The Urban Armor series of wearable technology is for people who want to enjoy their personal space even in crowded public environments like the subway. Kathleen McDermott, a designer and developer, created this DIY line of wearable electronics after she received her BFA in Sculpture from Cornell University in 2009. The Urban Armor expandable dress was designed to detect the presence of a person who is invading your personal space.
McDermott’s website states that the line of Urban Armor is meant to “challenge the way commercial wearable technology is currently developing. In place of mass-produced, data-focused devices, the Urban Armor pieces are custom, customizable, and intervene in the physical world.”
Here's how the dress looks like when the sensors don't detect anyone:
The sensors detect an approaching person:
The motors are programmed to expand the dress:
The personal space invader will be freaked out by the expanding dress and take a step back:
Two ultrasonic proximity sensors and a plastic armature enable the dress to expand when a spatial invader is crossing into your purple circle. McDermott used an open-sourced Arduino platform to construct all of Urban Armor’s pieces. The onboard continuous rotation servo motors expand the dress to create a shield between other people and your personal space. A battery pack containing 6 V of power is integrated into the system with an on/off button to control the motors. McDermott has listed the instructions and supply list on Urban Armor’s website so you can create your own dress.
Other products that fall under the Urban Armor category include McDermott's Autofilter, which covers the wearer’s face and filters out dirty air, and Miss-My-Face, which provides anonymity in CCTV footage. Instructions and open-sourced codes for these projects are also available so you can create them yourself. McDermott’s other creative projects include installation pieces, sculptures, photography, drawings, and other high-tech interactive systems.
Story via Urban Armor
Advertisement
