A more fashionable spin on the solar-powered bag

[gallery]There are a lot of products out there that attach solar panel cells to the outside of a bag to generate power for your devices. But up until now, they have been mostly messenger bags and backpacks. DIFFUS is changing that by offering a more fashionable spin on the solar-powered hand bag. And what I really love about this product is that the designer carefully considered the implementation of the technology, which helps to inform the aesthetics of the design:

"Instead of placing a single flexible thin film solar module onto the side of a bag, the designers of the DIFFUS Solar Handbag have distributed 100 smaller monocrystalline silicon solar cells over the surface of the bag to resemble oversized sequins. The surface of the bag is also embroidered with a combination of normal embroidery and conductive embroidery that transfers the energy harvested by the "solar sequins" to a lithium-ion battery hidden away within a small compartment."

Continue reading on Gizmag. Photos from Gizmag.

Electric Skin gives a breath of light

New media installation artist and faculty member of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Suzi Webster, has been exploring and critiquing the ways in which technologies impact and shape our experiences. She has created a number of interesting wearable technologies including Electric Skin, which turns the breath of the wearer into pulses of light...something that would be great here in Seattle as we all wait in anticipation for the sun to finally sneak out from behind our 10-month cloud cover.

"The inhalation and exhalation of the wearer activates a breath sensor that dims and brightens the printed LED of the garment. The wearer is engaged in an altered state of perception, bathed in the electric aqua light."

Continue reading at Emily Carr. Images from Emily Carr.

Useless networks experimentation

I am loving this experimental work by Art Center College of Design student Daniel Lara called Useless Networks. Daniel describes us as becoming numb to our own sophisticated body sensors and playfully aids us in our most basic sensing capabilities through technology. The result is an evocative commentary on our own awareness (or lack thereof). Watch the video to see the project in action:

Nancy Tilbury fashion phreaks

[gallery]Wearable technology designer, Nancy Tilbury, has recently launched a project called Fashion Phreaking, which is new form of contextualizing Smart Clothing and Intelligent Cloth. "Most ‘Smart Fashion’ is currently awkward, unwieldy, burdensome, weighty, clumsy and self-conscious, where sportswear is surging ahead." Nancy Tilbury's approach aims to make clothing more valuable and sustainable by integrating playful technologies. Fashion Phreaking integrates playful technologies, conductive textile networks and soft switching into denim garments. The result is a new "digital skin" designed to give fabrics and jewelry extended body communication to the viewer and wearer. More at fashionphreaking Images from fashionphreaking For event photos, go to fashionphreaking Live!

A low-cost rehabilitation glove

Students from Montreal's McGill University have created a prototype recovery glove that encourages stroke patients who suffer the loss of hand motor skills to "relearn" how to use it through game play. The prototype is also aimed to cost relatively little to produce and allows the patients to use it at home through a video game interface. If you can get past the rather scary looking, cyborg implementation, what's interesting is the use of game mechanics (a trending topic in the tech industry) to encourage rehabilitation. I hope to see further iterations on this concept as well as a more considered wearable implementation.

More at gizmag.

Wearable device helps chronic back pain

[gallery] Industrial Design student Justine Smith has looked to new technology for a solution to one of the most common ailments in the world today – chronic back pain. The result is Spinovo (spine + new) – a concept smart clothing product that uses modular packs to treat pain through heating, cooling, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapies, as well as incorporating bend sensors to ensure the wearer maintains the correct posture. Continue reading on Gizmag.

It's an interesting concept, however I would love to see it designed more elegantly and less medical. Can it look more soft and cozy and invite me to wear it as it eases my back pain?

Images from Gizmag