Mobile Camp London Day 2

Well today I must admit I was not there all day. I had some things to take care of in the morning and did not arrive until about 2PM. This means I missed the RFID discussion (too bad as I have RFID experience) but I'm sure you can get all the latest updates from other blogs like thatcadiangirl who was also there taking great pics and attending as many of the sessions as possible. In fact as I arrived on Sunday, she was leaving... (some of us have quite a trip home via trains and busses).

So on Day 2 I saw as many cool things as Day 1, here is a recap with pics of course!

So I attended a very cool presentation about wearable technology... no, your mobile phone is not wearable it's portable... big difference (now I know that). The company CuteCircuit was on hand to explain and show (with pictures) what they offered (or more accurately, were going to offer by the end of the year)

They discussed some history of clothing and where they thought it was going. It was very cool to see their first product the Hug Shirt...

this product is quite interesting as it allows users to send "hugs" via the bluetooth connection to their mobile phones, via the web to other Hug Shirt wearing friends. It's a interesting idea which.. sounds... well interesting...

The idea is that the shirt will actually vibrate, shake, hug... (not sure how to describe it as I did not try it) but you will know when and where a person has hugged you.

Now the fabric is only 1mm thick and the only "large" piece would be the bluetooth antenna which is on the back, in an area that was said to be rarely touched (hmmm, I guess they did a test group). The shirt stays connected to your mobile and you are able to hug yourself then send that command to your friend or loved on (and if they are also wearing a Hug Shirt) they can get this "feeling" anywhere in the world. Hmmmm... so my obvious next question was when were the trousers coming out! They just smiled, guess it's a secret. The company is also developing other things and those projects can be found on their site... but this is the one they are going to push the most for now. When asked about the price they said "It will cost as much as an iPod." I sure hope they talking about the Shuffle and not the new 16GB Touch. We'll have to wait and see, but first audience reaction was mixed, some found it a great idea, others...

...didn't. But this guy... well he has the right not to be impressed, what he had to show, blew me away (and gets my vote for the best product of the show). I just wish he presented it for everyone to see. More on that later!