WHO’S CALLING!
AwareFashion by Richard Etter, Diana Grathwohl and Sigmund Homolya
AwareFashion, a project by Richard Etter, Diana Grathwohl, Sigmund Homolya, senses switched on mobile phones. {via}
The AwareFashion shirt has sleeves that glow in the proximity of switched-on mobile phones. It features an antenna, a tiny circuit board, button cells and fiber optics woven into the cloth. The antenna detects radio waves of GSM mobiles. The circuit board processes the radio waves and converts them to light which travels through fiber optics to the end of the sleeves. There the light emits and indicates the presence of near mobiles.
Fashion Victims by Davide Agnelli, Dario Buzzini, and Tal Drori
The Fashion Victims project by Davide Agnelli, Dario Buzzini, and Tal Drori also detects mobile phone usage, but visualizes their presence in a very different way. Instead of discreet lights on the sleeve, they opt for an overt approach.
The two projects are interestingly simliar in terms of how the technology is integrated into the garment, as well as the general aesthetic approach. However, there are some key differences. Instead of a temporary alarm the Fashion Victims team chooses to create a permanent stain on the surface of their garments. The Aware Fashion team however is interested in an unobtrusive monitor which could potentially be used in work situations. Also, the Aware Fashion team has stated that they are working on a version of their project that senses WLAN. I wonder if they\’ve looked at Wifi Sense or Wifi Bloom?