Skype at MWC – Live video chatting

Alcatel Lucent took over all of Hall 8 showcasing some of there emerging technologies, one of my favourites was their Amazing Learning Unit. This allows children to play with each other (or chat to their parents) remotely using a smart phone which is placed onto a DIY toy becoming and making up part of the robot.

This is a fantastic platform for children to ‘meet’ each other in a virtual world and then play together  as if physically in the same space. Children can search (through the robot) to find other children with the same hobbies, interests or perhaps who are doing similar projects at school and connect with them through their smart robots.

It is also possible for parent and child to communicate through the robot, with it having a cleaver setting which will show the child when the parent has some ‘free time’, this can be linked to a personal calendar so when for example a lunch break is scheduled the icon on the child’s smart phone will change to show the parents presence and availability. The child then knows that he/she can call the parent without disturbing their work. This works similarly the other way round with the parent having the same ability so can see when their child has finished school (and homework/extra curricular activities etc) and is enjoying some ‘free play’ where they are able to talk. This calendar setting has the ability to be overridden (so if a meeting runs short it can be manually turned off). A cleaver idea and I imagine in the future (perhaps a good few years) these types off communications will be a commercial reality but for now the cost of the technology is still to great, so this cleaver piece of innovation is perhaps for the select few who can afford the cost of this communication toy and its key components.

Alcatel Lucent’s Amazing Learning Unit at MWC 2011

For more information on the Amazing Learning Unit see powerpoint below.

VoIP Conference – Emerging Communicationshttp://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=voipconference-emergingtrends-jose-slideshare-091105094510-phpapp02&stripped_title=voip-conference-emerging-communications&userName=jdefrancisco

View more presentations from Jose de Francisco.

Another really interesting company I chatted with at MWC was Sensiron; The Sensor Company. They talked me through their colour changing humidity sensor and showed me it in action. This was integrated into a mobile phone to determine the humidity in the air, to give feedback of weather conditions in am area, but I could see these types of sensors having great value within wearable technologies, especially embedding them into clothing design. A message could be sent by the humidity in the wearers breath. This could be used within ones own garment to show emotion to the outside world or as a remote communication to another wearer showing the connectedness of the two garments and wearers. It would be interesting to see two garments where the actions of the wearer had no effect on their own garment but on the garment of the other wearer and vice versa. What would this mean and how would the wearers feel and interpret this change. This could become a two way physical/visual representation of feelings and emotion being displayed on the garment(s), being sent and received, in each instant, by the remote wearer.

Sensiron’s Humidity Sensor at MWC 2011

Walking around the show it was easy to forget that initially the main aim and purpose for most of these mobile devices was and still is communication. To allow humans to converse and talk to each other whilst apart. Some of these devices can seem foreign and unusable to certain consumers, especially the ageing population who did not grow up with the technology. John’s Phone turns this on its head, it only has one function, yes to make a phone call. This idea is much like Paul Dourish’s idea on Specialisation (objects that just has one use – like a touchatag hat, a hat that tells the weather, indicates to the wearer if they need to wear it or not). It has no display screen, so cannot even send or display text messages; so forget trying to check your email. You can simply dial a number on its large key pad (which has only numbers 1-9, 0, a hash-tag and a star. It also has a Hello Button and a Goodbye button for answering and ending a call). Whilst chatting to a representative of John’s Phone, it was explained to me that they felt it was important to be able to write down names and numbers, instead of storing it digitally on a phone. From inside the back cover of the phone a small paper phone book and pen was produced, a paper based phonebook where all important numbers could be jotted down and saved. The only ‘hi-tech’ function of this phone well apart from the fact it lets you speak to people remotely through a small box, is that you can save up to 9 speed diles so you don’t have to constantly refer to your small paper phonebook for your 9 favourite people to call.

John’s Phone at the MWC 2011

The last company I am going to mention is P2i: Perform, Protect, Improve. They are a company working with nano technology that allows a product, once coated in their patent technology, to become completely water proof, dust proof so in a sense self cleaning. They were at MWC showcasing how there tech can be used to protect digital devices but I chatted to them about the capabilities for this being used with fabrics. Whether it be a phone or a garment that is placed into one of P2i’s plasma machines and coated with their nano technology, the item will come out completely waterproof but with no other change, no surface coating can be felt. P2i works across many fields from electronics,lifestyle and life sciences to filtration & energy and Military & institutional. Perfect for high performance garments (sportswear and military use) as well as protecting medical electronic devices, such as hearing aids so the wearer could keep it on in the shower.

P2i at MWC 2011

I went to the Futuro textiles exhibition in the Maritime museum, Barcelona last week and what a show. They were showcasing everything from Helen Stories Dissolving Dress, to the Spanish Synchronised swimmers costumes for the 2008 Olympics (which incidentally they did not get to wear in competition due to the fact the judges thought they were to spectacular and would give the team an unfair advantage!).

They have many traditional and modern raw materials on display and the best part about the exhibition was that you were encouraged (on the most part) to touch, play and interact with the exhibits.

I cannot talk about all of the works but below I have listed a few of my favourites.

La Parole (1998 – redone 2008) in by Pablo Reinoso is a large torpedo shaped instillation that looks like a flying ship from days gone by. In fact it is not. It is a safe communication space for two people. Each person stands on the perfectly positioned ‘box’ underneath a Velcro ‘head slot’ and enters inside this vacuum where nothing seems to matter but the conversation you are having with the person who has joined you in this strange universe. This inflated cocoon, according to the artist “provides a new approach to human relations and a mode of conversation that is paradoxically introspective”. The artist to me has created a wonderful space for two people to converse one-to-one, leaving everything else ‘outside’ and purely focussing on the words.

La Parole

La Parole

Vasyble Project by GAIA Design (2010) is a concertinaed hood that two lovers can use to shut out the world “any time and any place” to be alone with each other. This project is about creating intimacy and to me holding on to these private moments shared between two people in our ever changing fast passed digital world, where everything is on show and intimacy appears dead.

Vasyble Project

And of course Daan Roosegaarde’s Intimacy Dress (2009-2010) that I have mentioned before in my blog. It was wonderful to see this dress in action, observing first hand as the sections of the dress slowly faded in and out from opaque to transparent and back again. The wearer revealing and then hiding them self from moment to moment.

Intimacy Dress

To find out more about this wonderful exhibition see the Maritime Museums webpage and for more photos of the show see my flickr page.

Wear I go from Yves on Vimeo.

“Wear I Go” is a camera-wearable that introduces new perception into your everyday. You believe you knew where you live but this device will help you think again. As a font of inspiration, photographic experiment or just for the fun of it, Wear I Go will put your life in to a whole new perspective.

The initial device is a self-contained ring. When you buy this ring, you are automatically subscribed to a service that allows you to upload photos and videos as they are taken. On the ring itself, there is a built-in diamond like camera which you can use as just another camera and take pictures on demand. Or, you can also use it as a “second-eye” by setting it up to automatically take pictures at pre-defined intervals, and in this case your device will pleasantly surprise you by giving you unexpected angles and bringing a new light into known and new grounds.

By setting your ring to “public mode” when you and your friends are together, will also allow you to sync your photos to your friend’s online account, meaning pictures will be taken at the same time from the Wear I Go devices worn by different people, documenting “this moment” from a variety of view points.

The Wear I Go ring is only the starting point. You can expand your collection and bring newer angles by buying accessories, such as pendants, earrings or bracelets, which also have built-in cameras and are part of the full concept. In this case, your ring works not only as a self-standing device, but also as a “remote-control” to the other Wear I Go devices.

via the Interaction Design Programme Denmark’s website

Inventor Claudia Schultze has developed the NuMetrex; heart monitoring technology that is woven directly into sports apparel. These intelligent sensing fibres communicate with a small transmitter that is also embedded into the clothing (this is removable for washing purposes). The transmitter sends the heart rate information to a watch, treadmill or any compatible machine.

This type of monitoring system could have applications outside the sporting realm as smart textiles in health care and also the wearables market as a whole. The possibilities for textiles that can recognise certain information about the body and communicate this to an external device are endless… New parents monitoring their babies vitals for distress etc.

Last year I blogged about Daan Roosegaarde’s Intimacy work in this post, I am now following up with what happened next with this exciting project. Roosegaarde has collaborated with designers Maartje Dijkstra and Anouk Wipprecht to make two interactive outfits known as Intimacy White and Intimacy Black (the white/black e-foil turns from white to transparent depending on the level of interaction with the dress).

These two interactive pieces really push the boundaries between art and fashion, and lets the wearer and non wearer see the connection between body and garment. Beautiful work. Studio Roosegraade is continuing to collaborate with haute couture designers creating more limited edition fashion pieces that will be added to the ‘Intimacy’ series.

‘Intimacy Black’_ Daan Roosegaarde from Daan Roosegaarde on Vimeo.

Back in 1995 Studio 5050 came up with the concept of the Love Jackets. A pair of coats fitted with infrared sensors, led’s, a speaker, conductive velcro and a rechargeable battery. The jackets came and worked as a pair, each pair would have their own infrared programming which would only recognise and interact with its corresponding unit. When the two garments were in close proximity (10ft or closer) they would light up and create clicking noises as a form of communication and recognition of their counterpart.

Despina Papadopoulos at studio 5050 in her paper written about the Love Jackets states that this type of technology should be utilised throughout the world of fashion design to “communicate with the world and others“. In the 15 years since this paper has been written many new developments in the world of wearable technology have been made but many of the issues arising from functionality and connectivity of the products remain the same. Through my research I hope to address many of the issues surrounding how we as humans build connections, how these connections can be transmitted and enhanced through wearable technologies and smart textiles . This aims to supply ”new models of interaction with the world, wearable computers can be used to dispel the notion of technology as alienating and lacking of human characteristics.“(Papadopoulos, 1995)  If  this type of technology can be used in an emotive and considered way I feel that the above statement can be realised.

movie: Digital Insignia #2

See below the Abstract form the paper Fashions of the Times detailing the Love Jacket project:

Abstract

This paper discusses ways in which wearable technologies can be used as agents of communication. Furthermore it stresses the necessity of using wearable technology for the initiation of social interactions, the constitution of new ways of participation in the social realm. In doing so it expands the notion of personal space and of how it interfaces with that of an other. Finally, it discusses uses of wearable technologies as aligned with traditional wearable systems (fashion, trends, style) and points to ways that wearable technologies can be utilized as not to exclude themselves from such uses. As a model for the above the paper uses the Interactive Jackets, developed by the author in May 1995, at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

social interaction — Interactive Jackets — physical space

Full Paper

These are on sale and can be bought via Studio 5050′s website for $480-$600.

“The 7thannual Smart Fabrics 2011 will take place on 4-6 April 2011 at the Hotel Russell in London, UK.

The conference will cover topics such as the current status of innovative smart fabric technologies in the marketplace, as well as recent application breakthroughs and adoption. The conference will be of particular interest for people involved in electronics, textiles, medical, sporting equipment, fashion, and wireless communication industries, as well as military/space agencies and the investment community.

The conference will be chaired by Stacey Burr, CEO of Textronics and VP at Adidas.”

via smartfabricsconference.com

Tweet

The capabilities of this type of mouldable communication surface is endless especially when thought about in the world of smart textiles and fashion design.

When: November 10

What: Plug and Wear: Wearable Technology Workshop

Blurb:

What can electronic technology offer to the design field? What are the most cutting edge uses of interactive applications?

The workshop WearableSmart Textiles: Technology to Concept: a hands on analysis of electronic technology in innovative textiles and prototype development seeks to address these questions. The course offers a theoretical and applied introduction to smart textiles; innovative fabrics currently being introduced in the different Interaction Design fields: from clothing to work dressing, to display and exhibits. Our objective is to explore in terms of design, themes that are based on technical knowledge but develop their potential in a visual and formal aesthetic.

Wearable Tech flyer ENG