A closer look at Ralph Lauren’s smart shirt for athletes

I wish I could say I went “hands-on” with Ralph Lauren’s new tech-infused smart shirt, but that would have meant putting my hands all over Marcos Giron, the collegiate tennis player who’s making his US Open debut this week. I’m sure he would not have appreciated that. Even though I kept my hands to myself, however, I still got to see the shirt (and Giron) in person at a press event here in New York, where the tennis tournament is already underway. (Note: Some ball boys will wear the shirt. Also, Ralph Lauren is a US Open sponsor.) Read on to see how it works.

The Polo Tech shirt, which was made with the help of Canadian tech firm Omsignal, has built-in sensors that track the wearer’s heart rate and movement. That data then gets sent to an iOS app, thanks to a Bluetooth-enabled box that detaches from the shirt when it’s time to do laundry. Basically, it’s designed to take the place of a standalone fitness tracker or heart rate monitor — gear that could potentially get in the way while you’re trying to move

The main potential problem seems to be how tight the shirt seems. And no, that’s not just because Mr. Giron happens has well-defined pecs; this kind of tech-infused clothing is apparently easier to make when the garment is form-fitting. In an interview, David Lauren, senior vice president of advertising, marketing and public relations, said it’s important that the sensors be close to the body, so that they give a more accurate read-out. As the technology evolves, though, he says the company will consider making other athletic apparel, and even “normal” clothes like suits, ties and dresses. “We wanna look at everything,” he said. Of course, for Ralph Lauren to make headway there, it’d first have to find a solution to that accuracy problem. In addition, Mr. Lauren indicated that it’s tricky figuring out how to embed sensors into different kinds of fabrics, so there’s that challenge too.

With time, the “black box” will probably get smaller as well. At present, it’s definitely conspicuous, as you can tell from the above photo, though without having used it, I can’t say if it’s actually distracting. In any case, a Ralph Lauren spokesperson indicated that the box could one day have a more discreet design. Something the size of a button, perhaps.

The app itself is sleek and well-designed, if a bit simple. From your iOS device, you can see your heart rate, breathing rate, steps taken, calories burned and time in “the zone” — whether that be warmup, fitness, aerobic, anaerobic or maximum effort. From there, you can also go to a dashboard in the browser, as you can with other workout-tracking services, like Garmin Connect. There will also be an iPad dashboard, which should be especially ideal for coaches. For the regular guy buying this from a department store, though, the iPhone app should be enough — you probably just want to glance at the app after your workout to see how hard you were going.

For now, this shirt is just a prototype, though Ralph Lauren has firm plans to launch it next year. At that point, there will be both men’s and women’s styles. No word on pricing, except that it’s expected to fall in line with other Polo-brand shirts. Do with that what you will, folks.

Filed under: Wearables

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Volkswagen’s e-Golf to hit US highways this fall with a $35,445 price tag

We first got word that Volkswagen’s e-Golf would finally make its debut in the States last year, and now there’s a more precise arrival date. The VW EV is set to hit the road in the US this November with a pre-tax credit ($7,500) sticker price of $35,445. If you’ll recall, the hatchback sports all-LED headlamps, goes from zero to an 80 percent charge in 30 minutes and 115 horsepower. While we’ve seen reports of a 118-mile range, this announcement doesn’t include an EPA rating, but states the expected mileage should be between 70 and 90 before needing to plug in. While it is more expensive than the popular Nissan Leaf, the e-Golf does offer more horsepower, interior space and fast charging comes standard. As you might expect, the auto will be available in the handful of states that are part of the zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) action plan: California, Oregon, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: Autoblog

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The Big Picture: Inflated steel suit gets you up close and personal with fireworks

Making things — it’s pretty awesome whatever you’re creating. But, some things really encapsulate the maker spirit — and this is one of them. It’s an “inflatable” (or rather, inflated) steel suit, designed so you can enjoy the next fireworks display up close. Real close. Like the inside, kinda close. Its creator, Colin Furze, welded together sheets of steel, and hydroformed them into shape in sections. He originally tried doing the suit in one go, but the joints apparently tore at his “man bits.” As you can imagine, mobility is a bit of an issue, but you’ll see in the video — there’s a knack to it that Furze soon picked up. Anyway, the making of the suit is one thing, but you probably want to know what it’s like to use it among £500′s worth (about $830) of fireworks? Luckily enough there’s a video of exactly that (from inside and outside perspectives), and it’s just a click away.

[Burley images]

Filed under: Misc, Science

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Via: Inside

Source: Colin Furze

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Governments are buying tools that track your phone nearly anywhere

Don’t think that widespread cellphone surveillance is the sole province of big nations like the US and UK; apparently, it’s within reach of just about any country with enough cash and willing carriers. The Washington Post understands that “dozens” of countries have bought or leased surveillance tools that let them track phones around the world with relative ease, so long as providers cooperate. The software exploits poor security in SS7, an inter-carrier network, to get your rough location by plugging in your phone number. With enough queries, suspicious governments (and well-connected gangs) can easily find out where you’re going, whether you’re in town or on the other side of the planet. To make things worse, these systems are frequently paired up with StingRays and other devices that can both get more accurate positioning and intercept phone traffic.

The FCC is already investigating whether or not StingRays are falling into the wrong hands, and it tells the Post that the SS7-based tools might be subjected to an equal level of scrutiny. Preventing abuse in the short term may be difficult, however. The newspaper found that 75 percent of carriers accepted location requests, and many networks can’t block them successfully. SS7 should be replaced by a more secure system with 10 years, but that’s not comforting if you have to visit a paranoid regime right now — especially since the tools are marketed as ways to get personal data that providers refuse to offer. While you’re not necessarily a target, you’ll want to be cautious about who gets your phone number in the future. It might be used for a lot more than just annoying telemarketing calls.

[Image credit: AP Photo/Francisco Seco]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Internet, Mobile

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Source: Washington Post

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