Forget ugly holiday sweaters. How about a smart sweater that blares a siren every time someone comes within 6 feet of you?
Local security firm SimpliSafe is behind the tech-enabled garment, which it calls the "Social Distancing Sweater." Laced with SimpliSafe motion sensors, the sweater sounds an alarm whenever someone crosses the 6-foot social distance threshold outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also flashes lights in festive colors, all against a knit backdrop of patterned snowflakes and padlocks.
SimpliSafe is offering a limited number of the sweaters to people who donate to NeighborWorks America Rental Resilience Fund, which is working to address housing insecurity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Unfortunately, the sweaters come without the electronics and sensors installed, but the firm has instructions online so you can do it yourself. (SimpliSafe cautions that the project is recommended for "experienced electronics tinkers.")
"As the experts on protection, albeit home protection, we wanted to give people a playful way to protect themselves during this year's holiday celebrations," Wade Devers, creative director at SimpliSafe, said in a statement. "It's really meant to bring some lightheartedness to a time that's otherwise proven very stressful."
