Newcastle United introduced two changes to some of its jerseys at its recent match against Tottenham Hotspur.
First, the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor, Sela, a Saudi Arabian company specializing in the end-to-end development of intellectual property (IP) and in the production and management of events, donated its ad spot on the jerseys to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). The RNID has thus become the first charity for the deaf to figure on a Premier League jersey.
Second, through Sela, the club supplied deaf fans with haptic jerseys, which convert stadium noise into a rumble of the fabric. The SoundShirt, as the jersey is called, was created by CuteCircuit and weaves conductive textiles and haptic modules into the fabric. Broadcast microphones at the stadium pick up the sound. Then software converts the sound from an analog to a digital signal, converts it again into touch data, and transmits it wirelessly by antenna to the jerseys.
Headquartered in London, CuteCircuit calls itself “the first wearable-technology fashion brand” and says it holds patents in 3D spatial audio, haptics for augmented reality, interactive luminous garments, multimedia wearable telecommunication devices and sensor-enhanced fabric constructions. Its SoundShirt is in fact designed to immerse the wearer – deaf or not – in music, and can deliver sensations derived from the various choirs of an orchestra (strings, brass, percussion, etc.) to different parts of the body. The system works with video games as well.
CuteCircuit’s other product is the HugShirt, which pairs with a smartphone app. The resulting system records hugs – exerted pressure being as recordable as any other data – and can transmit copies to anyone else anywhere who has a HugShirt or whose phone runs the HugShirt app.
