'Cloak of Invisibility' lets you hide from Google: Padded coat blocks radio waves to stop firms accessing your phone's data
By Jonathan O'Callaghan 17:06 17 Jun 2014, updated 17:25 17 Jun 2014
- Vienna-based Coop Himmelb(l)au have made a coat that stops radio waves
- The Jammer Coat can be used to keep devices safe from prying eyes
- While wearing the coat smartphones, tablets and more cannot be tracked
- This means companies would be unable to take data from the wearer
- The coat is on display at an exhibition in Milan, Italy until the end of June
Anyone who's familiar with Harry Potter will know about the Cloak of Invisibility.
While we're yet to see such a gadget that conceals objects completely, a firm has developed a 'cloak' that makes people's data invisible from large companies such as Google.
The unique coat blocks radio waves to stop firms using phones and other devices to collect data on our everyday lives.
Data collection has become a growing concern for many users of smart technology, which can record numerous personal details, some of which is collected without their knowledge.
FROM INVISIBLE CLOAKS TO WIRELESS CHARGING TROUSERS
Microsoft Mobile Devices has created the first ever wireless charging trousers.
Together with designer A. Sauvage, the leggings are on display at London Collecions: Men today.
The technology, known as inductive charging, comes from the new Nokia DC-50 wireless charging plate.
This was fitted into a piece of clothing to let people charge devices in their trousers while wearing them.
‘We think that integrating wearable tech into a wardrobe staple, makes the technology more accessible to the image conscious,’ said the team.
With that in mind Coop Himmelb(l)au, an Austrian architecture company, created the Jammer Coat to protect the wearer from unwanted data collection.
The Jammer Coat is a padded cloak that contains metallic fibres designed to block radio waves, shielding the wearer from tracking devices.
All signals are designed to be blocked from reaching devices once they are stored inside the coat, meaning vital information from important items such as credit cards is protected from those looking to obtain it.
This also means it is blocked from WI-Fi networks, mobile providers and more.
And with numerous pockets of different sizes the coat can accommodate smartphones, tablets and a range of other devices.
The white coat is also patterned with black spots, which have been designed to mask the wearer’s true body shape.
'The CHBL Jammer Coat is a piece of clothing that enables its user to disappear: Google cannot find you anymore,' said a spokesperson for Coop Himmelb(l)au.
'The piece is made of metallised fabrics, which are blocking radio waves and shielding the wearer against tracking devices.
'You are no longer reachable on your mobile phone and no information from your credit card can be captured.
And they added: 'The Wave Circle pattern of the fabric gives an illusion of strange multiple body parts, which hides and frees the individual physicality.'
Coop Himmelb(l)au created the CHBL Jammer Coat for the Abiti da lavoro exhibition, which takes place at the Triennale in Milan, Italy, at the end of June 2014.
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