High Tech Fashion

High Tech Fashion: Ralph Lauren smartshirt senses your best workout plan

The Ralph Lauren PoloTech smartshirt offers the latest evolution in wearable technology .

Courtesy photo

We've heard of smartphones and smartwatches. How about a smartshirt?

Ralph Lauren has unveiled the PoloTech smartshirt, the latest in wearable technology. The black T-shirt with the yellow Polo pony trademark is made of a “second-skin” compression fabric with silver fibers woven directly into the fabric that track biometric stats like steps taken, heart rate, and calories burned. A sensor-filled black box that snaps into the shirt at the rib cage streams information to an app on our iPhone, iWatch or iPod touch to create customized workout programs with more than 10,000 combinations in the areas of cardio, strength and agility.

Now, if it only it could exercise for you.

“This is a bridge between technology, fitness and style that approaches wellness and well-being in comprehensive and complementary ways," executive vice president David Lauren said in a statement. "It will touch many parts of your life.”

The washable PoloTech shirt, developed in partnership with Canadian-based OMSignal, retails for $295 and will be available Thursday (August 27) at RalphLauren.com, the Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store in New York and at the U.S. Open tennis championships that run August 31 through September 13.

The technology was tested at the last year's U.S. Open, where some ball boys and a top-ranked college player Marcos Giron wore the smartshirts during practice.

The PoloTech shirt signals the relaunch of the Ralph Lauren Polo Sport line, which was discontinued in 2000. David Lauren told the Wall Street Journal that the technology could show up in ties, polo shirts and suits in the future.

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a space to create

Houston Public Library opening new state-of-the-art TECHLink center

Work is underway for a new state-of-the-art TECHLink space from Houston Public Library (HPL). The free center for innovators and creatives is expected to open in fall 2025 at Vinson Neighborhood Library this year.

The new 3,480-square-foot space will replace the branch’s existing HPL Express area, which closed January 25 in preparation for construction. This will be HPL's fifth TECHLink center, and it will serve one of South Houston's busiest libraries, notes a release.

“I always look forward to seeing our customers’ creative wheels turning and formulating plans once they recognize all of the technologies and equipment that they can freely access,” Roland Lemonius, TECHLink Division Manager, said in a news release.

TECHLink Vinson will include HPL's largest TECHLink video studio and also a dedicated studio/set for podcasts and vloggers.

It will also feature a music recording studio, an editing lab, and a Makerspace lab for 3D printing and laser engraving. Virtual and in-person training opportunities will be available in a training lab in the future, according to HPL.

For kids, the Tiny Techs Zone offers a dedicated area to educate youth on 3D printing and robotics.

“Being able to enhance their quality of life in this way along with our other library services is very rewarding,” Lemonius added in the release.

TECHLink Vinson will join four other locations:

TECHLink Alief
TECHLink Dixon
TECHLink Scenic Woods
TECHLink Walker

Find a virtual tour of the Dixon location here.

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This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

Courtesy of HPL

The space includes a 3D printing lab.