Philips, Levi Strauss to Launch
Suits With Built-In Electronics
By ALMAR LATOUR
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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In this age of palm tops, handsets and MP3 players, pocket space is a hot commodity.
That's at least what electronics producer Philips NV and fashion manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co. are betting: The two companies recently got together to develop jackets with built-in electronic equipment, promising to consumers that the days of pockets bulging with phones, audio equipment and wires have come to an end.
Called ICD+, the water-resistant state-of-the-art outdoor jackets feature built-in electronics including an MP3 player, a headset, a mobile phone handset and a small remote control. If you want to make a call, just flip up your collar. Care for a tune, reach for your pocket. Volume too loud? Just touch a few buttons on your sleeve.
If this sounds like Star Trek, don't be fooled: The electronics jackets will be launched commercially in September, and will be available at up to 40 boutiques across Europe, mainly in fashion centers like Paris, London and Milan.
Growing Attention
Though still in its infancy, wearable electronics are getting increased attention from clothing and electronics makers. What started with portable transistor radios may soon develop into fabrics that conduct electricity and can connect audio equipment and pocket computers. Several conceptual products have already been developed at tech labs around the globe, including a T-shirt featuring in-ear speakers and solar cells to provide energy; and a solar energy recharge jacket serving as battery to a microphone and a video camera. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab spinoff Charmed Technology Inc. of Beverly Hills, California, even launched high-profile fashion shows featuring futuristic-looking clothing with all sorts of built-in wireless technology on catwalks around the globe.
But wearables aren't just geeky fantasies, they are serious business and there are several commercial projects already up and running: Nike Inc. this year started a tech lab aiming to integrate digital equipment like MP3 players into sports clothes; telecom equipment maker Motorola Inc. and watch maker Swatch each have developed a wristwatch equipped with a phone; telecom manufacturer Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson will launch this autumn a clip-on wireless headset for mobile phones.
To be sure, not everyone is as enthusiastic about wearable electronics as Philips and Levi Strauss. Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB has turned down at least one request from a Swedish university to develop wearables. The company thinks such garments would, for now, be too expensive for its consumers, while there are also questions about safety. "It's not so sure if wearables are healthy," says Margareta van den Bosch, H&M's chief designer. "There is still a discussion going on whether it's safe to have handsets close to your body. It's not the thing for a trendy mass market just yet."
But Philips and others aren't scared off. "Wearables are the next step after portables," says Simon Turner, head of Philips Interactive division at the company's Redhill research center in the U.K. "Electronics are getting smaller and smaller. We hope to create a whole new market with electronics that are part of your wardrobe."
Network in a Jacket
So how do wearables work? Philips and Levi Strauss's ICD+ jackets are equipped with a so-called personal area network, or PAN, an electronic circuit woven into the jacket that serves as the backbone for various devices. Just like local area networks that connect computers to each other at offices, PAN allows the transport of data, power and control signals within the garment. Several devices can be clipped on to a PAN, and they can be centrally controlled by a remote control with a small display that alerts users with every incoming phone call or the title of a song playing on an MP3 player.
Philips and Levi Strauss began working on the project 18 months ago with a team of fashion designers, technicians and interactive media specialists. The goal? To create a fashion-conscious outdoors jacket with integrated electronic equipment. The target group became young people who are outdoors a lot and carry a lot of equipment around just for their jobs -- movie producers and roadies, for example -- as well as teenagers and early adapters who want tomorrow's trendy thing today. "This will become a huge part of everyone's life in the future," predicts Peter Ingwersen, Levi Strauss's brand director for Europe. "We already decided to come out with a new wearables line next March."
The current ICD+ line had to be designed in such a way that the user wouldn't feel the weight of the electronics or more than 1.2 meters of wires. Moreover, the garment -- minus the hardware, which can be clipped on and off at will -- had to be able to survive cycles in a washer and dryer. "The important thing was to hang the wires the right way," says Mr. Turner of Philips. "That's an issue engineers don't usually think of, but fashion designers always think of."
Garment Upgrades
During the design process, the electronics world progressed significantly: MP3 players entered the scene, and Philips designed the Xenium phone, which features 25 voice commands. Levi Strauss and Philips quickly integrated the technologies into the garment, discarding the mini-disk player and non-voice-controlled GSM phone they had initially considered for the project. As a result, the total weight of the equipment is a mere 145 grams (the phone and battery are 95 grams, the MP3 audio player weighs just 50 grams) and the phone can be operated simply by speaking commands directly into the collar. If you want to read electronic short messages directed to your mobile phone, say "Read short messages." If you want your calendar on a display, say "Calendar."
ICD+ features four different jackets with PANs, named the Producer Jacket, the Beetle Jacket, Gilet and the Mooring Jacket. They range in color from blue and black to green and sand.
"The beauty of it all is that you can wash it on 30 degrees," says Mr. Ingwersen of Levi Strauss. "It gives you total freedom, total access. Your coat becomes like a car with the stereo playing and the car phone ringing."
The next wearables project? Levi Strauss wants it to be even more advanced: The jacket will consist of so-called conductive fibers that transmit signals without making use of wires, while control functions will make use of infrared technology.
For his part, Mr. Turner of Philips thinks there is a lot of potential for an electronics sports bra that could monitor an athlete's heart rate. "Women wear bras anyway," he says. "They may as well get some extra use out of them." |
