Nadi, a wearable technology company, is changing the practice of yoga with smart exercise tights that correct a wearer’s alignment. With haptic feedback in the form of subtle vibrations, yogis will be able correct their form without the need for an instructor.
Cofounders of Wearable Experiments, Billie Whitehouse and Ben Moir, collaborated together to create this unique product that aims to bring together fashion and technology with a functional design for athletes.
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The exercise tights have no wires or gadgets visible in the fabric. Instead, tiny electronics sit between the nylon layers of the tights. The electronic vibrations communicate with one another at the user’s hips, knees, and ankles. The vibrations can determine where the user’s body parts are in relation to one another.
“It’s a wireless network for the body,” Moir, says. “We have a motion sensor in each part of the tights that knows exactly what angle you’re in.”
After the sensors scan the wearer in their pose, the vibrations do a scan and report back. For example, if your hip is rotated too far inwards in warrior pose, a vibration will move across the hip in an outwards direction, like the guiding hands of a yoga instructor. When everything’s aligned, the tights give off a gentle “om” hum. So it would seem as if you really have someone guiding you through every pose without the cost of a pricey yoga class.
.@WWD profiles We:eX’s Nadi, declaring, “[Wearables] are the future of computing.” https://t.co/naCAH2yvpF #CES2016 pic.twitter.com/WhCLTaSCw6
— Wearable Experiments (@wearableX) January 13, 2016
“The nice thing about haptics is you process them subconsciously,” says Moir. “So if you’re in the flow of yoga, you don’t have to look at a screen and engage your attention on the screen or listen to a voice instruction.”
The Nadi tights are available for pre-sale in May. The tights can survive up to 25 washes and the company aims to create a charging basket users can toss the tights into post-workout.