Virtual reality and augmented reality are changing how we interact in a digital world, but our clothing is the same. E-Skin is a camera-free gesture tracking shirt that puts your movements into the digital world.
How The e-skin Works
E-skin is a shirt that tracks your movements and sends the information via Bluetooth to a digital device. There are 14 sensors and a 6-axis accelerometer and gyroscope on the device to track your body. The shirts used as a game controller or a sports or fitness tracker.
The e-skin hub is where all the action happens. The hub is 2.2 inches in height, 5.39 inches in width and 0.81 inches in depth. The weight is 70.6g; frame rate is 60 fps, the accelerometer and gyro sensors have three axis each, the battery life is 4 hours and recharging is done via a micro USB.
The Shirt
The shirt is available for men or women in sizes XS, S, M, L, XL and XXL. The composition of the fabric is 80% polyester and 20% spandex. It is washable, durable and feels like a typical compression shirt. The shirt can be worn inside and outside, and you won’t be connected to any wires or cables.
The devices that the e-skin can connect to include AR and VR gear, smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs. There are currently three demo applications: Running/fitness, yoga and data tracker (For developers).
Learning about you!
E-skin is open source has machine learning that will allow new apps to be developed. TensorFlow and Python are used to improve the functionality as the device learns about your movements. The shirt can be used with Microsoft HoloLens, Unity and the HoloLens app to create content and develop ideas. Another development environment, Unreal Engine, will be available soon.
An example of this device being used is a golf demo. The shirt collected data from a user’s swing, learn how their muscles and moved. After analysing the information, the user was advised how to improve their swing and minimise injuries.
The colour of the standard edition e-skin is black, while a special edition for Kickstarter is white/grey and has a futuristic design.
An early bird special of one e-skin and one app download is $479. A shirt with three app downloads is $499 for an early bird special. The standard price is $529 with three app downloads available. A Kickstarter special edition is $729, and a twin pack is $956.
Source: Kickstarter
