GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE LATEST TECH

This was a great opportunity for tech fanatics like myself to try out some of the most awesome latest technology on the market.

On Thursday May 22nd, The ADCC (The Advertising & Design Club of Canada) brought us closer to technology that we don’t commonly see here. When I was in New York for Social Media week, which the venue happened to be around the corner to the Google head quarters, I saw Google glasses on people everywhere. Here in Toronto, never.

Here’s the list of what we got to try:

Oculus Rift
Google Glass
Leap Motion
Kinect
Bubl
Makerbot

Some of these toys you may never have heard of, so let me break it down for you.

Oculus Rift

This I thought was pretty cool. I know this technology has been in the works for quite a while now. But now it’s ready for pre-order! On their site, the Oculus Rift is best known as the next-generation of virtual reality technology.

So I didn’t try this one on, because I was one of the last people to do so. Those of you who know me, I’m a bit of a germaphobe. It’s the end of the day, a hot day, people sweat, break out… you know where I’m going with this. Anyways, they had a tv screen set up to show people waiting to try the Oculus Rift what the viewer was experiencing. I’m impressed. I wonder if xbox, playstation and other consoles are looking into adapting such technology into their future upgrades? Hmmm.. or will Oculus Rift bypass them all with their very own console?

Google Glass

Some people hate it, some people love it and then some are just disappointed. I was disappointed. This technology I was really hyped up to try because of all the buzz that was going around about it, ever since the designs first leaked and it launched for sale.

One of the things I noticed was how many times the person managing the Google glass area had to charge its battery. Hmm.. if the Google glass has battery issues, what an epic fail at being able to wear them for long periods of time.

When I finally tried it on, it took awhile getting use to figuring out how to navigate through the glass. So you swipe the side arm of the glasses left to right to scroll through different apps like games, camera, calendar etc. I thought there would be touch sensor buttons. Okay, swipe it is.

I was wearing the glasses for 5 mins. I played badminton and scrolled through the main screen. When I took them off I felt dizzy and off balance. Which made me realize, this entire time my one eye was dormant, while the other looking at the glass worked super hard to play that game of badminton. This technology scares me when I think about the future of eye health or how ridiculous I looked, looking at something that other people couldn’t see.
It’s one thing if you’re at home, playing a video game on your Oculus Rift, but can you imagine outdoors, when you’re with friends or while you’re out and about.

It’s bad enough we are addicted to our smartphones and look away from the person whose talking to us to sneak a peek, now we’ll have that distraction on our heads. I’m not sure about my love for Google glass all of a sudden.

Check out Engadget’s review on Google Glass:

Leap Motion

Many products already have leap motion installed into them. With a wave of a hand, you can use your Mac or PC in a whole new way for games, design, and more. The Leap Motion 3D Controller senses your hands moving naturally.

Kinect

This technology is old news for me. You can find this with xbox 360 consoles and probably own it or have seen it at your friends place. Kinect brings games and entertainment to life without using a controller.

Old news, but still pretty awesome that we are now forced to get up off our feet and really get into video games. Moving items in the games with our motions and getting a great workout too!

Bubl

Newest technology for taking pictures and videos. The design allows the 4, 190º lenses to overlap capturing everything inside a digital bubl. It’s even small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. I’m excited about this one! Bubl, I can’t wait to own you!

Makerbot

Say hello to the new standard in desktop 3D printing, engineered with the professional designer in mind.

There are so many 3D printers out there now, but now you have one that is small and can sit right on top of your desk.

Wearable technology has come a long way. There was that brief time in history when some people either didn’t understand bluetooth ear pieces or just simply hated them. I reckon mostly because they thought they were being talked too, but in reality the person was talking into their ear piece. Now technology has evolved into being a part of us.

Now we’ve been seeing technology hit the runways! DVF (Diane von Furstenberg) used the Google glasses to capture the DVF creative process from a different perspective, which was accomplished by having the people involved with the entire process of making the show happen, by wearing Google glasses.

DVF created a short film to show her Fashion Show through the model, stylist and designers eyes via Google glass:

Then there’s the new dress that changes colour depending on a woman’s mood. The Bubelle Dress is made up of two layers, the inner layer contains biometric sensors that pick up a person’s emotions and projects them in colours onto the second layer, the outer textile.

Following the trend that only continues to grow, Social Media Week in New York had Tech In Motion host a Wearable Tech Fashion Show.

To mention a few of the contributors of the show:

Atlas Wearables (Austin): Presenting fitness tracker
Augmate (NYC): Presenting Google Glass and Vuzix m100
BrickSimple (Philly): Presenting Google Glass
Continuum Fashion (NYC): Presenting 3D printed shoes
Everpurse (Chicago): Presenting chargeable clutches
Sensoree (San Fran): Presenting mood clothing

If you missed the Fashion Show you can watch it below via livestream:

The health and fitness market brought out many products that look great when worn. Bands that measure how much you’ve run, check your heart beat or measure your health in various categories.

What will be the next best thing when Fashion and Technology collide? 3D printed clothes, clothes that change based on weather automatically? With imagination and determination, anything is possible.

Check out this infographic for more info about current day wearable tech: