An Interactive Jacket That Sparks Conversation

Afraid to talk to that cute girl, because you don’t know if she would be into that? Or, looking for some people to hang out with during a music festival? For some, it would be helpful if we would know whether to approach others to get in touch and hang out with… but how?

Dutch designer and entrepreneur Henk-Jan Room is the founder of Room for Concepts and most of his work focuses on design that combines social interaction with technology. One of his recent creations is an interactive jacket that stimulates social interaction between humans by communicating through light signals.

How it works? The interactive jacket can be connected to social media by plugging a special cable (which is attached to the jacket) into a mobile device. With the help of a special app, you can select your ‘social’ preferences and based on those the jacket will communicate through light signals while others that match your interests are nearby. Whether your goal is dating, a regular conversation with someone in public, or meeting new friends at festivals, the jacket can help you to get in touch with others.

Room’s work is primarily aimed at inspiring and stimulating people to get together and connect, by using technology and innovation. He blends both the physical and digital world, supporting real life contacts and keeping in mind the deep, meaningful interactions between humans. One shouldn’t view his interactive jacket as a means of interaction, but rather as an innovation that stimulates and enables ‘true’ interaction.