Archive for October, 2009
Truly Wearable: The Textile Breadboard
by Webelow Wear on Oct.29, 2009, under DIY Wearables, WW Wish List, Wearables
This is very impressive. The road to integrating technology into clothing has been a fun and interesting ride. The latest stop on this innovation train is the Textile Breadboard from PlugandWear. Weaving non-conductive yarns with metal wire, the soft and flexible material is strong enough to withstand soldering without burning and gentle enough to easily be embedded into any design. You can find the prototyping breadboard at PlugandWear in the next few weeks.
It will be fun to play with this.
Via [Fashioning Technology]
Treehugger.Com Digs Our Gear
by Webelow Wear on Oct.26, 2009, under Wearables
Keep the love coming friends!
Check out what they had to say about our Polar Ice Cap design: Treehugger.com
Big Dog now has Master
by Webelow Wear on Oct.26, 2009, under Robotics, Robots Will Kill You
We’re very busy with current and upcoming projects but we still take the time to keep up with our robotics blogs. Robots.net tipped us off to the latest creation from Boston Dynamics. The creators of the super scary Big Dog mule bot have done it again with their new PETMAN prototype bipedal robot.
Believe it or not, they’re making this robot to play dress-up. The plan is to test human wear and tear on life-saving checmical weapons suits. Riiight…
Whatever they use it for, if this robot is anywhere near as cool as Big Dog and Little Dog, we’ll be seeing some classic videos of engineers kicking the crap out of it. The fall avoidance systems on these robots is amazing.
Are those rock climbing shoes? Somebody get this man some Nikes.
Soomi Park’s LED Lashes
by Webelow Wear on Oct.23, 2009, under Fashionable Wearables, Wearable Makeup, Wearables
Soomi Park LED Eyelashes
Soomi Park, a multimedia artist and designer based in the United Kingdom and Korea, created these lashes as a solution to the age old problem of women with small eyes. As a way to make eyes pop, Park powers the LED Lashes with a coin cell battery and with an inclination sensor, has the lights turn on or off based on the users head movements.
Not exactly J. Lo’s mink and fox eyelashes, but these are show stoppers. We can see everyone from Lady Gaga to Kayne’s back-up dancer sporting these LED Lashes.
Talking about us!
by Webelow Wear on Oct.21, 2009, under Wearables
Well, we’re no longer tinkering in isolation. Talk2MyShirt and Fashioning Technology have both featured our Polar Ice Cap shirt on their blogs this week.
Big shout outs to two of our favorite blogs giving us a pretty nice nod.
You like it! You reaaaaaally like it!
An “Oh Snap” Moment
by Webelow Wear on Oct.20, 2009, under Robots Will Kill You, WW Wish List
Need killer sneakers for your robot? Oh snap. These “junk art” Nikes were all made of recycled computers.
Today’s Oh Snap Moment is brought to you by Gabriel Dishaw.
Webelow Wear Polar Ice Cap Shirt
by Webelow Wear on Oct.13, 2009, under Fashionable Wearables, Polar Ice Cap Shirt, WW Products, Wearables
Webelow Wear is using high tech thermochromic designs to encourage the conversation about environmental awareness through our Green Wearable line.
The debut piece is the Polar Ice Cap shirt which demonstrates the drastic melting of the North Polar Ice Caps from 1980 to 2009. Using a water-based thermochromic ink and American Apparel Sustainable Edition organic shirts, the image of the 1980 ice caps will “melt” away as your surrounding temperature rises to 96.8 Fahrenheit. Revealed is the image of the remaining ice caps in 2009. These ice caps have been in place for 3 million years and in a 20-30 year span have cracked, divided and melted at alarming rates. These changes may lead to a dramatic shift in average global temperatures as the ice caps thin and sunlight directly passes through it to warm the ocean.
The time is now and the choice is ours. WW will contribute to the growing awareness and donate a portion of each sale to The Climate Project, a non-profit whose mission is to educate the public and to raise awareness of the climate crisis at a grassroots level worldwide.
Introducing, Webelow Wear Green Wearables Lines
by Webelow Wear on Oct.12, 2009, under Polar Ice Cap Shirt, WW Products, Wearables
Webelow Wear has been innovating in the wearable technology industry for the last two years with a long line of electroluminescent, thermochromic and screenprinted fashions that help users express themselves through unique clothing and exciting technology.
While wearable tech is an exciting industry, we cannot forget that we are amidst a crisis in our environment and we need to both be considerate of our energy consumption and focus our bright minds towards using our new forms of expression to educate others and provide solutions. As people shaping the future we are responsible to, at the very least, consider the ways our technology will effect our world.
We’re no angels. We all choose to make or not make lifestyle decisions that could make a difference one way or another. We’re not environmental extremists or doomsday pessimists, we’re actually almost normal people, which makes us perfect vehicles to inspire change in others like us.
With that being said, we’re in R&D working on more sustainable wearable paths. In the near future, we’ll be offering unique recycled fashions with wearable upgrades and solar designs that will help you get rid of the grid.
Our first Green Wearables offering will be a thermochromic ink series using a new eco-friendly ink and American Apparel Sustainable Edition organic shirts to express some of the results of climate change. The Green Wearables line’s only technology is the clever use of thermochromic ink. We’ll explore polar ice cap melting, population redistribution, CO2 levels , rising global temperatures, and making a difference.
Check back frequently for more information, relevant climate change news and fascincating product offerings.
Hot High Tech Fabrics…literally
by Webelow Wear on Oct.12, 2009, under Wearables
We thought it noteworthy despite its “not really wearable” quality. These undergarments by Uniqlo absorb body moisture and use the tiny droplets to generate heat and keep you warm. The air pockets between the fibers retain both body warmth and the warmth generated by the moisture absorption. If that’s not enough, it quickly dries, controls odor, is stretchable, anti-static and non-deforming.
Via [Men.Style.com]
Ecko Audio Hoodie
by Webelow Wear on Oct.12, 2009, under Functional Wearables, Wearables, Wearables News
Urban fashion designer, Ecko, has come out with a new audio hoodie with an iPod controller.
The company takes advantage of the Fibretronic CONNECTEDWear soft-circuit controller and IP30 connection module.
It’s good to see more urban brands using soft-circuit technology and embracing the clothing 2.0 strategy of adding value to existing styles with wearable tech mods.
Recently this type of 3rd party integration has become more common thanks to companies like Fibretronic and QIO systems with their controllers and connectors. No information on where to buy or how much the set costs, but stay tuned for updates.
It is interesting to see many of these recognized fashion brands keep up with the times by jumping into wearables through up and coming wearable technology companies as opposed to internal R&D efforts. That is certainly a promising sign for anyone wanting to step ahead of the big boys.
Wearable innovators: don’t forget about the strictly B2B route!
Via [Fibretronic]
