COMM 173 M.

W 6:30

Laura Wake-Ramos Due: Mon 7.11.2011 Informative Informative Speech #2 (Visual Aid) Technology meets fashion

The alarm programmed in your glass headboard gently awakens you at 7AM. Time to get ready for work. You walk across your bedroom to a full-length mirror that is hanging on a closed door to begin your day. When you tap the mirror, it rushes awake with flashes of multiple floating rectangular screens of your monthly calendar, your daily schedule, your work email, your voicemail, and a grocery list. On the leftside menu, you select the Wardrobe tool bar. The screens dart out of sight, and you browse through a slideshow of you modeling blazers, pants, shirts, and shoes. You have chosen a complete outfit after a few minutes, so you press the Final Choice button, and the door behind the mirror unlocks. As you walk into your small dark closet, the door shuts behind you. You close your eyes, and wait for the fifth beep to signal that the computer has finished scanning your body. There is a faint hum of machinery, while your closet produces your outfit. As you dress, you quickly scan the tags inside each garment, so that each article of clothing can sync to the current weather, your body temperature, your exact body shape, and you GPS location. You step out, and hastily grab your glasses to place them comfortably on your face. On the right-side hinge, you switch the mini computer screen on so that you can grab coffee and check your work email before you leave. Who are you, a spy? A millionaire? What is this, a dream? A movie? No, you are an average American, and this is 2031. In 2031, you wont be buried under a clutter of small electronic devices, such as watches, iPods, smart phones, or Bluetooths, because keeping up with your email, phone calls, and hottest hits everyday would be as easy as a clicking the power button on one accessory you wear all the time. In 2031, you wont need to throw out stained, ragged, or stretched out clothes, because the fashion technology of 2031 is keeping up with you. My goal tonight is to enlighten you of a very interesting possibility in fashion technology that is not too far off in the future. Its difficult to predict fashion taste in 20 years. However, in an interview about fashion and innovation, Tim Gunn of Project Runway stated that he believes peoples perception of beauty in clothing hasnt changed much since the thirties. The clothes we wore then may not look that different from what we wear now, or will wear in the

COMM 173 M.W 6:30

Laura Wake-Ramos Due: Mon 7.11.2011

future. Therefore, the real innovation of the future is in the nanotechnology of materials, and wearable robotic technology hidden from the human eye. Allow me to explain what nanotechnology is. Nanotechnology deals with the manipulation of matter at the atomic level. This knowledge can revolutionize many fields, but in fashion, the results will be unbelievable. Clothing will be made of dirt repelling, stain resisting, self-cleaning molecules, so that washing and drying machines wont be a necessary household item, saving time and money, as well as increasing the lifespan of the clothes. Now that I have explained what nanotechnology is, let me show you the developments of today. MITs Media Lab consists of students experimenting with affordable wearable technology. One student developed a soft, conductive material out of nickel and titanium that changes shape during fluctuations of temperature. A long-sleeved shirt made of this material called nitinol can shrink to a short-sleeved t-shirt in seconds, and revert back to its original shape. This invention could save a lot of space in one closet. In 2031, nanotechnology can also develop the robotic technology necessary to be incorporated into our clothing. Over the past 20 years, machines have been getting smarter and smarter, as well as smaller and smaller. And this trend will definitely continue in the next 20 years. Sunglasses could have miniature computer screens, and purses could be converted into personal laptops. Has anyone every seen the old Get Smart show? Even though it was meant to be funny in the 80s, this could be fashionable in 20 years from now. Another example of the developing robotic technology today, is the Adidas_1. Adidas has developed a running sneaker with a microchip that senses compression in the heel due to rough terrain, and adjusts the shoe to give you the best support. An even more exciting invention coming in only four years, is the HOLO 2.0. Predicted to be released in 2015, the Tuvie hopes to have the technology to channel the power of a PC computer into the size of a wrist watch. This is a wearable computer that holographically displays the internet and other personal settings of your own desktop. It contains a kinetically chargeable battery, which means it recharges itself by the movement of your own hand. It can also be mounted as a personal desktop for your own convenience. And it comes in your choice of color.

COMM 173 M.W 6:30

Laura Wake-Ramos Due: Mon 7.11.2011

The future of fashion will be an exciting one. So, I would recommend to slowly start emptying your closets to make room for all these amazing fashion ware.