There’s no doubt about it, cycling is a risky business. This jacket glows to make sure you’re always seen on the road, reducing the possibility of accidents.
It’s a concept at the moment, and packs in some pretty nifty tech. The outer is made up of individual lightweight fabric panels that feature printed electroluminescent surface graphics all around the body.
The jacket will feature an integrated battery to power the light. You’ll switch it on using a switch in the cuff.
Eventually it’ll be powered by printed batteries, but until that day arrives, a rechargeable will have to do. Thanks to a printed polymer that forms a solar cell, the jacket could juice up on solar energy, thus becoming self-powered.
The jacket is lightweight, too, meaning the cyclist will stay cool and dry.
The aim is to eventually incorporate technologies such as GPS and NFC to alert drivers to nearby cyclists so they can avoid steering into them.
The Illum is made by Goose Design, an apparel and graphic design consultancy. “For this cycling jacket, we wanted to move forward and create something flexible that could be worn, washed, damaged, stitched up and thrown into a bag just like any other jacket,” said Jenni Arksey from Goose Design. “We wanted simplicity, style and super functionality.”
The firm is currently in discussion with a team of experts to investigate commercially viable wearable concepts.
Read more: Microsoft launching its own fitness-focussed smartwatch within weeks
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
