A group of students at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have created a jacket intended to be worn by first responders that is able to receive communications via text message. In an emergency situation, firefighters, EMT’s or police are usually not able to pull out their smartphones and begin texting. As well as requiring both hands, it can be dangerous, slow, and time consuming.

The team designed a prototype jacket that has a small screen installed in to the sleeve. The students used Arduino, an open-source microcontroller, to build a display that communicates with an Android phone via Bluetooth. Whenever the wearer receives a message, they will be notified by a vibrating sensor around the neck and the message will scroll across the screen.

For a look at this jacket in action, watch the video below:

Norwegian University of Science and Technology