The market is now officially flooded with wearable devices, including — but not limited to — smartwatches, wearable cameras, clip-on gadgets, fitness trackers and more. Of course, we talk about smartwatches the most but they’re not the only wearable devices we focus on. Until now, however our main focus has been on the best, and most handy wearable devices. For every useful gadget that hits the market, there are three or four other devices that are completely ridiculous or strange.
Six of the Strangest Wearable Devices Money Can Buy
That’s why we decided to take a moment to point out some of the strangest wearable tech this side of the hemisphere. Not every idea is worth all the hype, and certainly not all wearable devices that launch are worth your hard-earned money. Hell, even some of the more legitimate tech isn’t worth your money.
That being said, here are some of the strangest wearable devices to ever come into fruition.
Sony SmartWig
Believe it or not, even a colossal company like Sony is capable of producing a real head-scratcher. Just last year for example the company filed for a patent that would protect a device they referred to as a SmartWig. If you haven’t already furrowed your brow yet, just you wait more is coming.
Apparently, a SmartWig would include various sensors, a CPU, a communications interface to a second computer, and — you guessed it — it’s all crammed under a wig for concealment. Just like any modern smart device on the market, the wig can deliver notifications to the wearer from a multitude of sources. There appear to be some more interesting uses for the device, however including an ultrasound transducer that will alert the user when their head is in close proximity with an object – meaning they’re going to bump into it.
It also includes health monitoring sensors and an EEG interface to allow applications access to neurofeedback, which is short for access to your brain data.
Luckily, not much else has been released about the device since the patents first cropped up late last year (2013). Somehow, we have a feeling this technology will eventually resurface, maybe even with more zany features and functionality than what’s been described here.
Neocomimi
Forget facial expressions, emotions and even words there are much better ways to communicate your mood. For example, the Neocomimi is a unique headband device that portrays your current emotions to anyone nearby through cat ears. Yes, you heard us correctly – cat ears.
The headband uses brainwaves to detect what your current emotions are. Then, it converts that information into usable data for the mechanical cat ears attached to the top of the band. Similar to how cats and dogs react to their environment with their own ears, your mechanical — and downright creepy — bionic cat ears will do the same.
Don’t believe this thing is real? Check out the video embed below that demos the product to anyone who may — or may not be — interested.
The device comes in several different colors, so you can choose which cat ears match your personality best. In addition, the ears have different tells depending on your moods or current feelings. Others can tell when you’re feeling relaxed, normal (whatever that means), focused, in the zone and more. Oh and get this, you can also yank off your fur ear and swap it out with someone else’s. That means if your friend has white ears, and you want them you can pull yours off and make a trade. Pretty crazy, right?
Like-A-Hug Social Interaction Vest
This is truly one of those narcissistic creations that could only come from a generation bred on social media. The Like-A-Hug social interaction vest will simulate the feeling of a real hug, by inflating and pressing on your body.
The way it works is, every time you get a “like” on your Facebook wall or experience a similar social interaction, the vest will generate that sensory based hug. In turn, this gives you the illusion that you’re getting hundreds — if not thousands — of real hugs from people you know and love. When in reality, you’re probably getting hugs from some creepy folks wasting their lives away behind a keyboard.
If you have thousands of social media followers or “friends” — and few real-life friends — then this device might be perfect for you. Otherwise, we’d recommend avoiding this thing like the plague.
Aurora Dream Enhancing Headband
Tired of crazy dreams and nightmares? Ever feel like you sleep way too much, and need an alarm that tells you exactly when you’re “refreshed” enough? Would you like to know when you’re dreaming so you can manipulate the experience? Okay, that last promise is definitely warranted – who wouldn’t want to control their dreams?
The Aurora Dream Enhancing Headband is meant to be worn while you’re sleeping and boasts several unique features to improve your slumber. Like many other wearable devices, it can monitor your sleeping patterns and let you know when you’re getting the good kind of sleep, or poor kind. It also sends out audio and visual cues thanks to integrated sensors, that allow you to identify when you’re dreaming. In turn, this should theoretically allow you to exit the dream if it’s bad, or maybe even manipulate it once you know what’s going on. As an added bonus, the device also works like an alarm clock waking you up once you’ve completely refreshed your energy.
The Microsoft Smart Bra
Do you ever feel like your chest could be improved, more specifically that it could be a bit smarter? If so, the Smart Bra proposed by Microsoft developers should help you in that department. The main goal of the device is to stop you from overeating. Thanks to several sensors — most likely strategically placed — it can monitor your emotions and tell the difference between real hunger, and comfort-hunger. In other words, it should help you stop all that late-night snacking or stress-eating.\
The collected information is displayed through a companion smartphone app, ideally helping you improve your eating habits. Apparently, the current prototype requires a recharge every three to four hours which is not exactly what you’d call convenient.
Imagine telling everyone at the party that you need to leave early or find an open electric socket, just so you could juice up your bra. We’d be willing to bet that you’ll get a few furrowed brows from that one.
Sexfit
Now, we’ll be the first to admit that it would be nice to know how many calories you burn during sex. That said, we have absolutely no desire to wear a device on our person in order to find out said information. A rough estimate will do just fine in most cases.
However, if you’re the kind of person that would like to track this information more closely then the Sexfit might be just for you. In addition to tracking basic information like calories burned, and average pace (yes that kind of pace), you can also monitor said information via a compatible smartphone app. But wait, that’s not the best part! When all is said and done, you can share your activity via your social media accounts just to brag a little. There are even LED indicator lights that tell you how well you’re performing, as if you couldn’t gauge that information already. Okay, that was a low blow, we’re sure there are some folks out there that have trouble figuring that out, and it’s okay if you’re one of them.
If you’re wondering where it goes, it’s pretty straightforward – just take a look at the shape. It wraps around your manparts and works as a sort-of pedometer. It doesn’t get any weirder than that folks, except for maybe those damn cat ears.