August 16, 2007
UNIT 1: Introducing BiologyA New Meaning to “Smart Dresser”
Garment-integrated electronic technology — that is, smart tools in your clothes — is much more appealing than implanting a computer chip under your skin. It may be possible in the near future to fill your closet with smart T-shirts or smart suits or whatever the season’s fashion is! But how confidential can your health record be when your garments are smart enough to monitor and report your vital statistics and activity? This and other bioethical questions must be considered in light of a new smart garment system that uses Bluetooth wireless technology to transmit information.
University of South Australia students Aaron Toney and Wynard Marais, under the direction of Professor Bruce Thomas, developed smart garment management technology. When clothes are placed on electronic hangers in a computerized closet, they can download the data they have monitored to a computer via a wireless network and recharge the clothing for another wearing. The computerized system will keep track of the same type of data gathered from different items of clothes. For example, a person can monitor heart rate throughout the week using a different smart shirt every day.
In the future, a doctor may use this clothing to monitor a patient released from the hospital or to keep track of a patient with Alzheimer’s disease. These clothes could even tell if the wearer has fallen and needs help.While this technology has many benefits, it also has risks. Consumers who use the system need to know who can access the monitored data. Another concern is the security of very private information over a wireless network. These issues must be addressed before many people will feel comfortable in their smart clothes.
Comments
Comment from: Matt Bond
October 24, 2011 12:21 PM [#]
This is very advanced technology in a society such as ourselves and I am quite impressed.