As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. A tragic¹ event in India – the gang rape² of a young woman – led engineering students to develop a bra that can deliver a 3800kv electric shock to any would-be attacker.

 

Manisha Mohan, from the SRM University in Chennaiher, says that it can also send a text message to the local police station with the GPS coordinates³ of the victim's location.

 

The bra is fitted with a pressure sensor⁴ connected to an electric circuit. But layers of fabric⁵ and precise calibration ensure that the device won't harm the wearer nor be triggered by a friendly hug.

 

On the other side of the world, the possibilities offered by wearable technology are inspiring a University of Colorado PhD student to design a dress that will help deaf people by recognising vibrations⁶.

 

Halley Profita, who was interviewed by BBC’s Fiona Graham, points out that people with disabilities avoid using some products, such as hearing aids, because they call attention to them. She says: "We look at developing products that are both aesthetic⁷ and functional⁸."

 

Her creation, called Flutter, is still at the research stage. Ms Profita hopes to start testing it out on people later this year. She wants the system to be foolproof.

 

Some designers aim to have people expressing themselves more through their garments. A California-based start-up called Machina wants people not only to look good but also to sound good. It is using skilled Mexican artisans to handcraft a jacket that makes music.

 

Linda Franco is one of Machina's founders⁹. She says that her inspiration came from seeing a musician make music just by using his computer and explains: "We wanted to bring the act of performance back to life by having the musician use his body as an interface¹⁰."

 

Embedded¹¹ in the fabric are electronic components¹² which can detect the position of the wearer's fingers and track the movement of their arms, a joystick and four push buttons.

 

Experiments with the hardware are promising¹³, but how comfortable people will be interacting with their clothes is still to be seen. How ready are you to actually wear your computer?

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