Smart displays that show information through clothing fabric could be the next wave of wearable technology.
The new technology, which researchers call PocketView, use LED lights to display basic information. It can function as a standalone piece of technology or it could be incorporated into existing or next-generation smart clothing and devices.
At the end of the treatment they developed an innovative display that shows information through clothing and other fabrics. The team produced prototypes that mimic smartphones, pens, key chains and other shapes and sizes - the display shines through clothing to show notifications by email or messages, times, weather or other basic information.
Clothes that update
“The idea is not to show all the information you would normally see on your smartphone display,” he says Antony Albert Raj Irudayaraj, Ph.D. researcher at the University of Waterloo. “These are displays that show minimal information. Useful if you are cycling to see navigation instructions, or to peek at message notifications without distracting your attention from what you are doing."
The prototypes are obviously Bluetooth-enabled, which means they sync with existing devices.
The new visualization technology was developed by a team of researchers working in the field of human-computer interaction. One of their goals is to create devices for everyday consumption: for this reason the team conducted a mass public survey to choose the design of the prototypes.
Popular approval
“Some of the survey results challenged us to rethink the size, shape and functionality of displays,” he says Nikhita Joshi, who is part of the team. “The different sizes are important because many women's clothes have tiny pockets. A phone in your front pocket can be inconvenient, these displays offer more options. We created a whole variety of form factors to fit clothes of all shapes and sizes.”
Another key point of the new display technology is that it is relatively inexpensive, and could quickly be implemented on a large scale.
Other wearable display research focuses on creating new high-tech clothing, while PocketView can also work with clothing people already have.
Clothes and habits of the future
“Obviously, we're focused on the technology and programming side of the invention,” he says Daniel Vogel, associate professor of computer science at Waterloo.
“Even just as a fashion accessory, it's something people told us they wanted. People will use it in clubs, for sports, in a thousand other contexts. It's such a simple but radical thing that has the potential to become part of everyone's daily habits."
