As we approach the one time of year when wearing a hideous knitted sweater is not only acceptable but almost cool, one UK-based company is looking to capitalize on this quirky trend by bringing a little technological glitz to proceedings.
Mark Rober, who left his engineering position at NASA to found Digital Dudz has been doing rather well with his range of smartphone-compatible costumes for every occasion. Indeed, it was recently acquired by AFG Media, the company behind the familiar full-body spandex costumes you may know as Morphsuits.
Digital Dudz’ kits let you use your smartphone to bring a little animation to things, including digital wounds embedded within funky Halloween-esque tops, AND a recently-introduced line of ugly Christmas sweaters.
So how does it work?
First up you of course have to procure one of the festive garments, which usually cost up to £40 ($65), but they’re actually half-price at the moment. You’ll then need to download the Digital Dudz iOS and Android app, load up the animation relevant to your particular sweater’s design, and slip your phone inside the pouch.
The idea from here on in is that, well, you wander around with a raging fire glued to your torso. Though for larger handsets (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S4) we found it to be a bit of a squeeze, especially with an outer case on. Plus, I guess it will get a little annoying if your phone rings while you’re trying to be the life-and-soul of the party.
For an iPhone, however, it was a snug fit. Here’s a quick Vine of the hi-tech wizardry in action.
As far as festive gimmicks go, this is certainly up there. But nonetheless, it’s a fun way to bring an otherwise bland piece of festive knitwear to life. Though I personally think some of the Halloween costumes are better suited to this…they do look awesome.
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