As CEO of a public relations firm in Yokohama, Japan, Atsuko Nitta finds that her updated kimono integrates the visual richness of traditional aesthetics with the economy and ease of modern design. The touch of a button eliminates the challenge of donning a traditional kimono by transforming Atsuko's bustier into an obi sash and her skirt into a kimono. Interchangeable obi sashes shift the mood of her attire from formal to casual as needed.

Atsuko's floral headpiece, while inspired by tradition, cleverly houses an email device. The flowers flash when mail is received. A tiny ear insert receives sound for personal communications or music, and binaural spatialization allows Atsuko to place the sound source wherever she wants it to be. At a social function, she can attend to the conversations around her while placing the incoming messages in the background like an over-the-shoulder whisper. Atsuko also has a bone conduction microphone in her ear clip. The microphone receives audio vibrations through physical contact with her bones.

Designers
Kazumi Suzuki, Masami Tanaka and Josefina Batres

Joey and Jen are kids, but kids with more autonomy than their 20th century counterparts. Thanks to the safety system that is built into their playsuits and coordinated with their environment, the children are no longer dependent on Mom or Dad to chauffeur them about. Joey and Jen live in Venice, California, where an interlocking network of bike and roller blade paths called the "Wheelways" enables them to blade to school, saxophone lessons, and chums' homes. The blades pop off when they reach their destination.

But have no fear Mom or Dad, your peripatetic child is always reachable, traceable, and detectable. An electronic eye is at the approach to every "Wheelway" and vehicular intersection. When children cross the eye's beam, a low level radar transmitter in their helmets alerts nearby cars that a child is about to enter the intersection. Their helmets contain multiple features: earphones for the reception of parental messages, music, and missives from friends; an identification card; and a homing device that is coordinated with a receiver at home. A wrist microphone transmits messages.

For added safety after dark, the kids sport a chest light that is powered by electricity generated through their roller blades.

Designers
Akiko Kobayashi and Masako Tsuchiya

The Secretary General of the United Nations has embarked on a walking tour of neighborhoods throughout the world as part of a global commitment to dissolving barriers through sharing experiences. Although violence is on the decline, thanks to programs such as this, security is still necessary.His bodyguard Lena and Hercule the watchman are members of his entourage.

Lena's socks are knitted with signal threads that measure her startle response. A galvanic skin response (GSR) safety camera automatically transmits a signal to Lena's colleagues and a central station. Differential GPS wired into Lena's collar furnishes her whereabouts, and an accelerometer in her collar triggers these same signals in response to sudden or extreme movement such as running or falling.

Two minuscule video cameras (front and back) continuously record Lena's surroundings. If Lena receives a jolt or is startled, all signals are automatically transmitted. Lena can also press a manual signal button which activates all three functions: camera, global position, and alarm. Strong encryption is essential to these broadcasts, of course. Lena sports display sunglasses and has a chording keyboard in her pocket. Her CPU is divided and located in each shoulder pad.

One sizzling day in Crete, Lena was lulled by the sleepy tranquillity of this seaside town, when a sudden jolt knocked her to the ground, setting off her computer signal and every nerve in her body. A blindfold covered her eyes, and her wrists were roughly bound. Lena and the secretary-general were being kidnapped!

Alas for the kidnappers! The whole event, their identity, and get-away were recorded by Lena's video camera and relayed to her colleagues.

Designer
Yujiro Komatsu

Technology Collaborator
Jennifer Healey

Watchman
The Year 2021

When Lena was seized, Hercule's headset informed him in an instant. He dashed to the scene and focused the wide angle mini-camera, located in his visor, on the abductors. With the aid of his optical mini-mouse he transmitted their images to his database, where a search yielded a match that enabled the team to intercept the kidnappers enroute to their hideout (Hercule's computer is so compact that it can be housed in his leg pocket). Lena and the secretary-general were rescued without delay.

Designers
Stephane Joyeux, Tanguy Moran, and Thao Tran

Thera used to find herself missing deadlines all the time. It was easy to do. She was tied to her desk half the day researching the city's sales, and spent the other half racing around to shops only to find them closed or out of the item she needed. Thera is a designer and buyer for a Broadway prop shop. Sometimes she needs a crazy object, like a blender—and fast!

But today Thera's time troubles are over. She maximizes her productivity and minimizes her stress with the NEX computer system. A headset, controller pad, lithium battery, and processor unit—connected through the metallic organza fabric on her jumpsuit—create the perfect tool to triumph over the challenges of an urban environment. The computer integrates a GPS unit and a wireless Internet modem. The system can access information about products, suppliers, and prices, telling Thera where to buy to the least expensive blender and when the stores are open. When she needs to get across town, NEX compares her transportation options and displays them on her headset.

The unit has a heads-up LCD display, stereo earphones, and two mini video cameras. The cameras survey local position and feed the information to the CPU. The computer compares the information to the GPS and displays a 3-D arrow for Thera to follow as she walks to her destination. A microphone is attached to the collar of her jumpsuit for voice command and telephone communication. The controller pad has a mini-joystick for navigation. Powered with its own battery, it can be attached to the outfit or used in Thera's hand, because it communicates with the CPU via radio waves. The battery for the processor unit and headset is augmented with energy gain pads in her shoes and under her arms.

Particularly useful for Thera is the controller pad that can attach to either arm. It is used with a sensitive pen that can be held in her hand or attached to her fingertip. Thera uses the pad to make sketches of the props she is designing while she rides the subway to her next destination, "Blenders R Us," which has a special on the perfect blender for today only. This time, she's on time!

Designers
Arnaud Écobichon, Kit-Chung Poon, and Koji Kaise

Technology Collaborator
Thad Starner

When the twins Yin and Yang were born in Thailand, their difficult birth left them with disabilities that impaired their ability to communicate. They are unable to use their arms, and they cannot speak. Their parents were impressed with the way the twins seemed to be able to read one another's minds, however, and that ability inspired the development of technology that allows other people to read the twin's minds as well.

The hats that Yin and Yang wear detect their brain waves, and the fabric of their outfits is able to translate their thoughts. Computation functionality is imbedded in the fabric and transmitted by wireless communication. Others share Yin and Yang's thoughts when they hear a synthesized voice or see written characters displayed.

The twins' contrasting outfits reflect their different personalities. The fabric in both dresses also measures their body temperatures and adjusts to keep them comfortable.

Designers
Akiko Kobayashi, Isao Sato, and Masayoshi Toda

Domenico and Juliana are colleagues. They teach in a primary school in Ebarb, Louisiana, and both enjoy the whimsical hats that help translate American Sign Language (ASL) into speech. They value these extra teaching aids because Juliana is deaf and Domenico is blind and deaf, while their students are primarily hearing and sighted.

If you look closely at the front lirapipe on Dominico's hat, you'll see a camera eye. This camera tracks the movements of his hands as he signs and relays the images to his backpack computer. The backpack straps house speakers. A snap button on his vest is secretly a microphone and the front design detail is really a Braille display. Dominico is set up for two-way communication. His hat, backpack, and vest coordinate to translate ASL into speech and speech into Braille.

Juliana's hat and backpack share the same technology as Domenico's. She stores her computer batteries in shoe "pockets" and that necklace is much more than adornment. It's an LCD display that lets Juliana know if her translator function is communicating accurately.

Designers
Ricardo Prado and Maria Ella Carrera

Technology Collaborator
Joshua Weaver, Nuria Oliver, and Barbara Rosario