The technology world may be hotly salivating for the release of the Apple Watch in April, but one other fruit-themed wearable has beat the Apple Watch to launch.
The Japanese arm of Dole, the world's biggest supplier of fruits and vegetables, will be debuting what it calls "the world's first edible wearable," a wearable banana equipped with GPS, sensors and LED lights designed to be worn on the wrist by participants at the upcoming Tokyo Marathon on Sunday. No, we're not kidding.
"Engineers have tested it day in and day out to come up with this amazing device," says Dole in a video promo for its new banana. "This is no regular banana. It's the best companion for any marathoner. You can strap it around your wrist and run with it until you finish the race."
The "device" is essentially a real banana that is peeled first to remove its content. Next, the banana peelings are strapped with electronic components and LED lights bright enough to produce a display on the banana peel before a smaller banana is put in place and the peel is stitched back up to resemble an unpeeled banana. The banana is then connected via a cord to a separate device worn by the user.
"The power source is a small battery connected to the wearable banana. Inside the battery there are ultra-compact LEDs and other electronic components," says Hiromi Otaki, senior manager for marketing of Dole Japan. "These are the only details about the specs that we can tell you at the moment."
In keeping with the spirit of most wearables, which are designed largely for fitness enthusiasts, Dole's wearable banana can detect and display the wearer's heart rate to make sure the he is not over-exerting himself during a run. It can also display the runner's lap time and messages sent through Twitter by people who want to cheer the runner on.
The banana can also sense when the wearer has finished the race and will a display a message to remind the runner to replenish his store of depleted potassium and energy reserves. Yes, runners will be able to eat the banana after the race. Dole won't say if the addition of electronic contraptions added to the inside of the banana will alter the taste, but one Japanese engineer bravely ate a bite on camera.
It's unclear how much each of the bananas will cost. What is even vaguer is if anyone will be paying for wearable bananas, but Dole says two marathoners out of 30,000 have already signed up to wear the banana on at the race this weekend.
Dole says it is not likely going to mass produce the wearable banana, but the company says it is looking into developing other wearable devices for runners that can hold a banana inside.
Strange as it may seem, Dole's wearable banana is not the only fruit to be dragged into the entire wearable revolution. Earlier this year, Japanese ketchup maker Kagome has revealed that it is developing a robot-like wearable machine that can be worn as a backpack and designed with arms to feed athletes real tomatoes while they are running. The tomato-feeding wearable is also expected to debut at the Tokyo Marathon.
