Gizmodo: smart fabric

Intelligent Bra to Give Ladies Less Bounce to the Ounce

AddyDugdale — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:45:19 EST

University researchers have invented a smart fabric that could help larger ladies in the fight against breast bounce—disappointing the legions of men who love watching girls run for buses in the process. The material, which contains tiny sensors, will be used by bra manufacturers in an attempt to improve the lot of the big-boobed who find even the slightest exertion a pain in the chest. More info (and slightly NSFW illustration) after the jump.

The team, at Wollongong University in Australia, tested two women, one 36D, the other 38DD on a treadmill at two speeds: 4.3mph; and 6.2mph. Their studies found that it was the bra straps that took the brunt of the strain, putting pressure on the women's shoulders, and leading to numbness and tingling. The jiggling (technical term is, I believe, vertical breast displacement) was as much as 2.7 inches in the case of the larger woman.

"As breast mass increases," deduced the researchers, "breast bounce momentum also increases, placing large loads on the straps and, in turn, excessive pressure on the wearer's shoulders. Apart from strap-related pain, many females, particularly large-breasted women, are restricted from participating in physical activity due to exercise-induced breast pain."

The findings are due to be published in the latest Journal of Biomechanics later this week. [Daily Mail]

G-Tech Bluetooth Backpack: Noble Idea, Not So Noble Execution

Travis Hudson — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:30:37 EST

G-Tech has launched a Bluetooth enable backpack capable of streaming your tunes via headphone or an integrated speaker and able to accept calls via a Bluetooth enabled cellphone. The bag also has SmartFabric controls integrated into the strap for controlling the iPod and answering/hanging up the phone. Unfortunately the effort to set up the device and make it work seemed to outnumber the functionality of the device during my short demo.

There is a small Bluetooth adapter in a pocket that plugs in a handful of cables, including the iPod, and syncs with a cellphone. It is also a rechargeable battery powered device that needs to be recharged on a daily basis. Once it was all set up, the system worked well, music played via the integrated speaker or headphones and would pause when a call came in and the audio output would switch to the phone. This bag will be available for consumers around Q2 for $199 and will also be available in messenger bag form. –Travis Hudson

Smarty Pants: Computing Meets Motion-Sensing Fabric

Charlie White — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:44:06 EDT

Okay smarty-pants, try this on for size: we've been hearing a lot about wearable computers, but now scientists at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute are figuring out how to manufacture pants that detect movement.

"A loom helps sew the wires and fabric together. Then sensors embedded in the fabric measure the speed, rotation and flexibility of the pants with every movement. Wireless signals are sent from the pants to a computer to display the activity."

Perhaps this idea could be used like the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, but without requiring a shoe sensor. Or, the technology could monitor someone with a chronic illness, keeping tabs on whether that person is still moving around or stone-cold dead. The researchers aren't limiting the technology to just pants, either, talking about integrating sensors into shirts, hats and gloves, too. Anyway, we'd like to see these pants in motion. – Charlie White

Smart Pants [Advanced Imaging Pro]