Why, at the dawn of a new millennium, do we find that young people have resorted to the most "primitive" forms of bodyadornment? For many, it is a way to break away from existing norms, from stereotypical behaviour, for others it is the resultof contact with other cultures or simply another way to express their identity. Tatoos, body percing, scarifications, pocketing and implants are as personal a statement as enyone can possibly make. While conventional society might tend to consider these as new and extreme forms of body adornment, an expressive medium used mainly by young people, they have existed for centuries in many different cultures as a traditional form of cultural or religious expression.
The integration of fashion and style into the human body is a precursor to a new medium that encompasses other functionalities: the body as a local area network. This theme has already been explored by institutions such as The Media Lab, and many research projects have examined the possibilities of harnessing human power. The passing of data through the body and sensing of biometric feedback have also been extensively covered. Medical biosensing, for example, could have extremely practical applications in the treatment of chronic and acute conditions, e.q. for reading insulin levels in the case of diabetes. Exploration into "swallowables" that pass through the body or implants in the form of small electronics and mechanical devices has shown interesting potential. And though for many people this immediately raises the spectre of mankind being turned into a race of cyborgs, we should remember that we are in fact already using such devices on a fairly large scale for medical purposes (consider, for example, the pacemaker).
Today, on the threshold of a new era, the question facing companies operating at the interface of clothing and electronics is: How do we anticipate and develop clothing applications and solutions that adress people's socio-cultural, emotional and physical needs, enabling them to express all the facets of their personality? Integrated technology clearly has a major role to play. Taking this exciting pioneering development to its ultimate, logical conclusion, the challenge facing us, in the end, is to extend the human nervous system to the seventh sense.
The piercing glow and give a pulsating sensation when the wearer is paged.
17-05-2010
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