Invisibility cloaks won’t become mainstream anytime soon. However, when wearing the Interacket jacket, you will be able to adapt more easily to the surroundings.
Do you have problems blending in? Instead of going to a shrink, maybe you should try Interacket, a piece of wearable tech in the form of a jacket that changes its color according to the objects that you are touching. Oslo-based Drap og Design created this color-changing jacket thinking that it would add a nice touch to parties.
Even though it consists of three layers, the Interacket Jacket is not that heavy, weighing just about as much as a hoodie. The layer that’s closest to the skin is a silver reflective lining, while the outermost layer is a waterproof, translucent thin painter’s coverall top. It’s in the middle that all the magic really happens. There, red, green and blue lights controlled by open-source Arduino chips. On top of that, each sleeve includes a color sensor, so that the jacket’s color adjust to the one of the touched object.
Whenever the wearer touches an object, the respective side of the jacket changes its color to match the object. The fact that only part of the jacket and not all of it changes the color could be regarded as a downside. Still, the effect remains mind-blowing, and it’s probably better that it works like this, as it camouflages at least a bit of the wearer.
For the time being, the Interacket Jacket is but a prototype. However, its inventors are already working on the second version of this. It may take a while until a commercially viable color-changing jacket is produced, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from hoping. Such a wearable would turn a lot of heads both at fashion shows and on Halloween.
I feel a bit sorry about the Norwegians who invented this. There have been plenty of competitions for putting Arduino chips to an as innovative as possible use, and the Interacket Jacket could have easily won any of them. The fact that it wasn’t unveiled during such a contest doesn’t make this wearable any less fascinating. If only more inventors were as creative as this crazy bunch…
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