Engineer Creates Wearable LED TV
American David Forbes has created the world’s first wearable LED TV. The electrical engineer, from Tuscan Arizona, has designed a coat that can display an image whilst been worn. The question is, how does it work and why would you ever want to wear one?
Display details
The display of this unique LED TV consists of 4,667 pixels, which are made up from 14,400 green, blue and red LEDs. The result is a 160 by 120 pixel display that can produce a surprisingly sharp picture. Even though only LEDs in three different colours are used, the display can create the illusion of many different shades. This is achieved by chips turning the LEDs on and off 360 times in just one second.
Image source
The image produced is supplied from in iPod that is plugged into the circuit boards to which the LEDs are attached. A digitising chip, conventionally used in CCTV systems to scale four images onto one screen, is then used to convert the resolution down to one that can be handled by the display.
Power supply
In order to keep the coat as light as possible Forbes sought out technology typically used in the world of remote control models. Utilising two lithium polymer batteries, which are placed in each pocket, the coat has a running time of around one hour.
Practical use
At first consideration you can be forgiven for wondering exactly what the point of creating a wearable LED TV is. It’s not like you can watch the image, unless of course you have a decent sized mirror to hand. And standing in the corner so that your friends and family can stare at you isn’t a particularly appealing proposition. When you consider the fact that the project took around 6 months to complete and cost in the region of £13,000/$20,000, the whole idea seems a little crazy. However, when you give the invention a little more thought there are opportunities that could see Forbes recover the money he has invested and quite possibly even make a tidy profit.
Target audience
The main area where the TV could be extremely useful is in advertising. A person walking around an airport or other busy area wearing such a device would certainly attract a lot of attention. Anyone looking at the person would immediately become aware of the product that was being advertised. The portability of the LED TV means that the advertising is not limited to one place and the wearer could reach a large audience by staying on the move. Such an approach could work out great for events, such as band nights or festivals where the organiser is looking to raise awareness. A five minute walk down the local highs street would spread the word to hundreds if not thousands of people, which would likely lead to many discussions on the technology and the event.
If you are looking for a more conventional LED TV then David Jones recommends taking a look at the new Samsung Smart models before making your purchase. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to write for us?