Fashion Film: Touching tech - wearable technology | Ben Moir

Who doesn’t like a good TED Talk? It’s a platform that provides bite size presentations which offer different perspectives that we may have never thought about before. Fashion Film Friday is brought to us by Wearable Experiments (We:eX) founding member, Ben Moir. We:eX is a wearable tech company that is socially driven to use fashion tech as an aesthetic problem solver for an improved quality of life. Moir’s TEDxMacquarieUniversity presentation which, with a pinch of humour, touches on, well, touch.

He starts off with the obvious, technology has taken up a lot of our time and we are distracted from their own lives. So how do you take the knowledge that we spend an average of eight hours looking at screens and incorporate it in ensuring people embrace the present moment? He mentioned a few of the projects that he and We:eX have come up with that use fashion to try and provide an answer to that

Fan Jerseys

Dutch Fan Jersey at the Rugby Olympics [Image: Courtesy of We:eX]

This year has seen We:eX use wearable technology to enable fans to feel a part of the game. That is, actually feeling what the players feel on the pitch through their jerseys. From exhaustion, adrenaline, and impact to excitement and heartbeat, it’s the 4D experience that takes the experience that much further by tapping into human emotions. Versions of this tech were tested at the launch of the Ladies Rugby 7s as an Olympic sport and at the Super Bowl 50.

Alert Shirt [Image: Courtesy of We:eX]

Nadi x

Nadi x [Image: Courtesy of We:eX]

Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) described it as “think about it like pants with an in-built coach”. This line of tights was created to help the wearer keep or correct their form during exercise. Using haptic vibrations, which changes in frequency and intensity based on the body angle, it can communicate in real time without being invasive. Billie Whitehouse, co-founder and CEO of Wearable Experiments, put it perfectly when he said, “[a]s someone who doesn’t always know the correct form or alignment in poses, I find having that proper guidance is crucial. As a lifestyle product, Nadi not only acts as that guide, but also integrates into your everyday life reminding you of something as simple as uncrossing your legs while sitting down.” Most importantly, the wearable tech doesn’t compromise on aesthetics or the fact that human experience should be empowered by tech and not overpowered.

Fundawear

[Image: Courtesy of We:eX]

This has got to be their most popular project to-date. Their high-tech bamboo lingerie was created for Durexperiment through real-time sensor technology. Billie Whitehouse and Ben Moir worked together to create the product that worked between touch screen devices and the lingerie garments to bring couples together. You can watch more about the lingerie below:

What I liked about this presentation that it was a simple reminder that as much as we like the sleekness and the reduced error that machines bring, we fundamentally want the human experience of emotions and touch.