LED vest puts TV shows on your chest

LED displays come in all shapes and sizes and have been integrated into clothing for some time now, but a new invention from a cool and kooky engineer has created a whole new way to combine LED systems and video playback with fashion items.

US engineer, David Forbes, has integrated hundreds of LEDs into a special vest-like garment which, when worn by a user, will allow you to showcase moving images in full colour.

The low resolution of the display, which is set at 160×120, along with its heavy weight of 22.6kg, have led its inventor to label early prototypes as the worst television sets in the world when he began work three years ago. However, as a proof of concept, it is certainly interesting and something which will, doubtlessly, appear on clothing of the future.

In order to showcase the video, the LED vest needs to be hooked up to an iPod Classic, which feeds images out through a specially designed circuit board and on through to the vest itself. Two large Li-Ion batteries are required to power all of this kit, which does add to the bulk and heft of the whole thing, but Forbes realises that there is some room for major refinement.

The nature of the LED vest has aroused some suspicion in public places, particularly in the summer of 2011, when Mr Forbes took it through airport security and there were fears about it possibly being an explosive device.

However, Forbes was able to allay the fears of the police after playing clips from popular cartoon series The Simpsons on the LED display, proving that the device actually had an innocent application which was easily provable, in the event that it was construed as being maliciously employable.