H&M’s innovative hug technology

Many people have had to restrain their instincts to hug, shake hands and pat one another. The new technology by H&M Lab aims to fill in the gaps formed by the touch crisis amidst the pandemic.

The lap has partnered with a Berlin-based wearable technology solution company Boltware to develop Wearable Love which is a jean jacket embedded with flexible sensor and tactile elements in the shoulder area.

Every Jacket comprises a registration code for the app. Once the user creates a profile they can invite friends to connect via the app’s ‘Love Lists’. Invited users can create individual touch patterns that they can send to the wearers as a digital reminder that they are being remembered.

Boltware device consists of a puck and a base that functions as a digital heart and brain of the garment. The removable puck is powered by a wireless charger and contains a battery life that lasts up to two weeks. The base is permanently attached to the garment. This puck can easily be docked on various pieces of clothing. Customers need to check and sing up on a dedicated website for Wearable Love to reach more information about the jacket’s release.

This innovation marks the brands shift in strategies to be more empathetic to the trials and tribulations of 2020.

Similar innovations were launched such as Levi’s Jacquard by Google, a line of Trucker jackets that are able to sync mobile devices to assist accessing calls, messages and music with a tap of the wrist. This too is a step towards wearable technologies to enhance emotional connections.