Calling all cyclists, runners and otherwise athletic individuals: there’s a new, stylish way to stay safe on the roads. A flashy alternative to fluorescent polyester, the Sporty Supaheroe Jacket is a swish new outfit boasting an array of LED lights to alert drivers to your presence – and it could soon be in your wardrobe.
It would certainly be a smart addition. Stretchable polyurethane circuit boards, bearing LEDs, micro controllers and other technical components are contained within water-repellent fabric to create a single bib-like electronic system. This is then inserted into the lining of the jacket and affixed with velcro, a somewhat low-tech solution that nevertheless allows it to be easily detached.
Once in place, the lights shine forth through semi-transparent panels in the outer layer of the jacket, with white LEDs lighting the way ahead and red ones on view to those behind. According to the jacket’s creators, the batteries last for about 10 hours before needing to be recharged but, unless you really are a superhero, it’s likely you will have run out of energy by then, too.
Designed by Wolfgang Langeder for his clothing company Utope, the jacket won a best of the best Red-Dot design award last year and has just launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to start commercial production. If successful, it could also fuel the development of an app to control the system. But with the jacket itself bearing a price tag of nearly £1,230, you’ll need deep pockets to cash in on this bright idea.
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