It was about time that we wrote about Star Wars…but don’t expect any spoilers, any videos from the new movie neither comments of what will happen next. We dug deeper into the topic to find wearables that look like or that they could be in a Star Wars movie!
Let’s start with giant tech Google. Did you know that once they developed a Bluetooth-enabled wearable that lets users search Google using just their voice? Well, now you know “young grasshopper” (wait that’s another theme)…The small device was designed to be attached to your lapel and be activated with a tap, was equipped with a mic and speaker, so the wearer could ask Google anything and hear it respond — all without having to pick up their phone. The project has since been shelved, but it speaks to the company’s drive to learn how people might use search in the future. The device was inspired by a gadget used on Star Trek by Captain Picard to communicate with The Enterprise.
Now something cool & crazy..Devon Star Wars Watch.The eccentric watch costs a whopping $28,500!! With that money we could even hire C3P0 to make an appearance at our birthday and rap with us! Let’s go back to the watch now that you are recovered from the initial shock. The Devon Star Wars Watch uses the company’s tread-based time-telling system, which uses numbers on rotating belts to indicate the time, powered by a complex machinery behind the scenes. How complex? Well, it comes with 350 individual parts, four time belts, four microstep motors, and 313 electrical contacts, all housed inside the stainless steel case with a diamond-like true black coating and scratch-resistant polycarbonate lens. It uses a rechargeable battery that can power for up to two weeks on a single charge. Pretty impressive right? There are several Star Wars elements integrated in the watch, like the fact that it’s black, pretty black, with gray accents, light-gray indicators, and red-and-green motor covers that resemble the switches on the Sith Lord’s chest console. The case flanks, on the other hand, are clipped right out of the wings of a TIE Fighter, with the oversized crown sporting the Imperial logo. It has main screws that look like turbine intakes, mimicking the spikes on the bottom of the grilles on Anakin’s helmet, as well as a leather strap that borrows design elements from Vader’s glove.
When Luke Skywalker(Spoiler Alert!!) loses his hand when battling Darth Vader at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, a medical bot outfits him a new bionic hand that moves as if it were real. This Star Wars tech is now a reality, thanks to new technology from Touch Bionics, the company behind the i-LIMB Pulse bionic hand. It works by reading myoelectric signals that are tiny electric pulses in your arm and then sends tom to the hand, moving it accordingly. The coolest part about it is that this bionic hand works with any computer and Bluetooth signals, allowing users the ability to tweak the algorithms for sensitivity and control five fingers independently for grabbing objects.
To finish, something that is not really wearable but cool, Heads up display…in your car! At the end of Star Wars, Luke doesn’t want to use the heads-up display (HUD) that’s in his X-Wing fighter, but it’s also now being incorporated into cars. BMW and GM actually have these head-up displays in their cars. The one that the new BMW 7-Series has allows you to see your speed and navigation, which emanate off of the nose of the car. Pretty soon, all cars will incorporate this technology. GM is actually working on a full HUD for the windshield that will show speed, navigation and more! The future looks good to us!
