Skip to main content

These beautiful robotic wings are part mecha-art project, part crazy fashion statement

KYUN_KUN 「METCALF clione & METCALF」PV
Wearable technology, fashion, and robotics are colliding, and people are beginning to explore the potential of combining all these exciting aspects into breathtaking products, and this is one of the most eye-catching. It’s the Metcalf Clione, a piece of smartphone-controlled wearable technology that’s part attention-grabbing art project, and part crazy fashion statement.

It’s the product of Japanese mechanical engineer and “robotics fashion creator” Kyun_kun, and the result of her fascination with the concept of wearing robots, or mecha-inspired fashion. Like a pair of metallic wings, Metcalf Clione is worn as a backpack and weighs about 1.5kg, or about the same as a backpack with a laptop inside.

Made of aluminum and plastic, the wings are covered in intricately designed panels, and have been programmed to move in a humanoid way. In the promotional video, a near-future world is envisaged where hardware like the Metcalf Clione is an everyday wearable, the effect is strangely calming, almost ethereal. Initially, the video shows the first Metcalf design, before introducing the new Clione model.

If you’re wondering what it actually does, the answer is nothing. The wires and circuits are left exposed on purpose, to enhance the robotic look, while the whirring server sounds haven’t been dampened for the same reason. It’s all for show and therefore a true fashion statement — there’s no alternative purpose. It’s built around the V-Sido Connect microcomputer system, and the smartphone app controls all the movements, along with the opening and closing of the wings.

It’s not Kyun_kun’s first design. Last year, she displayed the original, chunkier Metcalf robotic wearable around the world at various shows, including SXSW. This year, the Metcalf Clione will be at the Bains Numeriques, a media-art show in France during the summer. It was also used on stage by Japanese pop group AKB48 at a concert in March, where the wing movements were coordinated with the music.

While the Metcalf Clione won’t challenge the Apple Watch for wearable tech supermacy, how do you feel about mixing fashion with robotics? If you could buy the Letcalf Clione now, would you wear it?

Editors' Recommendations

Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
It’s curtains for Kuri: Work ceased on robot companion project
mayfield robotics kuri speech emoji motors speaks robot 930x523 head

The world of robotic home companions suffered a setback this week when one of its potential stars walked out of the door.

Mayfield Robotics said on Wednesday that it's ending work on its Kuri robot following three years of development.

Read more
CanguRo robot is part transport, part best friend
canguro robot buddy

RidRoid CanguRo

CanguRo takes its name from the Italian word for kangaroo, but this particular robot prefers to roll than hop.

Read more
98 percent of construction projects go over budget. These robots could fix that
doxel construction monitoring robots rover 01

“Hey, look busy. Our robot boss is trundling over here!” That’s a sound that you may very well hear on the construction sites of the future, thanks to a lidar-equipped robot and matching drone developed by the company Doxel. Emerging from stealth this week with a $4.5 million funding round, Doxel hopes to revolutionize the construction industry using robots to scan construction sites to make sure that work is progressing correctly.

Far from a simple robotic camera, however, Doxel’s smart robots harness cutting-edge deep-learning technology to make informed judgements about how well work is going. If things fall behind schedule, a construction manager will receive a smartphone notification reading, “Mechanical team productivity has dropped below threshold” or similar. In other words, simply trying to look busy on site won’t be enough to fool these smart management bots.

Read more