Hasta La Ideas

Photo by Luciana Golcman

The emerging field of biometrics, a.k.a. the Quantified Self, is giving 3D printing a run for the money as a contender for the next big thing in consumer electronics. Just as the former is a subcategory of digital fabrication, so too do wearable technologies represent the anthropomorphic side of augmented reality and the burgeoning Internet of Things. We’ve seen a couple variations on consumer-friendly brainwave-meters of late—the Kickstarted Melon and craft-meets-tech Knitic come to mind, as does the conceptual Bio Circuit vest—but given the backlash to Google Glass, the most visible wearable (pun intended), we’re still a ways off from mass adoption.

Even so, I was excited to have the opportunity to experience brainwave biometry firsthand at a pop-up installation in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. Billed as “The Art & Science of Feeling,” Nike has put their formidable marketing budget into a remarkably cerebral launch event for the new Hyperfeel shoe; the immersive art installation, housed inside a mysterious black box, is open to the public for one weekend only, through Sunday, September 8 (NB: Guests must make reservations in advance). Yes, the sportswear innovators are in the business of selling shoes—there is, in fact, a limited-edition colorway exclusively available at pop-up shop—but you wouldn’t know it as you remove your own footwear and are outfitted with a curious-looking headset. No Glass-shame here: every participant signs a waiver before gearing up and setting out into the unknown.

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