Abstract
As global interest in clothing spreads over the smart clothing which arouses high added-value in the apparel industry, this study is to develop a smart jacket with an electrically-vibrating device maintaining excellent appearance and comfort. The vibrating device has a massage function that could relieve muscle pain near shoulders and neck. The purposes of this research are to develop jacket pattern for men in their thirties considering body shapes and fashion trend, to develop a wearable device that is composed of motor and controller and integrate it into a jacket, and to assess the external appearance and functional satisfaction of the smart jacket through the wearing test. The results are as follows: 1. In order to develope an appropriate jacket pattern for men in their thirties, several patterns were assessed for their fitting comfort. The final pattern was completed after making alterations some parts, and showed high satisfaction as 3.6(on a five-point scale) in all categories. 2. A vibrating device was developed by connecting motor, controller, battery and switch. Developing this device, focus was maximizing the strength of motor and minimizing the heat generated from motor and controller. Snaps were placed between inner and outer cloth of jacket so that the vibrating device could be easily attachable and detachable. The motor was located around Trapezius where muscles often get stiff. A switch was designed to be used in selecting the modes of Strong, Weak, and Cross Tapping. 3. The wearing test was conducted to examine outer appearance, comfort for motion, and functionality of the smart jacket. The results of assessing outer appearance showed that the location for attaching the vibrating device was not noticeable but looked natural, and there is almost no change in outer appearance when the vibrating device operates. The result of assessing comfort of action revealed that wearer's satisfaction was high in all categories about activity, wearer's comfort, etc. The result also showed that wear's satisfaction for effects of vibrating massage, easiness in using the device, heat generation was not less than 3.5 in all categories except a category about noise.