As reported recently in ‘Images’, the journal for textile screenprinting and garment decoration, Richard Helmer of the Australian company CSIRO has developed a ‘wearable instrument shirt’ (WIS – no not Wii’s) which allows the wearer to play an ‘air guitar’ simply by moving one hand along imaginary chords and the other over the imaginary strings. The WIS comes unhampered by cables or wires and detects and interprets arm movements and relaying them to a nearby computer which translates the movements into an authentic guitar sound. The team has also successfully manipulated its software to allow the shirt to be used with an air tambourine and air guiro. With the possibilities theoretically only limited by the number of instruments available expect the shirt to soon be able to reproduce harp and drum noises along with others, you could even have your own air band or orchestra!

A rather different form of virtual guitar

When reading about this technology and its potential uses my mind immediately jumped at the idea of its potential incorporation into the mighty games industry. There is already a highly successful guitar simulation available called Guitar Hero. It was so well received both critically and commercially that it spawned a sequel from its developers Harmonix (given an average of 9/10 by most reviewers) and a third incarnation is in production for the new generation of consoles. The game involves using a plastic guitar with buttons to furiously press in time with on-screen prompts (hopefully) resulting in a recognisable tune being played. Given the fast nature of some of the songs it is unsurprising that some users can experience painful joints after an intense session, a drawback that would be eradicated by the WIS.

Given the huge popularity of the series, its commitment to a more interactive experience and the incredibly powerful new consoles being produced, surely it is not a huge leap of faith to expect Guitar Hero 4 to arrive complete with a nifty new jumper for you to wear?

And just think of the possibilities this technology could offer, it can be integrated into any form of clothing: gloves and socks for a driving simulation, trousers with a football game – the possibilities are endless.