By Peter Felsenfeld
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SAN FRANCISCO - Some day in the rapidly approaching future, people will look back on early 21st-century Homo sapiens and wonder how we managed to survive with such primitive attire.
The doltish clothing of 2004 doesn't alert the wearer she needs more deodorant or a perfume touchup or more insect repellent. Diabetics cannot rely on their underwear to alert them of dangerously low glucose levels.
But those features and more are in the works. Wearing a white, two-piece undergarment dotted with sensors and covered by a suit that looks like plastic cling wrap, research assistant Kathryn Richardson of Arizona State University modeled the futuristic Wellness Body Suit on Saturday.
After more tests, she said, it will provide a variety of constant communications.
"These are smart clothes that will detect what the body needs and give it right away," she said.
Richardson was showing the prototype to the thousands of people attending the WIRED NextFest at Fort Mason's Festival Pavilion in San Francisco. Sponsored by WIRED magazine, the event featured more than 100 hands-on exhibits of a future where cars fly, robots do the dirty work and meditation is a competitive sport.
Calmness of mind is the goal of Brain Ball, created by the Interactive Institute of Stockholm. Two players control a ball with their brain waves, as detected by sensors wrapped around their heads.
Mental serenity is the key to pushing the ball across the opposing goal line. Merrill Gruver of Redwood City and her son, Buck Greenwald, split two games.
"I guess we don't know who the best meditator is," Gruver said.
WIRED NextFest continues today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Along with gizmos and games, the event showcased health advancements, military security technologies and the transport vehicles of tomorrow. The sporty red SkyCar from Moller International summoned visions of the Jetsons whizzing around their cartoon space world.
It resembles a Corvette, but it's in the same technical category as a military V22 Osprey, said Moller general manager Bruce Calkins.
The first military use for the SkyCar is slated in 2006-07, Calkins said. Two or three years after that, it may be available for private transit companies. With cruise speeds of almost 300 miles per hour, the vehicle could become a favorite for commuters.
"We hope the price will eventually be about the same as a mid-priced luxury car," he said.
Attendees lined up for a chance to experience virtual reality. Donning high-tech headgear, participants were mentally transported either to a college classroom or a desert battle scene, depending on their preference.
The technology could have several practical applications, said Rosanna Guadagno, a social psychologist and researcher at UC Santa Barbara. Research has found that witnesses may remember details of a crime if it is recreated in a virtual environment, she said.
Whether judges will admit the information into evidence is a different matter. "There's debate now about whether virtually reality can be allowed in a courtroom," she said. "But the technology is there now to make it happen."