Happy Ada Lovelace Day – Wearable Electronics Edition

Ada Lovelace Day was established last year as an international day of blogging to celebrate the achievements of women in technology and science. If you’re not already familiar with Lady Ada, it’s worth learning more… The daughter of Lord Byron, she worked with Charles Babbage on his analytical engine and wrote the world’s first computer program.


In honor of Lady Ada, I’d like to highlight a handful of the women who inspire me in the world of wearable electronics and soft circuitry.

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Bits and Bobs

There was no video-taking in the Henry household this weekend, so my skirt followup will have to wait a bit.  In the meantime, here are a couple of things I’ve been keeping around in google reader to share here:

Oxygen emission spectrum scarf by bekathwia

I really like these Emission Spectra scarves from Becky Stern. I’ve actually been kicking around an emission spectrum bracelet idea for about six months now, but the picture I have in my head requires metalworking skills and tools I don’t have. Seeing this makes me want to revisit the idea, though, and try to find another means of interpreting it.

I was also really intrigued by the ideas from Fabian Hemmert’s TEDx talk on ways a mobile device could provide information kinesthetically. I’m not so sure I’d want a “breathing” mobile, but changing the center of mass seems like it could be a really useful way of providing output. (via information aesthetics)

Misfortune Cookies by notsohumblepie.blogspot.com

I just discovered Not So Humble Pie, who came up with these fabulous misfortune cookies. She also recently did a couple of awesome science cookie roundups.

N Building

N Building, in Tokyo, is a concept building with an interesting augmented reality twist. Instead of putting up signs, the building facade is a QR code; reading it on a mobile device delivers you to a website with a tenant list and other information.The developers also created an iPhone application that allows building occupants to interact with passersby through their phones – showing what’s behind the windows, overlaying speech bubbles, and the like. (via Rhizome)

I can’t imagine anything like this taking off if every building had its own separate app, but I could definitely envision it integrated into a product like Google Maps.

Wood you, could you?

This has to qualify as one of the most incredible projects I have seen in a long time. Carlos Alberto, a craftsman in Portugal, hand built this gorgeous wooden Vespa. Continue Reading →

3… 2… 1… Launch!

Balloon Launch - photo by Flickr user mrkvm

It’s official! I posted my first item on my etsy shop this weekend Continue Reading →