June 22 – We:eX, maker of wearable technology, has begun the trade roll-out of its Football Fan Shirt that connects fans through ‘touch’ with the players ‘emotions’ on the pitch.
Company co-founder Billie Whitehouse will officially announce the launch of the shirt at the Cannes Lions creative festival in France this week.
The Fan Shirt give fans the opportunity to ‘feel’ game action via a series of sensors sewn into the shirt that transmit vibrations generated from real time match data.
The sensations are transmitted via the shirt to the fan during major match events including: tackles, saves, fouls, red and yellow cards, penalties and goals. By using real time game data and fans will actually physically feel the change of emotion that players are experiencing.
“Our Fan Shirt is designed to create an intimate connection between fans and their favourite team, amplifying the emotions and experiences players feel during the game,” said Whitehouse.
“By using the skin as an interface, our Football Fan Shirts allows the excitement of the game to literally be felt in ways never experienced before. We are thrilled to mark the European launch of Football Fan Shirt during the biggest football event this year, and could not be more honored to unveil it at the Cannes Lions.”
The Football Fan Shirt is connected to an app which allows the shirt wearer to select which team they want to follow. This connects with real-time game data which triggers the vibrations that correlate to the physical sensations players will be feeling at the key moments in the match.
The first iteration of the fan shirt debuted in the US at Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco. Now Whitelaw, based in New York but originally from Australia, is taking aim at the European football market.
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