For $295, a “smart shirt” from Ralph Lauren could be yours, starting next Thursday.
The shirt is skintight and comes fitted with sensors that track biometric states, including steps, heart rate and breathing, The Verge reported.
The retailer unveiled its “PoloTech apparel,” which was made in partnership with OmSignal, at an event in New York City on Friday.
The shirt was first trumpeted at last year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing, Queens using ball boys. Marcos Giron, a professional player, reportedly used the shirt to practice, the publication notes.
But this isn’t the only “smart shirt” around. The article adds:
Since then other biometric shirts have popped up, including ones that use micro-EMG sensors to measure muscle effort, made by a Redwood City-based company called Athos. (Earlier this year I reviewed a pair of Athos pants, as did The Verge‘s Ben Popper.) OmSignal, the company that partnered with Ralph Lauren for the PoloTech Shirt, sells its connected compression shirts separately — although both the PoloTech shirts and OmSignal’s own shirts are only available for men.
The product’s launch for consumers comes as smart devices and Internet of Things products are becoming more and more commonplace around the house. Coins2Day’s Stacey Higginbotham regularly writes about the subject and you can find her work here.