Wearables

Tactile gaming vest lets you feel the pew pew pew

Tactile gaming vest lets you feel the pew pew pew

Roboticist Saurabh Palan, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, just hipped us to his “Tactile Gaming Vest” project. The vest contains solenoids, rumble-packs, and Peltier heating elements, and is designed to provide haptic feedback in first-person shooters. Get shot with a pistol, get a kick in the chest from a solenoid. Was it a laser? Add some local heat from the Peltiers. Vibration from the rumble-packs can be used to simulate explosions or slashing attacks. There’s more info at Palan’s personal site, iRoboticist.com. Double win for scoring that URL.

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Email-counting T-shirt

Chris and Madeleine Ball wrote in to share their email-counting t-shirt. Using some parts that they got from the Sparkfun Free Day, they added an LED display to the front of the shirt, that displays a count of the user’s unread email. An Android phone continuously checks the user’s inbox for new messages, then relays […]

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In the Makers Market: “P8tch” redirectable QR code patch

In the Makers Market: “P8tch” redirectable QR code patch

When you buy a p8tch, you get a velcro-backed waterproof patch, in one of several cool designs, bearing a unique QR code. You also get a unique password that lets you log in to the system’s website at p8t.ch and specify what URL you want your patch to redirect to. You can stick it on anything and direct folks who scan it wherever you want, and when you want to use it for something else, instead of having to generate a whole new code, you can just change the re-direct URL online. A clever product concept and an awesome inexpensive gift.

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Harrison Bergeron party from back in the day

Harrison Bergeron party from back in the day

OK, that allusion is a little unfair, since there’s really only, er, augmentation going on here, rather than deliberate handicapping. Anyhoo, waaaaay back in 1997, German artist Hans Hemmert (who since has done some interesting things with balloons) threw a party at which each guest was outfitted with a pair of shoe-stilts chosen to bring his or her height up to 2.0 meters, so that all the guests could interact, literally, on the same level. I’m guessing, however, that there was no dancing. [via Core77]

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Live insect bracelet-cage

Live insect bracelet-cage

Thingiverse user themauxfaux, who does seem to enjoy his word-play, just posted these plans for a laser-cut bangle that incorporates a hollow passage, complete with air-holes, so you can display your favorite live insect specimens on your wrist.

He calls it “Putrefashion,” which I think is a tactical error. I mean, I understand: I have a hard time resisting a good pun myself, but the whole point here is to keep the critter alive. And if you were to, you know, keep wearing it after it died and started to rot, well…just…ew. Even moreso “ew” than wearing bugs around on your wrist in the first place.

Now, apart from the name, there’s still plenty to criticize here, if I were inclined to do so. But I prefer to focus on the positive, and in spite of all my little quibbles with the design, I say this still counts as a win on the basis of originality alone.

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