EMBRACE+ is a new piece of wearable electronics currently in development, that wirelessly connects to a smartphone and lights up in different colors in conjunction with notifications received on the phone. The idea is that if the phone is tucked away in a bag, or not right near the user, he or she would be able to tell what kind of notification the device has received and whether or not it's something they will need to address immediately.
The bracelet can notify users of all kinds of events that occur on the phone. Some examples of the types of notifications users can receive through the bracelet are as follows:
- Incoming calls (for specific contacts or groups)
- Text messages
- Tumblr
- Skype
- Calendar alerts
- Alarm and timer
- Low phone battery
- Phone out of range
The creators are working to expand the list of supported applications, with plans to add Vine, WhatsApp, Ruzzle, and other apps in the future.
Users can customize the bracelet to light up in different colors for each type of notification. The bracelet can light up in a single color for a specific event, or users can opt to use two different colors for each notification. The number of blinks, duration of blinks, speed interval, brightness, and whether there is a short vibration can also be tweaked by the wearer.
Everything is adjusted using the Android or iOS EMBRACE+ app. It comes with a color wheel that allows a complete range of hues to be used for each notification. It will also offer the ability to save profiles for quick access to certain settings.
The bracelet itself uses optical fibers tucked inside of a transparent core that runs through the whole band. This is coated in a transparent cladding that allows the light to leave the core and shine around the entire device. It also comes in three different shapes, so users can choose one that matches their style.
The creators of the EMBRACE+ are seeking funding on Kickstarter to help with purchasing molds, setting up tooling, and developing the mobile applications that make the whole thing come together. The minimum backing to receive a bracelet in one of the three available styles is US$49.
The Kickstarter pitch below demonstrates the EMBRACE+.
Source: Kickstarter
I find this perception that a person must be connected at all times to be funny and scary in equal proportions, for the same reason, which is when something happens (and it will) that brings down the network to the point that people cannot connect, they will have no idea of how to function.
how unperceptive can you people be? don't you remember the last 50 times you predicted the loss of all human interaction and were wrong? there's nothing scary about finding new ways to access information. we've been doing since for a 1000 years. it's our incredibly valuable aspect of our culture. and all you chicken littles are starting to frankly sound ridiculous.
Don't buy it.
My comment goes to the point that people have become dependent on their myriad electronic devices for their day to day functionality.
Also, predicting that something will happen to cripple the electronic information storage and access system is not a chicken little scenario. The entire system is man made and is therefore fallible. The Titanic was an unsinkable ship that no predicted would sink but it did. For some reason people look on the system that provides the means of instant connectivity and information as being unsinkable and infallible but it is not.
Is every single aspect of the system 100% protected against every single contingency? Are the governments of the world designing a super secret faraday cage that will encompasse the entire earth and all of our artificial satellites to protect against the one chance (however small) of a solar storm of enough magnitude to overwhelm the engineered protection devices of the various electronic systems?
To the best of my knowledge, no person can tell the future with 100% accuracy. We can only forecast what we hope will come based on current knowledge. For the simple reason that our knowledge is limited in this fashion, every single thing that mankind designs and build is fallible.
As far as being snarky about every new thing. If at least 95% (probably closer to 99% but this is just my opinion) of new things weren't just the same old technology put in a shiny new box, people probably wouldn't be as snarky about said new things.