Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
around the real estate of our bodies. A sign of the times is Google Glass, reaching far in
the heads-up display category. A truly good idea, no matter how clunkily executed it is
initially, will be refined until it eventually catches on.
Media and tech in art and fashion have simultaneously taken off in the 21st century.
For example, 3D printing and animatronic illuminated fashion are in vogue for celebrity
performance wear and red carpet fashion alike. Couture price tags accompany these cus-
tom designs seen on Katy Perry, U2, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Rihanna, OK
Go, and more.
Phones are the ultimate wearable electronic device. We carry these devices with us
everywhere, and their development fuels many technological developments, not the least
of which is the miniaturization of batteries. Hackers won't be satisfied with off-the-shelf
hardware: we seek to mod for both flair and function, such as illuminating the logo on the
back of an iPhone or unlocking an Android phone with an NFC tag in the user's manicure.
Phones can also connect to other hardware a person carries via Bluetooth. In fact, you can
expect to see a lot more development of wearables communicating with phones via
Bluetooth in the next few years.
Bike projects have a special allure for wearables makers because they (arguably) im-
prove safety while looking fly at the same time. Leah Buechley's turn signal bike jacket
got imaginations churning on Instructables; you can now find at least 100 wearable bike
safety projects on that site.
The accessibility of components and sample projects coupled with the democratization
of media on the Net have brought success to niche companies like Neurosky, the makers
of the Necomimi brainwave-reactive cat ears.
Anecdote: LilyPad History
Leah Buechley
I discovered that threads and fabrics could conduct electricity in 2005
when I was a graduate student at the University of Colorado. I was in-
stantly enchanted. The idea that it was possible to build interactive
electronics from textiles seemed deliciously subversive—subverting
traditions of design, engineering, and, even more powerfully, culture. It
was delightful to mash up and juxtapose soft and hard, masculine and
feminine, decorative and functional.
I began to build my own e-textile projects and to share my enchant-
ment with others. I published lots of DIY tutorials, and fellow graduate
