Is there anything better than a hug? No, no there isn’t. But that doesn’t mean that the hug itself can’t be improved. Embrace-Me hoodies, from Studio 5050, do just that by helping hugs conduct electricity. And not that electricity that you get when you hug your girl/boyfriend (you do get that, right?)… No, I mean real, useful electricity. The hoodies, made from canvas that’s been subjected to “a luxurious, cashmere-like 100% bamboo basket weave,” contain a pattern of conductive panels in their chests. When you squish your significant other against you, the panels connect and LEDs on the backs of the hoodies light up and you hear a soft heartbeat sound. It’s adorable, but probably not $480 - $600 worth of adorable, which is what a pair of Embrace-Me hoodies costs.
In other huggable shirt news, Hug Shirts are still not available. Arg.
Oh man, I have been waiting for something like this for soooo long… All of a sudden, single life isn’t looking so bleak. These massage pants from the auspiciously named Wenzhou Wonderful Massage Equipment Co., Ltd., include seven vibration massagers and a ring of infrared heaters. You can choose from a variety of massages including a 20 minute long automatic mode which is way, way optimistic. The pants are powered by a rechargeable battery pack, and are available in lots of 500… But that’s cool, I’ll use ‘em all.
It’s been a long time since I’ve worn a watch. Between my iPod and cellphone I always have something that can tell the time easily. I have considered getting a watch now and again, but I rarely see any that really suit me. If you’re the kind of person that’s perfectly fine with the idea of death, this watch is for you.
The only things that appear on the face of this watch are a simple second hand along with hour and minute hands that read “remember you will die.” Seriously, how morbid is that? I don’t think anyone is really going to forget the fact that they will die some day. If you need a constant reminder of that fact, you can pick one of these up for $145.
Losing stuff sucks. And it really shouldn’t have to happen anymore, now that everything (including your dog) is capable of having an RFID tag embedded into it. The LadyBag, designed by six SFU students, contains an RFID reader and a little LED display that will blink at you if doesn’t detect your wallet, keys, or cellphone within. As an added bonus, there are also LEDs to display the “emotions” of the bag, which it infers from how you treat it. Squeeze it, and you’ll get a happy face. Fiddle with the zipper, and it looks nervous. I can only image what you’ll have to do to get the little love heart to appear. Personally, I’d prefer something a little less open to interpretation… Say, an LED array that’s able to scroll text, such as “I need a hug,” or “don’t f*** with me, I’ve got a purse.”
This prototype is from a few years ago, and the RFID idea is such a useful one that I imagine somebody’ll get it into production sooner or later.
This necklace is giving me a serious headache. I imagine it’s because I write the occasional website, and broken images feel like a punch in the gut, and punches in the gut always give me headaches. No matter how many times you refresh the page, the image on this plastic pendant simply will not load properly. The necklace is leather with a silver clasp, and at 17″, should be long enough to strangle nearly everyone. $20 at Thinkgeek.
You know, I don’t remember what particular browser this iconic broken image symbol first came from… Anybody know?
My current housemates would absolutely love the Reppo II backpack speaker system. It contains two full-range speakers and an amp, allowing you to broadcast exactly how awesome you are while you walk down the street. It’s perfect for the sort of people (like my housemates) who feel the need to inflict their taste in music upon everybody within amplified earshot, seeing as their wannabe hipster tunes are just too awesome not to share with the rest of the neighborhood. The backpack is hard shelled, which is good because it offers protection from the baseball bats which will inevitably be swung at you, but bad because it inhibits your running-away speed. The Reppo II is currently a functional concept in (thankfully) Germany.
Some people say I have a pasty white complexion. I prefer to call my skin ivory. But either way, I burn to a crisp whenever I set foot outside with less than SPF 56 sunblock and a trenchcoat. When it comes to going to the beach, Solestrom has me (partially) covered with their SmartSwim UV Intensity bikini. The bikini is adorned with little plastic UV sensitive beads that turn different shades of purple depending on how much cancer-inducing radiation they receive. If that’s not simple enough, Solestrom also sells a digital version in sexy silver. Not a fan of yellow? Me neither. Get the UV color changing beads separately here (among other places) and attach to the swimwear of your choice (although I can’t tell if the Solestrom beads are somehow special).
Unfortunately, according to my calculations, this bikini won’t fit me due to my bra size, which is a modest 38AA. I guess maybe it’s finally time to pony up for those implants I’ve always wanted.
A few years ago, the worst nightmare of any geek was Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. While that’s still the primary concern of many proud geek, there has been something else creeping up that could put you out of commission. That’s right, Blackberry Thumb. Sure, it sounds amusing, but contacting this horrible affliction could mean slower typing on your precious smartphone. Thankfully, there’s something out there that makes treating Blackberrry Thumb a breeze; behold the Xtensor.
Sure, that was a bit over-the-top, but it is quite serious to those who are affected. The Xtensor it “the first product on the market to perform with true bio-mechanically correctness and treats the direct cause of this pain.” It appears to use elastic bands attached to the tips of your fingers to provide resistance when extending them. I’m not doctor (but I play one on TV) so I can’t really tell you how this helps, but it’s certainly worth a shot if you’re in pain.
The Xtensor comes in either blue or yellow and will set you back $39, which isn’t too bad, provided it actually provides some amount of relief.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day (which is February 14th, guys, FEBRUARY 14th) are these 8-bit dynamic life shirts from ThinkGeek. Normally, the shirts light up with two and a half lives each, but when you and your significant other get within two meters of each other, you’ll start gaining lives as you get closer and closer until finally you reach 6 lives each and, I assume, total 8-bit bliss. After that, you’re allowed to make up to 5 gropes, lewd gestures, or thoughtless comments before you die.
The shirts are 100% cotton, and the hearts are actually a decal that can be removed for washing. They’ll run for about 3 hours on a battery pack that fits into a little pocket on the shirt. A characteristic of these shirts that’s ripe for abuse is that they’re not picky about which specific shirts are near them; they’ll light up in response to any other dynamic life shirts in the vicinity. Furthermore, you can buy a little transmitter that duplicates the radio in the shirts, and attach it to… Yeah, I’m not even gonna go there.
The shirts are $25 each, and the transmitter pack is $12.
It was this concept art that drew me into the Neonode exhibit, since (to be honest) I’d never heard of them before. But the art is pretty sweet, albeit (they insist) only a concept. If you’re not seeing anything out of the ordinary yet, look at her hand and his headphones. Convenient, right?
Neonode is also demoing a cellphone that they’re going to release commercially in summer of this year, called the N2. It’s smaller than a credit card and weighs only 60 grams. The interface is a 176×220 touchscreen (which is all the rage now, of course) but unlike the iPhone, the touchscreen of the N2 is not heat dependent, so it’ll work if you’ve got gloves on. Look for it this summer, but they’re not saying what network yet.
Related Tags: Wearable
Permalink | 
No Comments
By Evan Ackerman
