A smart dress created with open source hardware and software is the latest wearable to have become a reality.
Developed by researchers at the University of Vigo, Spain, the first prototype of the Environment Dress can accurately capture information about surrounding elements and analyse how it affects people’s emotions.
Through machine learning it will continuously learn from the measurements it takes and associate those with the wearer’s emotions and moods.
The wearable collects data sets including temperature, infra-red and ultraviolet radiation, carbon monoxide and noise.
It then determines what environmental and behavioural patterns the wearer is experiencing. The dress will then sent out alerts to the wearer of any potential environmental events, such as increased humidity and the likelihood of rain.
The wearable is the winning project from "Next Things 2015 – Behaviour", the Fourth Global Art and Technology Challenge, presented by Telefónica R&D and the LABoral Centre for Art and Industrial Creation.
Creators María Castellanos and Alberto Valverde are now planning to make the wearable able to geo-locate and share data with users online for global accessibility.
They are also working on a mobile application that will allow wearers to manage and personalise their parameters, such as lights and alarm systems.
The first smart dress will be available in early 2016, and will also allow users to tailor it to their taste.
