About six months ago my Sister told me that she was going to a Taylor Swift concert and that she would love me to make her an LED enhanced outfit to wear. Taylor specifically asks her fans to get out their glowwy things such as cellphones so I took this as an opportunity shine… Ahem.

A quick check of the conditions of entry didn’t say anything against going to concerts covered in red LEDs.

She had a red cocktail dress that was to be the basis of the creation.

Electronics leader Philips and global flooring specialists Desso have announced a unique partnership which will see the two companies roll out a new carpet featuring energy-efficient LEDs for the purpose of serving as floor-based messaging devices for today’s foot peddler.

The duo have patented the world’s first LED-lit luminous carpet, and the new material could see immediate integration in public venues where it would be used for guiding people around buildings, enhancing the ambience of the interior of buildings, and helping de-clutter cluster areas by making information visible only when needed.

The first markets to see this technology will be Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

One of our younger hackers just finished off this awesome Instructable on his flexible 14 x 15 pixel, pong playing t-shirt!

An Arduino Mega takes care of the logic to run the game, which [Spencer] wrote all himself!

Remember, it’s not the technology, it’s how you apply it.

I got the idea of being a traffic light when driving in traffic in early October. It seemed simple enough: Dress in yellow, get some LEDs, make them blink. LEDs even come in red, yellow, and green. It’s perfect! I could even build one for my girlfriend. Oh wait, maybe they could talk to each other! And that’s how crazy ideas get started.

The goal of Mixed Signals: When I was red, Felicia would be green and we would progress through the normal light sequence. She’s always sending me mixed signals (snicker). We would essentially be a full intersection of traffic signals. This required two traffic light costumes and a wireless link between them. I used two XBees, two Arduino Pro Minis, and a handful of MOSFETs and LEDs to pull it off.

Here is a short video showing the two costumes communicating wirelessly with each other during the build phase. When one costume is green, the other is red.

Wearable computing, for those who may not know what it is, comes in many different forms, such as a shirt outfitted with energy-harvesting devices to power mobile electronics or headgear like Google Glass. Even Android-based watches are a part of this growing trend.

We tend to think of wearable computing as providing a function rather than being purely aesthetic, pleasing to the eye, or the latest in fashion. That notion is being laid to rest by a fashion designer working with Jorge & Esther located in Barcelona, Spain. Elizabeth Fraguada’s Lume line of clothing provides no other function except to accentuate the person wearing the clothing, presenting them in a new light (literally).

The line consists of a stylish open-backed dress, bomber jacket, and tunic, which recently won the Jury Prize in the “Aesthetic Category” at this year’s International Symposium on Wearable Computing held in Zurich.

What sets these pieces of clothing apart from the others is that thin, flexible LEDs have been incorporated into the garments that conform to the wearer’s body shape on a natural level rather than appearing bulky. The cool thing about the garments is that the LEDs are able to change color as well as react to music in clubs and other venues, which is done though a smartphone application.

Our tips line recently received an influx of wearable LED projects, both for casual and professional wear. [Elizabeth] and [Luis] have created the Lüme wearable collection, aimed at accessorizing by adding adjustable accent colors to jackets, t-shirts and dresses. The electronics are custom-made, built around an ATMega32u4, and each is Bluetooth enabled to interact with a user’s cell phone

[Michal's] project is an entire suit for a dance and laser show entitled “Tron Dance”, which uses several RGB LED strips placed on key points of the wearer’s costume.

[Michal's] project is an entire suit for a dance and laser show entitled “Tron Dance”, which uses several RGB LED strips placed on key points of the wearer’s costume.

Often when I write about wearable LEDs, I’m doing so in my Lighten Up blog in EDN’s LED Zone, extolling the virtues of slippers, belts, earrings, and other bizarre LED-lit merchandise that you might buy for a geek-type at the holidays. Fortunately, I’ve found some recent intros into wearable LEDs that are much more worthwhile and show an interesting future. While it’s true that they are not ready for prime time, they at least make sense.