Coloradans are diehard outdoor enthusiasts. Sure, we differentiate playing outside in the summer and winter, but that just means different gear — trading in the bike for the skis, the running shoes for the snowshoes …
It also means more gear. When you hit the slopes or even step outside to shovel your sidewalk, it’s crucial to keep your body warm. This means layers on top of layers on top of layers. This often leads to feeling trapped and cumbersome.
Want to send a text message with a pair of ski gloves on? Forget about it. Scrolling through your music library to pick a song to shred down the mountain with? Pretty much impossible. It’s inconvenient to remove your gloves every time you want to use your phone or make an adjustment. Not to mention, you risk freezing your digits off if you’re trying to navigate your electronics in the bitter cold.
The solution? A wearable technology developed by students at University of Colorado in Boulder who partnered with Gaugewear Inc. that is radio frequency-based. It allows control of electronic devices with simple interactions such as tapping or swiping.
The piece looks like a blood pressure sleeve. It’s adjustable, and can be attached to any piece or worn alone. The design is simple — a single strip of fabric is programmed to interact with your electronic devices through radio frequency. This means you don’t have to physically remove any of your electronics (smart phone, iPod, etc) but rather, you can control them via Bluetooth.
Another advantage of controlling your devices with the Bluetooth technology integrated into the wearable sleeve is not having to expose your devices to the elements, ensuring they won’t get damaged.
Collaborating with Gaugewear Inc. brings an enormous advantage, as they are a company concerned with safety and performance for outdoor enthusiasts. From their website: “(we are) a seed start-up commercializing wearable sensors based on research from the University of Colorado Boulder. Independent analysts estimate the market for health and fitness wearables – excluding the current wrist-based devices – will approach $10 billion by 2020, and the global thermometry market will exceed $6 billion. Using unique, patented technology, Gaugewear is providing wearable sensors to address these markets.”
The sensors in their development include core body temperature and, of course, the fabric-based input gesture.
Jeff Wallingford, an Executive Resident at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business sees an incredible opportunity for the product, as he shared with the CU News Center: “the market for smart apparel and wearable technology is taking off … this invention has the potential to fill a big need in this space: a simple, inexpensive and robust input sensor that is actually part of your clothing.”
And there’s certainly more to come with the brains behind the Boulder based companies and students. While they continue developing new products to keep you safe and satisfied on the slopes, you can spend more time planning that next adventure.
