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Ready to Test a 'SmartShirt'?

Posted by Zonk on Sat May 13, 2006 10:32 PM
from the wear-one-for-that-harsh-deathmatch-session dept.
Wireless Networking Technology Hardware Science
Roland Piquepaille writes "In a very brief article, Health Data Management reports that Sensatex Inc. is looking for beta testers for its SmartShirt system. These fully washable shirts are using nanotechnology to weave a conductive fiber grid into the cotton fabric to monitor your movements or your heart rate and transmitted wirelessly to a central computer. If the tests are successful, these shirts could be used to remotely check old people living alone, but also soldiers in the field or athletes. Read more for additional details and pictures of these 'smart' shirts."
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  • Help! (Score:5, Funny)

    by mfh (56) on Saturday May 13 2006, @10:35PM (#15327853) Journal
    I've fallen and -- oh you're here already. Thanks.
    • If you're being mugged, you probably cant use a cell phone. But with this when a sudden elevated heart rate is detected, you may auto activate GPS and mics/video. Maybe even alert nearby people or police. Good for protecting kids etc.

      Thered have to be reliable inputs or signal processing to detect the difference between fright/panic and running around etc.
  • I don't trust these shirts. How are we sure that nanotubes won't break away or escape from the shirt and enter the lungs? How do we know that they're safe for people to wear? I think we're set for another DDT-style disaster here.
    • How are we sure that nanotubes won't break away or escape from the shirt and enter the lungs?

      How often does a loose cotton thread, say, end up in your lungs? Get real :)

      Also what's bad with that, you get to monitor the condition of your lungs for free.

      How do we know that they're safe for people to wear? I think we're set for another DDT-style disaster here.

      How about highly toxic rat poison called sodium fluoride being in your water supply and tooth paste?

      Oh wait...
    • How will you know unless you test it?
      • How will you know unless you test it?

        I got a guy to let me light him on fire once with the same logic. Can't say much for the overall experience, but by the end, by golly, he knew.

    • DDT (Score:3, Interesting)

      by grolschie (610666)
      I think we're set for another DDT-style disaster here.
      Yeah sure. Is DDT actually safe for humans? [straightdope.com]
    • You are aware the shirt you're (presumably) wearing now is constructed of nano-scaled materials, right? They're called "molecules".

      Why you're worried about *a* nanofiber when you're inundated with billions and trillions of nanoparticles a day from wind, water and earth I don't quite grasp. Not even touching on the fact that nanotubes are based on buckyballs terrestrially found in smoke which is an ingredient in the smog you breathe every moment of every day, why are you specifically concerned about this shi
      • >You are aware the shirt you're (presumably) wearing now is constructed of nano-scaled materials, right? They're called "molecules".

        Yup and you notice that to make those shirt we use materials that have been known to be harmless to man for centuries, we don't know anything about the new materials, they could be harmless or they could be a new abestos.

        >nanotubes are based on buckyballs terrestrially found in smoke

        Bah, arsenic in dose low enough is used as a drug, because there are buckyballs in smoke d
          • Coton has been in used for centuries.
              • Nope but I beleive you, as said before the material must be checked against the usage intented: even arsenic isn't always bad depending of the use.
                Cotton in shirt is not breathed.

                My point is that with old materials we know when to use them or not: you wouldn't use lead to make a new water pipe. For the new materials caution is advisable..

  • FTA: (Score:5, Informative)

    by farker haiku (883529) on Saturday May 13 2006, @10:40PM (#15327872) Journal
    Now, if you want to be a beta tester, please contact the company (link under the "Press Room" tab).

    Just thought you should know.

  • Can't wait to see this stuff. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by farker haiku (883529) on Saturday May 13 2006, @10:46PM (#15327882) Journal
    Frankly, I'm signing up to be a beta tester for several reasons. First, wireless anything is attractive to me.

    Biometric information is wirelessly transmitted to a personal computer and ultimately, the Internet.

    And I'd like to sniff the packets just to see what they are actually sending/what kind of encryption they are using/etc. Secondly, as someone who is trying to lose weight via an exercise program (I mean program literally - I play the dance game In The Groove) the following is also attractive:

    The Athletic SmartShirt System allows the comfortable measuring and/or monitoring of individual biometric data, such as heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, caloric burn,

  • No, I'd rather not (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Pichu0102 (916292) <pichu0102@gmail.com> on Saturday May 13 2006, @10:46PM (#15327883) Journal
    Considering all the abuses of privacy going on recently, who knows who gets to see the data collected by the smartshirts? What privacy are we getting about the data collected by the smartshirts? And would they even be required by law to keep that data confidental?
    There's too many privacy concerns, so until I feel secure enough in knowing that my private health information is not being sold or even placed into a national database, there's no way in hell I'm using those shirts.
    • What privacy are we getting about the data collected by the smartshirts?

      Are you scared of anyone to deduce how frequently and for how long you jack off from your heart and breathing rate? ;-)

    • There's too many privacy concerns, so until I feel secure enough in knowing that my private health information is not being sold or even placed into a national database, there's no way in hell I'm using those shirts.

      Hey, don't you want to do your part in the war on terrorism? If you don't have anything to hide, then why are you worried?

      I was aiming for funny, but the prevalence of this mentality just makes me sad...

  • Here's a thought (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Conspiracy_Of_Doves (236787) on Saturday May 13 2006, @10:52PM (#15327897)
    If these things can monitor your movements, how about making a set of tights that can be used for motion capture.

  • What'll they think of next? (Score:5, Funny)

    by brownsteve (673529) on Saturday May 13 2006, @10:57PM (#15327916) Homepage
    Embedding software into softwear...

  • A conversation with my shirt (Score:5, Funny)

    by ACK!! (10229) on Saturday May 13 2006, @10:59PM (#15327933) Journal
    My shirt and I having a conversation in a club.

    Shirt: "You do realize that deodorant is not in limited supply?"

    Me: "Shut up damnit I sprayed the pits."

    Shirt: "Yeah but what freakin' century and what is with those dance moves I mean Anthony Michael Hall doing the geek moves in the Breakfast Club had more grooves than you."

    Me: "Ok crap this is the last time I take you out."

    Shirt: "So, you are saying you are actually going to start having a social life?"

    Me: "Life critiques from my apparel, wonderful."

    Shirt: "Listen if you want to ditch me to the floor man that is all you there is a hottie right over there that is just dying to rip me off of you."

    Me: "Really? Damn, point that out dude."
  • Talking about smart shirts, whatever happened to those t-shirts that changed colour depending on temperature. Do they still exist?

  • First moron... (Score:3, Funny)

    by js92647 (917218) on Saturday May 13 2006, @11:23PM (#15328028)
    to ask "But does it run linux?" gets a punch in the face... from Sensatex.

  • Maybe not so useful for Athletes (Score:4, Informative)

    by MBraynard (653724) on Saturday May 13 2006, @11:30PM (#15328054) Journal
    The athletic smartshirt is inferior to other products on the market that provide more useful information - namely the Timex Bodylink with HRM and GPS, and the Garmin Forerunner 305 with GPS.

    Apparently it does not unify GPS data with the heart rate, and other things like body temperature/caloric burn/respiration rate/etc either can be derived from the HRM/GPS or are just not that useful.

    Also, while in the midst of training, the last thing you want to do is have your coach have to haul a laptop out - a simple stop watch and asking you about your own HRM readout will do the job.

    In theory, there are some better products out there that can be developed, but this is not one of them.

  • T-Shirt (Score:5, Funny)

    by suv4x4 (956391) on Saturday May 13 2006, @11:30PM (#15328056)
    Ohhh, now I get it.. T-Shirt, T-600, T-700, T-1000...

    Now we know how it started. Well who's keen on testing nano technology bent on world destruction and extermination of the human race on his shoulders.

    Anyone?

  • Soldiers?! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by bidule (173941) on Saturday May 13 2006, @11:44PM (#15328095)

    I can see it from here:
    Soldier #1: Where is the enemy hiding?
    Soldier #2: Let me do some packet sniffing.

  • OK, combine this tech with some really good piezoelectric bits, and we're starting to see the underlying tech of the future teledildonic [wikipedia.org] rig.

    Talk about force feedback...

  • Interesting but... (Score:5, Informative)

    by dracken (453199) on Saturday May 13 2006, @11:59PM (#15328131) Homepage
    ...something like this have been around for years in academic labs. Georgia tech for example has had a smart shirt [gatech.edu] for years.

  • interesting (Score:4, Funny)

    by senatorpjt (709879) on Sunday May 14 2006, @01:19AM (#15328349)
    Now the NSA can monitor my shirt. Great.

  • Polar and Adidas [gizmodo.com] have had wearable heart rate monitors for ages. What's special about this?

  • Hrmm (Score:3, Insightful)

    by NitsujTPU (19263) on Sunday May 14 2006, @02:58AM (#15328567)
    If the tests are successful, these shirts could be used to remotely check old people living alone, but also soldiers in the field or athletes.

    I'm sure that on the battlefield of the future nobody is going to want to wear a shirt that makes them glow like someone who killed one of their teammates in Counter Strike.
  • All they will figure out from /. users is a correlation between fast heart rate and trying to get first post on the latest article.
  • ... like "Attention! This person is WANTED. If possible, DETAIN this person!"
  • They are 'looking for testers' but nowhere on either article are any instructions or linked forms for anyone interested in being a tester. I also didn't find anything on their own site about them 'looking for testers'. They did have a normal 'contact us' page, but you'd think if they were actively seeking testers they'd actually say that somewhere and have some specific contact instructions - even so much as 'Call us and ask for Dr. So-and-so'
  • The mother of all necessity.
  • Am I the only one who thought about BttF2 when they are in the future and the coat Marty is wearing auto-adjusts for size and dries itself? Screw monitoring, I want clothes that do that.
    • Underlords anyone?
      • Underlords anyone?

        Underlings? Definitely. If you fit these with TASER tech, you could keep people penned in. Could do wonders for parole enforcement, or just general oppression...

        I'm not sure I'd even consent to wearing one with just GPS enabled if only my wife had access to it. What if I wanted to buy her a Mothers' Day present without her knowing? It was hard enough keeping the kids from blabbing, and now I'd have to worry about my shirt blabbing?
    • While the concept is good for it's described purpose, I get this mental image of the government coming under fire in 20 years for illegally wiretapping somebody's panties.

      Quote from the Washington Post, circa 2015:
      The new survey found that 63 percent of Americans said they found the NSA's undergarment monitoring program to be an acceptable way to investigate bioterrorism, including 44 percent who strongly endorsed the panty-sniffing effort...


      • The only enemy the US will dare fight is one which lives in 3rd-world conditions, so there won't be any danger of them having the technology.

        I know you're just a troll and an idiot, but I just have to respond.

        You can buy direction finding equipment at your local radio shack. If a country has the means to procure food and weapons, it can certainly procure radio and simple direction finding equipment. It can also manufacture its own with relative ease. This isn't exactly high-tech stuff we're talking abou

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