Vodafone has released a suite of connected smart clothes aimed at holidaymakers jetting off this summer. The range includes a swimsuit, child’s sunhat, and suitcase, all fitted with sensors.
The swimsuit has a built in UV exposure sensor that detects harmful rays and provides data on the UV level and how long you’ve spent in the sun. Vodafone shows all of this data on a companion smartphone app.
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Similar UV technology is baked into the sunhat. Vodafone will differentiate between devices on the app. The hat also comes with a location tracker, showing the location the child and sending alerts if they wander too far.
The last product, a smart suitcase, has tracking functionality that works with mobile base stations inside airports to provide more accurate positioning of the case.
Vodafone getting well into IoT
Vodafone has built all three devices using narrowband-IoT tech, a standard being developed by the 3GPP body. Narrowband is the perfect communications standard for low-power connected devices, according to Vodafone and others involved in the standardization.
The British mobile operator is one of the key networks involved in Narrowband IoT, pushing the standard for M2M and IoT developments.
“To date, Vodafone has been providing IoT solutions around 2G, 3G and 4G and, of course, 5G is just around the corner. But to understand how we are gearing up for IoT it is important to also look at new standards like narrowband-IoT,” said Vodafone chief of IoT, Cyril Deschanel to Siliconrepublic.
“It is a low-cost, low-energy technology and enables machines to last longer with greater autonomy. For example, it helps penetrate inside or under buildings and reach places that cellular cannot. You can have machines that are five metres under a house or building that can communicate where cellular just can’t.”
