Project update: sensing spine movement

[gallery] I'm currently working on a project for a healthcare-related garment. The project consists of a set of garment accessories, each with their own functionality and sensing capabilities. I'm in the midst of prototyping one of them, which I thought I'd share. The garment will sense spine movement including slouch, arch and any imbalance in oblique positioning. Here's one of the early sensor explorations after a number of trials and tribulations with different materials to get the most accurate and washable sensor.

For more info on the project, there are a couple of postings available on the Artefact site: Understanding our need(s) for a new healthcare experience Envisioning a new healthcare experience

Stay tuned for more progress...

Modwells: Personal Modules for Wellness

[gallery] I'm currently working on a new project around the topic of healthcare and wellness. The project includes a variety of garments with integrated technology, which I'm currently designing. So stay tuned for an update on the progress. In the meantime, here's a short description:

Modwells is a new consumer-focused healthcare experience that is integrated into our daily lives and aimed to improve our physical and emotional health toward a better quality of life. It is modular, customizable, scalable, wearable and social.

The modwells system includes:

  • mods: a collection of sensors that collect and assess your health
  • trestle: a devices that allows you to view the data that you collect, recharge your pebbles and customize them
  • accessories: a collection of accessories and garments that allow you to extend the mod’s capabilities
  • application: allows you to manage your experience

Continue reading about Modwells here. Read about the initial research here.

Craft Punk fur-studded Fendi guitars

[gallery] One of my favorite designers, Moritz Waldemeyer, creates stage and electronic performance wear for a growing number of artists ranging from Bono to Rihanna to OK Go. One of his many outstanding projects includes a collaboration with OK Go and Fendi which resulted in a fantastical fur-studded laser-shooting guitar. The guitars will certainly bring out the rockstar in you.

Here's how the project is described from the Design Miami website: Design Miami/ and Fendi partnered last April to produce the highly acclaimed Craft Punk project in Milan during Salone del Mobile. Craft Punk built upon the Design Performance program launched in 2007, which was intended to showcase ‘design in action’ and to allow Design Miami / visitors to gain appreciation for the process underlying the creation of experimental design. For Craft Punk we invited ten designers and studios to create craft-based work in front of live audiences inside Spazio Fendi, commingling radical design with fashion, music and video. For Design Miami / 2009, we are advancing our project with Fendi even further by presenting an exciting collaboration between tech-designer Moritz Waldemeyer and pop-sensation Ok Go. Moritz has intervened upon the selection of Gibson guitars, customizing them with laser lights and Fendi materials, merging the handcraft tradition of the Fendi brand with futuristic, luminous elements. When played, the guitars’ lasers interact with a video wall and leave traces that illustrate the music in real time.The lasers emulate the strings of the guitar and the vibrations transmit beautiful visual interpretations of the sound, extending the performers’ musical expression into the space around them. The guitars become like musical paintbrushes that produce synesthetic experiences for viewers. This project stands as an exemplar of the ways in which the fingers of contemporary design extend without boundaries into every field of cultural production. Ok Go will perform onsite during the show, experimenting with the instruments for the first time. After the show, the guitars will be given to Ok Go to use on their upcoming tour.

Images from waldemeyer.com, Flickr (Ian Witlen) and the deli. For more info on Moritz Waldemeyer, visit his site.

A video in progress for Ping

[gallery] Due to popular demand, I'm currently working on a video that demonstrates Ping: A Social Networking Garment. There was a lot of planning, storyboarding, and shot list design to prep for the shoot. Here are some stills of 3 of the scenes. There will be 4 scenes that demonstrate how the garment works. Post-production takes a while so hang tight for the final video.

For more information on Ping, go to the project site or the project's blog post.

Ping: a social networking garment

[gallery] Alas! I recently completed a project that I've been working on called Ping. It's a garment that connects to your Facebook account wirelessly and from anywhere. It allows you to stay connected to your friends and groups of friends simply by performing natural gestures that are built into the mechanics of the garments we wear. Lift up a hood, tie a bow, zip, button, and simply move, bend and swing to ping your friends naturally and automatically. No phone, no laptop, no hardware. Simply go about your day, look good and stay connected.

I'm investigating three important and emerging areas in wearable technology through this project:

Connection to larger systems The garment investigates ways to connect to larger software systems that can add more functionality and longevity to the experience while offering a new platform for communication and expression.

Aesthetics Rather than simply attaching technology to clothing, the project investigates garments that have electronics built directly into them resulting in a new aesthetic of form and behavior that become a core part of our expression, our identity, and our individuality.

Marketability Very few wearable technology projects successfully target consumers outside of the sports, medical and military fields. We are just not there yet. The project aims to generate market desirability for a wide variety of people to use in everyday life.

Project Site: Go to the project site to see the rest of the concept. Let me know what you think! I would love to hear form you.

Press: CNET, FastCompany, fashioningtech, Alison Lewis @ Smart Fabrics Conference Miami, talk2myshirt, poshspace.ru, podcastingnews.com, ecouterre.com, geeksugar.com, San Francisco Chronicle, podcastingnews.com, notcouture.com, netdiver.net, Inventor Spot, Gizmodo, Engadget, DVICE, Tuvie, TechFlash, Protect Your Bubble, Trendhunter, TechNews, Artefact, Fashion Industry Network, newwebpick.com issue #30

Interviews: AOL Stylelist, iHeartSwitch,