Terror Trousers!Virginia Tech engineers appear to have found a niche in a slow news day with their special pants that may warn someone he's in danger of falling.
The application suggested -- that it could allow more independent living for the elderly -- strikes me oddly. Are we honestly thinking healthcare responders would be standing by to dispatch someone based on an imminent fall alert from these panic pants? And what helpful message will the pantaloons of doom offer to the unsteady senior? If one's in danger of falling and isn't aware of it, I tend to think that a voice suddenly coming from one's pants is only going to make matters worse.
They'd make for great entertainment at frat or tailgate parties, though, especially if the voice chip was easily rewritable. Add some moisture sensors in the crotch and we'd have a winner.
Brief text of the accompanying article reprinted below for posterity's sake.
A team of engineers at Virginia Tech University has designed a pair of pants that may identify people who have a high risk of falling.
Several small circuit boards containing microcontrollers, sensors, and communication devices -- called e-TAGS -- are embedded in the pants at the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Each foot has a piezoelectric sensor—a sensor that generates an electric pulse through applied stress—at the heel that is connected to an e-TAG in the pants. The whole setup is powered by a nine-volt battery attached near the waist.
To test the apparatus, the researchers used a group of nine healthy people, and four elderly people with a history of falling. Each participant was asked to walk on a treadmill at various speeds, while the sensors transmitted data to a Bluetooth e-TAG, which sent the accumulated data to a computer for analysis. Due to the difference in data between the healthy group and the elderly group, the researchers were able to determine which joints had significant instabilities.
The technology could allow elderly people to live independently for longer periods of time, with the pants acting as a warning system. If the person's gait shows instability in one of the joints, the pants can send a warning to a health care facility, and to the person wearing the pants.
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Comments
A couple of things come to mind... like the missing step-up transformer to make damn sure grandpa doesn't go toddling off. A 9 volt battery can be a pretty convincing overseer.
Does it come in a speed suit?