A daily fashion blog and podcast that looks at the future through the lens of the four main fashion tribes: Apocalytical, Supremium, Folkspun & Futurenetic.
Future of Fashion: An Emotion-Sensing Scarf that Interprets Your Own Feelings as Well as Others
In his extensive studies of nonverbal communication, Dr. Albert Mehrabian, author of Silent Messages, found that only 7% of any message is conveyed using words. Certain "vocal elements" (like the tone used and voice pitch) comprised 38% of communication and elements like facial expressions, gestures and posture made up the lion's share of the message being conveyed at 55%. "This number depends on both the situation and the individual," says Blake Eastman, founder of The Nonverbal Group and adjunct professor at the City University of New York, where he teaches group dynamics, developmental psychology, and general psychology. "Based on my own research, I would state that the amount of communication that is nonverbal varies between 60 and 90% on a daily basis." (image)
60 to 90%.
Small wonder that people that are sight- or hearing impaired, or have other disabilities that prevent them from correctly identifying emotions - both their own and others - feel so frustrated and shut-off from the world. "As a result of an Autism Spectrum Disorder, for instance, a person may have difficulty recognizing and articulating their emotional state, as well as difficulty interpreting and reacting to the emotions of others," explain researchers at Microsoft who are creating a scarf that interprets both the wearer's emotional state and the emotional states of others. The SensingWhether Affect Requires Mediation or SWARM scarf (top) is made of laser-cut hexagons of industrial felt overlaid with conductive copper taffeta, allowing some of the modules to heat up and others to vibrate. Embedded biometric- and emotion-sensing devices which measure the wearer's heart rate and perspiration - both signs of stress - combine with facial recognition technology plus audio and text analysis to provide real-time feelings feedback. A single master module controls the various individual modules and communicates wirelessly via an app with one's smartphone.
"Participants found the overall concept of having a reactionary garment appealing," note the researchers about initial reactions to the SWARM prototype. "They felt the heating element was soothing and would change a somber or stressed mood. As our autistic (male) participant stated, If I'm stressed or feeling sad I wouldn't mind having a warm hug." The testers also found the vibration alerts useful. "As part of our future work, we are recreating the soft circuitry using copper fabric and rivets to secure hardware components," continue the researchers. "We are also sewing additional fabric scarfs for the outer shell. Lastly, we are updating the software to create a wireless solution that will eventually integrate with physical sensing devices such as a heart rate monitor to generating a full emotion detection system."
Actively embracing the future - from technology to traditional gender roles - with a desire to make it fashionable and timely is a signature of the Futurenetic Fashion Tribe. For more of my posts and podcasts about this tribe, CLICK HERE. To learn more about each of fashion's four mega-tribes that I track, START HERE.
Future of Fashion: An Emotion-Sensing Scarf that Interprets Your Own Feelings as Well as Others
In his extensive studies of nonverbal communication, Dr. Albert Mehrabian, author of Silent Messages, found that only 7% of any message is conveyed using words. Certain "vocal elements" (like the tone used and voice pitch) comprised 38% of communication and elements like facial expressions, gestures and posture made up the lion's share of the message being conveyed at 55%. "This number depends on both the situation and the individual," says Blake Eastman, founder of The Nonverbal Group and adjunct professor at the City University of New York, where he teaches group dynamics, developmental psychology, and general psychology. "Based on my own research, I would state that the amount of communication that is nonverbal varies between 60 and 90% on a daily basis." (image)
60 to 90%.
Small wonder that people that are sight- or hearing impaired, or have other disabilities that prevent them from correctly identifying emotions - both their own and others - feel so frustrated and shut-off from the world. "As a result of an Autism Spectrum Disorder, for instance, a person may have difficulty recognizing and articulating their emotional state, as well as difficulty interpreting and reacting to the emotions of others," explain researchers at Microsoft who are creating a scarf that interprets both the wearer's emotional state and the emotional states of others. The SensingWhether Affect Requires Mediation or SWARM scarf (top) is made of laser-cut hexagons of industrial felt overlaid with conductive copper taffeta, allowing some of the modules to heat up and others to vibrate. Embedded biometric- and emotion-sensing devices which measure the wearer's heart rate and perspiration - both signs of stress - combine with facial recognition technology plus audio and text analysis to provide real-time feelings feedback. A single master module controls the various individual modules and communicates wirelessly via an app with one's smartphone.
"Participants found the overall concept of having a reactionary garment appealing," note the researchers about initial reactions to the SWARM prototype. "They felt the heating element was soothing and would change a somber or stressed mood. As our autistic (male) participant stated, If I'm stressed or feeling sad I wouldn't mind having a warm hug." The testers also found the vibration alerts useful. "As part of our future work, we are recreating the soft circuitry using copper fabric and rivets to secure hardware components," continue the researchers. "We are also sewing additional fabric scarfs for the outer shell. Lastly, we are updating the software to create a wireless solution that will eventually integrate with physical sensing devices such as a heart rate monitor to generating a full emotion detection system."
Actively embracing the future - from technology to traditional gender roles - with a desire to make it fashionable and timely is a signature of the Futurenetic Fashion Tribe. For more of my posts and podcasts about this tribe, CLICK HERE. To learn more about each of fashion's four mega-tribes that I track, START HERE.
