Notifly

Zero UI x Nudge Theory x Wearable Technology

 

The world’s first self-sensing pants.  The idea was simple: if my zipper is down, text me.  In late 2015, early 2016, I was working through several concepts dealing with Nudge theory, a form of behavioral science which allows us to augment the user's behavior over time or nudge them toward better behaviors.  At the same time, I was focusing on zero-user interfaces and intuitive interfaces, researching how the devices that extend from our smartphone augment and affect our lives through interaction with those devices.  Notifly was the perfect answer to this.  It was simple, relatable, and easily understandable to the average user.  It pushed the agenda of the studio perfectly.  

 

The system was simple.  A tiny BLE microcontroller with several input/outputs and an augmentation on the usual parts of pants.  The top button of the pants was your on off switch.  By wrapping the button in a conductive thread on one side and sewing the loop with conductive thread on the other side, we could essentially form a fabric momentary switch.  The second augmentation was on the zipper.  The head of the zipper acts as another switch, this time a rocker switch, bridging the gap between two leads when the zipper is pulled to the top of the teeth. When the pants are buttoned the software begins a loop function, waiting for the zipper to complete the second circuit.

 

Over 1,000 articles about Notifly appeared worldwide, including GQ India and the famous twitter account, The Internet of Shit.