has the ability to function in extreme conditions, but in some circumstances, the work and home environments can be just as hostile as the great outdoors. Indeed, the specs of the X2 make so much sense that it immediately becomes the headset to have, partly due to the no-brainer waterproof functionality and partly due to its extended battery power that offers up to 14 hours of talk time and 500 hours (three weeks) of standby time. The X2 will be available inside a few weeks for UKP59 or 79 Euros. Read More

New official Formula One watch manufacturer

By Mike Hanlon

February 24, 2006 For the first time in the history of the Formula 1, a company, the Austrian watch manufacturer Jacques Lemans, has purchased the exclusive rights to use the brand “F1”. The sport Formula 1 watch collection was presented at the massive Inhorgenta International Trade Fair for Watches, Clocks and Jewellery this week in Munich. Not surprisingly, the new F1 multi-functional chronograph models are designed to reflect the myth and philosophy of Formula One and will be manufactured from appropriate Formula 1 materials such as carbon fiber, rubber, Coutchouk, Titanium and ceramics. There will also be ladies’ models in pink with mother of pearl. Read More