ZOZOTOWN to integrate the sensors into apparel and make it available for a larger audience.

The company already provides sensors to more than 200 R&D partners in 28 countries worldwide, and has received a Series A funding from StartToday, owner of ZOZOTOWN, the recent partner of StretchSense which will give it access to tap onto Japan’s US $ 100 billion plus e-commerce retail market and provide affordable solutions for integration of the sensor in apparel or wearable articles, similar to its most mainstream retail application integration in Heddoko’s 3D motion-sensing sports garment technology, a niche company targeting professional athletes and coaches.

StretchSense promises to provide a solution to one of the most dogged problems with wearables: power supply. Wearables powered by body energy – be it kinetic or thermal – would be the ideal solution, which would enable the making of “disappearables” devices that are integrated into the clothing we wear and require neither charging nor replacing.

StretchSense Energy Harvesting Kit, a solution for the power supply issue, turns the power dissipated while walking or running into electricity by using a compression mode soft generator that is placed underfoot and generates 1mW of power when compressed at a rate of 0.5 – 1.5 Hz, providing a workable solution so far.

Source: Aparel Resources July 12, 2016