WHAT: A high-tech undergarment that walked the runway at New York Fashion Week.
UNDERWIRED: Embedded in it are Intel (INTC) Curie chips, tiny circuits packed with motion sensors, wireless radios, and battery-charging abilities.
SMART SUPPORT: Triggered by changes in the wearer’s perspiration, respiration, and body temperature, the garment’s electronics adjust built-in vents made of a shape-memory alloy to warm or cool the wearer.
ACTIVEWEAR: Global spending on wearable tech could total $19 billion by 2018, per Juniper Research. “Fabric is challenging,” says Intel vice president Ayse Ildeniz. “It must be washed. It’s price sensitive.”
SWEAT EQUITY: Having missed the mobile revolution, Intel hopes Curie will help it ride the next computing wave. “How do I make sure your smart shirt works with the other tech you’re wearing?” Ildeniz asks. “Standards, interoperability—to technologists, that’s incredibly difficult.”
A version of this article appears in the October 1, 2015 issue of Fortune magazine with the headline “Wearable. Wireless. Web-ready.”
