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Fig. 20 mp3blue jacket developed by Infineon and Rosner [61]
In January 2004, a snowboard jacket with integrated MP3 player, named The Hub, was presented by
Infineon in collaboration with the O’Neill Company. Electrically conductive fabric tracks are woven into
the snowboard jacket. These tracks connect the chip module to a fabric keyboard in one sleeve, builtin
speakers in the hood and a microphone sewn in the collar. The chip module contains a full-featured
MP3 player and a Bluetooth module via which the snowboarder can control a mobile phone. If the
snowboarder wants to make a phone call, the stereo system acts as the headset.
Fig. 21 The HUB jacket by O’Neill and Infineon [62]
The jacket can be bought for US$600 in Europe. The companies promise that the jacket can
withstand rain, snow and freezing temperatures, and can be washed without worrying about shortcircuit.
The manufacturers claim that the MP3 player will provide eight hours of playback time before
having to plug the jacket's USB cable into a computer.
However, Infineon is also experimenting to recover body heat to power the system. For this purpose, a
miniature thermogenerator uses the temperature difference between the body surface and the
surrounding clothing to generate electrical power - a technology previously used in space exploration.
It generates enough electricity to power the microelectronic chips embedded in the jacket.
Researchers are also looking at fabrics capable of generating power as they are flexible [63].
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