e-skin Smart Apparel Enables Users to Interact with Others and their Devices
Worcester, MA - Smart apparel company Xenoma launches Kickstarter project for their e-skin pre-consumer version for those who create camera-free motion tracking user experiences.gamin
E-skin apparel detects the user’s movement using stretchable sensors and electronics incorporated on the shirt. The user can control the avatar in the games using their own body; for instance, a user can fight an action game by punching or throwing instead of pressing buttons of a controller simply by wearing an e-skin shirt. This is something other devices like controllers and gloves could not achieve.
Xenoma has launched their Kickstarter project to provide a new, open source platform for more people to create and share user experiences. E-skin apparel, which can be worn over T-shirt, is intended to be used for creating 3D animation but for recognizing what kinds of activities the wearer is doing. Xenoma shows application examples in gaming, analyzing exercise / sports, monitoring health and safety in the workplace.
Xenoma created e-skin smart apparel by first focusing on the feel of the shirt so that it maintains the comfort, durability and machine washability of a regular shirt. “We believe these factors are necessary for smart apparel to be embraced by all,” said James Eakin, Chief Marketing Officer and Director of U.S. Operations. “Our vision is to enable everyone to monitor their health in a more natural environment using e-skin smart apparel.
The e-skin pre-consumer version will be provided to the first 100 people for a backing amount of $479. This version has the same level of functionality for end users and individual developers as their e-skin Developer’s Kit for enterprises. A special edition cybernetic design will be available as a Kickstarter exclusive. Xenoma has set a target of goal of raising $50,000. The project will run until September 6th.
About the e-skin Product
Xenoma ‘e-skin’ includes an e-skin shirt, an e-skin Hub and a license for using the e-skin software development kit (SDK). The e-skin shirt has 14 strain sensors and the Hub has a 6-axis accelerometer and gyroscope. The Hub transmits information to a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC via Bluetooth and has a Micro USB port for re-charging.
The e-skin SDK supports application development on Java SDK, Visual C#, Unity and Unreal Engine for MacOS and iOS as well as the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) to interface with the Microsoft HoloLens. Xenoma’s SDK has also incorporated machine learning functionality though their data and movement visualization tool which plugs into Google’s TensorFlow to recognize more complex and subtle differences.