News Article
Snowboard audio
Sportswear producer O’Neill Europe has joined with Infineon Technologies on a joint product development project for ‘wearable electronics’. Based on O’Neill’s specifications, Infineon has developed a chip module suitable for integration into a snowboard jacket. This technology enables Bluetooth mobile phone and MP3 player use. The product, called "THE HUB", will be part of O’Neill’s 2004/05 winter collection.
Sportswear producer O’Neill Europe has joined with Infineon Technologies on a joint product development project for ‘wearable electronics’. Based on O’Neill’s specifications, Infineon has developed a chip module suitable for integration into a snowboard jacket. This technology enables Bluetooth mobile phone and MP3 player use. The product, called "THE HUB", will be part of O’Neill’s 2004/05 winter collection.
Woven into THE HUB are electrically conductive fabric tracks that connect the chip module to a fabric keyboard and built-in speakers in the helmet. If the snowboarder wants to make a phone call, the stereo system acts as the headset. The microphone is integrated in the collar of the jacket.
Since presenting its technology, Infineon has discussed projects with more than 200 companies from the textile industry. In cooperation with Vorwerk Teppichwerke carpet plant in Germany, Infineon is currently working on an initial prototype for a "smart carpet".
