Here we are in 2021 and technology is everywhere, woven into the fabric of society, and literally woven into the fabric of some pretty awesome clothing. I was reading an article about the first item you will find on this list and it made me wonder, what other types of clothing have technology built into it? As I started researching more, I was not let down because it turns out there’s a lot of awesome clothes out there with integrated tech. Here is a list of what I think are some of the coolest.
*this list is not in a specific order
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1
“Anti-Paparazzi Clothing”
While I would consider this on the border of being considered ‘technology’ it served as the inspiration for this list so it deserves a spot. ‘Anti-Paparazzi Clothing’ is basically just normal clothes made out of a unique highly reflective material that is similar to reflectors you find on traffic cones. What makes the material unique is that in normal lighting it has the appearance of just an average gray material. When you expose it to the bright light of a camera flash, however, it reflects so much light back that everything else in the picture shows up much darker. So if you are a celebrity reading our off-the-wall obscure tech blog, then we finally have some for you!
2
Heated Clothing
Have you ever been sitting at home under your heated blanket in the dead of winter and thought to yourself, “I wish I could just live inside a heated blanket”? Well, I have good news for you, companies out there are developing that technology. Heated jackets and pants use the same technology as heated blankets except they use batteries so you don’t need to have them plugged into the wall. This is the perfect solution for those days a normal jacket just won’t cut it.
Smart shoes have been around for a while now and are surprisingly less popular than I thought they would be when I put them on this list. As I was researching different types and brands of smart shoes, I was confused why the selection was so limited when I have definitely heard a lot about them in past. Then it hit me, while smart shoes seem like a great idea, where they track things like your steps and speed, that technology is now present in multiple other devices like smartwatches and fitness bracelets. If you are someone who tracks their steps or monitors their workouts, you are likely going prefer a smartwatch or bracelet over the limited selection of shoes that come with the same technology. But if you prefer to go hands-free (or wrists) there are some solid offerings out there for tracking your workout through your shoes.
4
’Smart’ Socks
In complete contrast to the previous item on this list, I was floored (get it?) with the variety of different types of smart socks there are. Unlike the smart shoes, I came across that simply track speed and steps, smart socks come with pressure sensing pads in the bottom to help improve how you fitness. An app on your phone shows a picture of your foot and how much pressure you are applying on different areas of it as you move. From there it makes suggestions for small adjustments to improve form as you run or walk.
5
Fiber Optic Fabric
Fiber optics are pretty remarkable, they are very thin, clear fibers that can carry light and other signals through them. The theoretical data transfer speeds of fiber optics are much higher than that of traditional copper, which is why many internet providers now offer fiber internet with blazing fast speeds. Another less technical use for fiber optics is weaving a bunch together and hooking it up to a battery-powered LED light then making a hoodie out of it. This ultra-cool hoodie will definitely help you fit right in at your next rave, however, I wouldn’t call it practical as it isn’t waterproof or windproof and doesn’t come with sleeves.
6
Sign Language Translating Gloves
This one may be cheating a bit as it’s not technically for sale, but it is definitely worth mentioning. Some very intelligent bioengineers at UCLA designed a glove that tracks hand movements and translates American Sign Language through an app on a phone. As the person signs, a chip embedded in glove tracks picks up electrical signals from sensors embedded in each finger which is then sent to a phone where it is translated and read back at a rate of 1 word per second. Before you think of copying the idea and developing your own pair of these the team at UCLA already filed for a patent on the technology.
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