For years people considered technology to be the stuff of the workplace. However, as we’ve entered into the digital age, we’ve seen how technology has expanded far beyond simple devices that help us communicate and get our work done. Instead, technology has become an integral part of nearly every aspect of our lives.
One important realm that technology has begun to revolutionise is fashion. Today, fashion designers are incorporating wearable technology into their creations to make fashion simultaneously aesthetically-pleasing and utilitarian. The following four wearable items include technological devices that make them both fashionable -– and convenient – to wear.
Lyle & Scott Contactless Jacket
Lyle & Scott and Barclaycard recently partnered to create a contactless payment jacket. In the arm of the jacket is a contactless payment chip, which is similar to those chips found in many credit or debit cards. The jacket allows wearers to simply swipe their arms over payment machines to pay for goods, and the chip can pay for any amount up to £30. The Lyle & Scott jacket makes the checkout process faster and easier – saving wearers both time and energy for more important daily responsibilities.
Wisewear Bracelets
Jewelry designer Wisewear invented a line of fashionable bracelets that are intended to help wearers in emergency situations. These bracelets also have smart technology built-in: The bracelets have a built-in panic button, which people can push in the event of an emergency. The button notifies programmed emergency contacts, and it drops a pin to your GPS location. The bracelet can also notify wearers if they receive a message or call on their smartphone, and it can serve as an activity tracker. Wisewear bracelets can measure things like step count, distance moved, calories burned and more.
Aero Sports Bra
Fashion company Chromat recently created the Aeros sports bra: a bra that happens to be built with the Curie microchip by Intel. The Aeros bra can detect factors such as body temperature, respiration changes and sweat levels, and then it adjusts airflow via vents in the bra to ensure that the wearer is as comfortable as possible. The Aeros bra ensures comfortable movement, and it is made of lycra, mesh and neoprene.
Welt Belt
The Welt is a smart belt that can inform wearers if they are gaining weight. Designed for health tracking, the Welt sends an exact waist measurement to a smartphone app – and it uses algorithms to detect if an expansion in waist size is due to fat gain, bloating or simple overeating. Fashionable and sleek, the Welt can be worn with nearly any outfit. It is also a more accurate way to track activity that a wrist-worn smart device, since it won’t add on activity or steps when you’re simply moving your hands vigorously (which could happen you’re cooking, typing and more.)
Sensoria T-Shirt
The Sensoria T-shirt is a smart shirt designed to help wearers optimise their work outs. The shirt has a built-in Bluetooth heart monitor, which connects to a mobile app and gives you useful information, like how high your rate was during a workout, and how many calories you’ve burned. The shirt is compatible with other fitness tracking devices and apps, and it is made out of antimicrobial and moisture-wicking material for optimal comfort.