Shoe and Jacket Combo Recharges Your Gadgets

Recharge gadgets through your jacket, and control everything by tapping on your shirt.

We've featured a couple of wearable tech items a while back, particularly setups with controls directly integrated into the fabric. But the Generative wardrobe concept by Alex Dodge is a complete set, from shoes that generate energy, to a head cap that captures your dreams.

The powerstep creates power from the bending of its own silicone sole. A small piezoelectric ceramic component inside the sole generates frequency differences when bent, creating a small electric current.

The wearable interface jacket is full of electronics, ranging from temperature sensors, accelerometers, GPS hardware, and even standard USB ports. Dodge wants the jacket to be a gadget management platform, with a reprogrammable control board.

The haptic-synth garment goes under the jacket. It's simply a long-sleeved shirt with numerous touch-sensitive pads distributed throughout, and the control peripheral for the wearable interface's central system.

Last but not least is the sleep talker, a head cap and eye cover combo that reads brainwaves and rapid eye movements (REMs) commonly associated with dreaming. Dodge wants sleep talker to share the user's dreams through social networks, but was mum on privacy controls.

Alex Dodge recently showcased his concepts at a Brooklyn art gallery. Whether or not he'll turn his creations into actual products remains to be seen.

GENERATIVE by Alex Dodge