Add Some Ears
Neurowear, a fashion electronics company in Japan, is easing brain-wave detecting cat ears onto the market this month. The ears move depending upon the user’s emotion, stiffening when they detect concentration, bending down when the user is relaxed, and wiggling when the user is amused. Although Neurowear has yet to plan a release date for the ears in the US, they will be sold in Japan at a retail price of $110. The product’s website, necomimi.com, uses the slogan “Forget wearing your heart on your sleeve, now you can wear it on your head!”
Tattoo Your Teeth
Tooth tattoos are nothing new. For years, “tattooth” artists have teamed up with dentists around the world to make it possible for you to display a mouthful of anything from Disney characters to historical figures. Now, Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor at Princeton, has developed a type of tooth tattoo capable of tracking dental health. These tattoos are made from graphene, and use antimicrobial peptides and resonant coil to identify bacteria. A radio frequency identification tag is incorporated into the tattoos in order to link them to exterior monitoring equipment.
Grab a Pair of Glasses
Early this month Google began testing its new augmented reality glasses, introducing the world to a new type of wearable computing device. The glasses allow their user to take pictures, send texts, make phone calls, browse the Internet and play music without ever having to click a mouse or touch a screen. All functions of the glasses are controlled by vocal recognition and head movement. The glasses have evoked mixed responses from critics across the Internet, but many have wondered: what happens when you’re crossing the street and encounter a pop-up ad?
