A high-tech jacket with sensors has been developed to help people keep their heads up so they don’t have to look at maps as they walk around. According to Billie Whitehouse, the co-founder, Art Director and Designer at Wearable Experiments (We:eX), Pedestrian accidents are on the increase with people looking at their smartphones as they walk around. The jacket has sensors that vibrate and light up to guide your movement. This invention also showcases the future of fashion.
Billie elaborated what a fashion Technologist can do in the next market. “A fashion technologist is the combination of a professional in fashion and technology. However, I think this is an extremely loose definition, and I am not sure that is how I would define myself. I think that fashion is so often related to trends, and this is not necessarily what we are trying to achieve. What I think is important is “GOOD DESIGN” or design that help us live well. When combining “good design” and technology, then the possibilities are endless. I would prefer a “design technologist;” this comes with the understanding of what makes good design good and how to practically use technology from a humanist perspective.”
In her submission about the most important thing to understand about the future direction of the wearable tech business, Billie says “The most important thing to remember about the future business of wearable tech is that it needs to be intuitive and human. The more invisible the technology becomes, the more likely we are to adopt it. Humans do not want to look and feel like a computer. The technology is improving rapidly and what we were dealing with six months ago is vastly smaller today.”
The blazers communicate via Bluetooth with your phone, enter your destination in a mobile App and the jacket will be your guide. They are building their App around vibration sensors and it tells you when to turn left and when to turn right. The jacket is equipped with circuit boards and modules. Wearable experiment is aiming for a battery life of 7 hours. They also intend to build induction charges specifically made for the jacket to help power the Jacket and prevent power losses and you don’t need to run home to charge the device. According to the company, the final version will be removable electronic and it will be washable.
Billie is an aesthetic specialist with a naturally inquisitive nature towards technology and innovation. As a garment engineer she strongly believes people should not have to look like the technology that they have grown to love and depend on. Billie’s designs are sharp, experimental, naturally confident and subtly feminine in appearance integrating the latest technology. Design principals of colour, line, shape, proportion, tone, silhouette and texture are being brought to the wearable technology industry by Billie Whitehouse.
Source