Fashion isn’t just about following current clothing and accessory trends.It is also a form of art and creative expression.And like every other form of art, fashion has a place for technology — both in the fabrication of garments and in the garments themselves.
Inspired by pioneers like Anouk Wipprecht and Behnaz Farahi, RaspiMari created this fantastic example of “FashionTech” art called VIGOR.VIGOR’s underlying theme is the heart — both the metaphorical heart and the anatomical heart.Its effects mirror the wearer’s cardiac function, proudly displaying that intimate information for everyone to see.
There is probably something poetic there.But mostly, it just looks really cool.The state of the wearer’s heart comes through in numerous ways.
A round protruding puck on the chest “pulses” with movement created by a servo motor and gear mechanism.It also glows, thanks to a ring of WS2812B LEDs.Another strip of LEDs on the back mimic the wearer’s heartbeat and there is an OLED readout showing beats per minute.
Finally, there are LED tubes joining the back piece and the chest piece.Together, they form a kind of vest-like garment that looks like it came from a Hollywood-made sci-fi movie.The servo motor and the LEDs all operate under the control of three Arduino Nano boards, with the work divided between them.
And they do respond to the wearer’s cardiac physiology in real-time, as one of the Arduino boards monitors their heart through a MAX301012 pulse sensor.
This technology alone would be impressive, but RaspiMari pulled off the “fashion” part of “FashionTech” as well.VIGOR has a lot of visual appeal and pushes boundaries, doing exactly what fashion as an art form should.