Remember in the 90“˜s when mood-rings were as popular as crop tops and choke chains? Well it seems the mood-ring (or at least it‘s concept) is making a high-tech comeback in the form of wearable tech.
As has been the case lately, anything technological and wearable is on the up. Smartwatches, smartrings – you name it. Wearable tech is where its at. And this new technology is pretty high-tech, with a little bit of a blast from the past.
Introducing the GER Mood Sweater. The name is quite self-explanatory; sensors connected to the sweater read human emotions and then reflects specific LED light colours onto the fabric of the garment.
The GER Mood Sweater – which actually looks like a crop top sweater with accompanying turtleneck – was developed by Sensoree.
Sensoree is a San Francisco-based design firm that focusses on designing wearable tech that could help people on different levels. Some of their other concepts were designed to help people with illnesses associated with Autism or ADHD.
The sweater contains a sensor known as the Galvanic Exitmacy Responder. This is similar to lie detector test technology, and with the GER Mood Sweater, you also wear the sensors on your hands – which then relays your mood to the sweater itself.
Just as the mood-rings of the past, this sweater also only allows you to portray 5, basic moods – mostly because there are only 5 different light colours.
Tranquil or “˜zen‘ translates to the colour Teal. Calm and relaxed is Blue. Ruffled or excited makes your sweater Magenta. If you are nervous or in love (I don‘t really see the connection with these two emotions) you will display Red and if you are ecstatic or blissful your colour is yellow.
Sensoree‘s founder, Kristin Neidlinger, believes that technology (and especially wearable tech) can make humans more aware of themselves:
“I believe technology can make us more aware. With responsive clothing, you can animate your body and heighten communication with yourself” she said.
If the GER Mood Sweater sounds like your ideal Christmas gift or if you would like to experience a high-tech time warp, you can preorder these sweaters on Sensoree‘s website. There are currently a limited edition of 100 sweaters available. However, the final retail price has not been released yet.
As for me, while I think the sweater is a great innovation, I do believe that it might only be high-tech hippies interested in this product. Just like the mood-rings.
Source: Mashable
