vest

Freaky-awesome massage vest rubs you up with your own tunes

LAS VEGAS--If you ever wanted to know what it would feel like to have Mick Jagger massage the knots in your back muscles while you listen to "Tumbling Dice," then I have the perfect gadget for you. The iMusic BodyRhythm massage vest sits over your shoulders and upper back. Plug it into your iPhone, fire up the app, and enjoy a rubdown to the beat of your favorite song.

I got to try out a fully functioning prototype of the vest at CES 2013. The vest's creator Uwe Diegel hooked me up with some "Gangnam Style" massage action. I could see going for the full-album experience and having an extended session with "Exile on Main Street." It would be a very different way of experiencing the music.… Read more

Facebook-connected vest hugs you when you get a 'Like'

What if every time a Facebook friend liked one of your Facebook posts, that friend appeared out of nowhere, wrapped her arms around you, and gave you a big hug of appreciation? That would be pretty sweet.

Since that's not likely to happen in reality, you'll have to settle for the Like-A-Hug vest from Melissa Chow, Andy Payne, and Phil Seaton at the MIT Media Lab.

When a friend likes your photo, video, or status update, the vest inflates. Send a hug back to your buddy by squeezing and deflating the vest.… Read more

Man shoots himself to test bulletproof vest

It is often futile to ask why people do things.

Life is short, sometimes brutal, and often so absurd that all we can do is meander through it and allow the depths of our subconscious to propel us.

However, when I saw the video of this scientific test, I did wonder about the contents of this man's inner workings.

For it seems to show him wearing a bulletproof vest and testing it by shooting himself in the stomach.

Some will declare that this is merely a man who is confident of his product. I will declare that confidence is … Read more

Would you wear a TV?

David Forbes is a man with a fashionable vision.

After completing a working video coat with a mega assortment of color LEDs, Forbes has moved onto a smaller, slightly more practical application: an LED TV vest.

The $20,000 array is no slouch, using custom-made circuit boards that pump nearly 5 gigabits of data to 14,400 red, green, and blue LEDs.

Surveillance video technology limits the resolution of the video so content is watchable on the flexible vest, which displays content at 160x120. Battery life clocks in around 90 minutes, and runs off lithium-polymer batteries commonly used for remote … Read more

Bulletproof vest gets GPS, man-down alerts

If you already bought a bulletproof Mercedes and a bulletproof watch, then you might want to complete the look with a bulletproof vest.

The S-911 Vest from Laipac Technology is chest armor with brains. Just as phones have evolved to handle a gazillion different functions, this bulletproof vest has sprouted a GPS system.

Law enforcement, military, security personnel, and VIPs are the target market for the high-tech vest. Built-in GPS provides real-time tracking with location, heading, and speed.

The vest's most important function is to stop bullets, of course. Kevlar and optional armor plates handle that task. The basic Kevlar model has enough stopping power to protect against most handguns, including a shot from a .44 Magnum.

The vest works over a GSM/GPRS network and will record waypoints when out of GSM range. Set up a virtual geo-fence and get alerts when the vest moves in or out of a certain area.

You could do all that with a regular GPS tracking system, but the S-911 also has a built-in G sensor that sends alerts when it registers an impact or a man down. All this extra equipment means the vest comes with its own battery charger. You might want to pick up a car charger adapter for your bulletproof Mercedes.… Read more

Ion-powered Dawn begins study of asteroid Vesta

Four years after launch from Cape Canaveral, NASA's ion-drive Dawn spacecraft is finally in orbit around the asteroid Vesta, studying the second largest body in the rubble-strewn belt between Mars and Jupiter in unprecedented detail. Pictures released today show a strangely tortured world with huge parallel grooves separating the heavily cratered northern hemisphere from smoother terrain in the south dominated by the chaotic remnants of a catastrophic impact.

"These photos have been already a great revelation to the team about what the surface is like," Christopher Russell, the mission's principal investigator, told reporters today. "We … Read more

The 404 806: Where we're over being cool (podcast)

Mr. Natali Morris is on the show today which means we get to geek out with Clayton about tech vests, on-air personalities, comic book movie adaptations, and the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum!

The 404 Digest for Episode 806

Watch the campy 1966 "Batman" movie, featuring Adam West and Burt Ward. Clayton's Scott eVest has enough room for an iPod, an iPad, a book, and a 2-liter bottle of soda. Clayton Morris and Mike Quackenbush talk more about the Batman movies on the Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe. Check out Clayton on Fox and Friends.

Episode 806 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Next up in body protection: Cement armor

Engineers in England have come up with a product to save a few bob for those who work in semi-dangerous occupations--cement body armor.

The vests combine "super strong" cement with recycled carbon fiber, making the vests tough enough to withstand most bullet calibers, according to researchers at the University of Leeds' School of Civil Engineering.

Currently, top-of-the-line bulletproof vests are made with alumina plates--the raw material used to make aluminum--through a costly process called sintering, which involves heating the material for up to two weeks at 1600 degrees Celsius to harden it.

The cement vest, on the other hand, would offer a cost-effective level of protection for people in semi-risky occupations short of full-on combat.

"By using cement instead of alumina we are confident we can deliver a cost-effective level of protection for many people at risk," said research team leader Philip Purnell. "It should be good enough for people like security guards, reporters, and aid workers who are worried about the odd pot shot being taken at them." … Read more

Avoid sinking feeling with bulletproof lifejacket

Here's a must-have accessory for any soiree off Somalia, the ArmourFloat personal flotation device.

Not only does the Armour Float Ballistic Vest keep even an unconscious wearer afloat, but its new lightweight, hard-plate armor is designed to defeat most assault rifle threats--with no negative effect on the vest's buoyancy, according to Armour of America, a division of Arotech Corporation.

This Underwriters Laboratory-certified PFD is approved by the US Coast Guard, and the Coasties use it as well, according to AoA.

The hardy preserver comes with reflective tape on the shoulders, an emergency strobe light pocket, ammo clip pockets, … Read more