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What you see in the video is not real. It is, in fact, just an advertisement. But here is the question. How long do you think it will take before interactive clothes do become real? Of course the biggest problems are:

• To get the fibers to change its color
• To get them to react in a meaningful way.
• To have them interact with your mobile devices, or a WI-FI signal (or next generation RFID).

And finally, the two biggest problems:

• Making it soft and comfortable
• Battery free (or at least with light-weight, flexible batteries).

So how long will it take before you can get clothes like this? 2 years? 5 year? Nope, the technology is already here.

Lumalive

Lumalive from Philips gives you interactive fashion. Made by embedding LED lights intro the fabric itself, it feels and looks like any ordinary fashion product... until you turn it on.

Or perhaps mix it with a bit of Augmented Reality, which allows you to see the effect via your phone (but not in real life). This "Kameraflage" iPhone concept does just that. And the great thing about it is that you don't need to manufacture special fabric.

Interactive clothes are not as "magic" as it appears to be.

(via Philips and PlayStation)

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Thomas Baekdal

Founder of Baekdal, author, writer, strategic consultant, and new media advocate.

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