Wearable Electronics
The internet allows us to communicate more easily than ever, but however many Facebook friends you have, there’s no substitute for a real hug – or at least there wasn’t until recently. Like-A-Hug is a concept social media vest which reacts to Facebook "likes" and posts on your wall, inflating to give you a “hug” on every such interaction. Wearers of the vest can embrace themselves in order to cause another person sporting a Like-A-Hug vest to get a hug, too. Read More
It's been about two years since the release of the first Looxcie wearable camcorder and over a year since it was joined by a lighter, more powerful second version. Now mobile video sharing has gone high definition with the launch of the Looxcie HD, featuring full 1080p recording capabilities and built-in Wi-Fi. Read More
Shippo: The brain-controlled tail that wags with your mood
At this year’s Tokyo Games Show, Japanese purveyor of electronically-augmented fashion Neurowear unveiled the successor to its Necomimi brain-activated cat ears. It's called Shippo, and it's a brain-controlled motorized tail that responds to the user's current emotional state with corresponding wagging. Read More
"No Place Like Home" GPS shoes inspired by The Wizard of Oz
British designer Dominic Wilcox has created a pair of prototype shoes which offer to guide the wearer home with built-in GPS navigation. The inspiration for the clever footwear derives from The Wizard of Oz character Dorothy’s red shoes, which famously transported her home with a click of her heels. Naturally, the GPS system within Wilcox’s shoes is also activated by clicking the heels together. Read More
The latest design from the coffers of Japanese watchmaker TokyoFlash, the Kisai Zone LCD watch continues the company's quest to re-invent the timepiece for the post-smartphone generation by replacing boring old analog mechanisms with unabashedly geeky ways to tell the time. Read More
Continuum Fashion launches $900 3D-printed shoes
US-based design studio Continuum Fashion has launched a range of eye-catching made-to-order 3D-printed ladies shoes it calls strvct (as in structure). The range of formal footwear encompasses pumps to stiletto heels and, thanks to the nature of computer aided manufacturing, "everything in between." Read More
Design studio Tokyo Flash accepts concept watch designs that can, if rated highly enough by visitors to its website, be turned into real, purchasable products. The latest design to be submitted, by "Alan from the USA" is based on two classic science fiction movies - Tron: Legacy and 2001: A Space Odyssey. And it's really rather stunning. Read More
A patent filed in November of last year shows plans for an eye tracking unlock system. The plans strongly suggest that the feature is intended for use with Google Glass, Mountain View’s hot-topic, wearable-tech product. Read More
A two year old girl born with arthrogryposis, a congenital disease that left her unable to lift her own arms, although able to walk, has been given a new lease on life by a 3D printed robotic exoskeleton, enabling her to move freely for the very first time. The exoskeleton, made of a similar material to Lego, was manufactured using a Stratasys Dimension 3D printer so as to create a prosthetic light enough for young Emma to continue walking around freely. Read More
Dedicated wrist-worn timepieces can be unquestionably beautiful (the Blue Ocean Watch or Zenith's Defy Xtreme, for example) but today's discerning gadget-lover requires much more from their wrist candy. The iPod Nano can already be made into a pretty decent digital watch but it doesn't (yet) have built-in Bluetooth connectivity so can't connect with the ever-present smartphone like the various flavors of the I'm Watch can. Smartwatch veterans Bill Geiser and David Rosales have just launched a consumer version of their open source, developer-focused, Bluetooth-connected watches. The STRATA is being billed as the first iOS 6-compatible smartwatch on the market and has already more than doubled its funding target on Kickstarter just a few days after its campaign launch. Read More
