Something up the sleeve

Technology is changing more than the way we work and play, it's changing the way we dress for work and play. A person buried alive by an avalanche can survive for 60 min using the breathing apparatus in the AvaLung backpack. OLED-integrated clothing and accessories display changing digital images and designs. A jacket called the Hoodio features a control keypad on the sleeve and removable speakers in the hood. Virginia Polytechnic Institute Associate Professor Thomas L. Martin and student Meghan Qwirk weave e-textiles on an industrial loom. What will be on the Christmas wish list of every snowboarding technogeek this year? How about a jacket — that's right, a jacket — that switches between iPod playlist and incoming calls in mid-air? Miniaturization, the development of electronic textiles, and recent battery and sensor technology have made it possible to incorporate iPods, GPS, cell phones, wireless communications, and even emergency breathing apparatus into clothing and accessories. These wearable devices are moving into both industrial and consumer markets. Information-technology consultant Stamford, Conn., predicts that by 2007 more than 60% of people between the ages of 15 and 50 in the U.S. and Europe will carry or wear a wireless computing and communications device. WEARING YOUR CONTROL MODULE ON YOUR SLEEVE Schaumburg, Ill.,have joined forces to create jackets and caps for the plugged-in winter-sports set. Motorola is credited with introducing the age of commercial wireless products, and Burton is known for its highend snowboarding equipment and apparel. The snowboarder jacket has a padded casing for a Motorola cell phone and an MP3 music player. A device on the sleeve lets the wearer control incoming and outgoing calls, and toggle back and forth to music. Audio signals travel