Clevertex - Grado Zero Espace Srl

A first step towards wearable electronics for the every day use was the outerwear line, ICD+ (Industrial
Clothing Design Plus) at the end of the 90's, which was the result of a co-operation between Levi’s
Strauss & Co. and Philips Research Laboratories. This line comprised of four wired jackets that
combine garment functionality, like water-resistance, with wearable electronics. Wires were used for
synchronous control of the Philips Xenium GSM mobile and Philips Rush MP3 player.
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 19 The Mooring jacket (a); its communication system (b); its speakers and microphone (c)
One of the four jackets is the Mooring, a jacket equipped with a cell phone, a MP3 player, a chestmounted
remote control, built-in speakers, a microphone and a display. A personal area network
(PAN) provides the backbone for connecting these electronic devices with each other. The jacket's
construction requires that all these components, including the wiring, are carefully removed from the
jacket before putting it into the washing machine. The limitation as the maintenance created a high
need for further integration.
Limited editions of the jackets were available on the international market; the initial price for the
jackets was between US $600 and $900 [52, 60], but the collection is not available anymore.
One year later, the German company Infineon, now Interactive Wear AG, presented a similar
prototype with an integrated MP3-player, a headphone, a microphone, a detachable battery-Module
and a flexible sensor-pad-keyboard. A great difference to the ICD+ line was that the whole garment is
washable. Thus, the researchers at Infineon received the Avantex Innovation Award in 2002.
However, these garments contain conventional cables and miniaturised electronic components.
In co-operation with Rosner, a German clothing manufacturer, they introduced the “mp3blue” jacket, in
summer 2004. It is a men’s jacket with integrated features such as mobile telephony via Bluetooth and
a MP3 player. The electronics are an integral part of the clothing. The electronic features are operated
by a keyboard printed on the sleeve. According to Infineon, the ‘mp3blue’ jacket is the first lifestyle
jacket worldwide that implements the complete integration of electronic functions [61].
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