Kleidung mit leuchtendem Display kommt...

Die Logos können per Bluetooth beispielsweise vom Handy übertragen werden. Über diverse Sensoren kann man die Logos automatisch wechseln lassen. Die ersten Prototypen wiegen 50 Gramm (Akku nochmals 100 Gramm) und bieten eine Größe von 10 x 7 cm. Pressemitteilung In a bid to develop a new prototype for communicating clothing. France Telecom develops an integrated flexible screen to display animated graphics on the wearer Researchers at France Telecom have recently developed operational prototypes of flexible colour screens integrated into clothing, opening up new horizons for services that let users display images on the clothes they wear. An initial range of purpose-built garments has been created by the designer Elisabeth de Senneville.

A new means of expression, easy to use and accessible to all These flexible display screens usher in a new type of expression: the image a person wears personalises their clothes to reflect their particular surroundings, centres of interest, moods, etc. Displaying animated visuals on yourself considerably broadens the scope of personal communication by giving you the opportunity to instantly convey emotions or desires in a distinctly novel way, or proclaim your adherence to certain ideas, as with some printed T-shirts. Users choose the type of information they want to highlight on themselves (drawing, logo, animations or short messages they either generate themselves or receive from others).

"Clothes are becoming a key interface for giving graphic expression and form to your moods. It's a very personal symbolism, an emotion or state of mind that you can now display publicly and very simply through eye-catching animated graphics and short texts," explains Emeric Mourot, R&D project manager. The screen is connected to a mobile phone via a Bluetooth link, so drawings and animations can be sent by MMS to another user with the same equipment. Thanks to a dedicated embedded software application, the mobile can be used as a remote control to activate the screen's functionalities: adjust the brightness, select the image or text to be displayed, enter text, draw simple animated visuals, download animations from the Internet, etc. A more sophisticated animation editor has been produced to allow professionals to market their own animations, which will be online and downloadable via the Internet from a mobile phone. Sensors integrated into the screen mean it can also be used as a "standalone" device (to display visual sequences stored in the screen's memory or specific animations triggered by certain gestures or sounds, etc.). Aiming for commercial production in the near future This generation of flexible display screens follows on from research into communicating clothes carried out over recent years by France Telecom's R&D teams. It marks a new stage in the technology's development: much more than an illustration of a concept, the current prototype can be considered a commercially exploitable innovation.