This week’s Wearable Tech roundup features a new technology development that could allow dogs to speak, a connected Christmas, and a cool concept for the iWatch.

No More Woof

If you watched the animated movie Up, you may be familiar with Dug, the adorable dog that can speak because of the collar he is wearing.  Though such technology seems unfathomable even in today’s advanced world, it may come to us a little earlier.

No More Woof is a project currently on Indiegogo aiming to raise $10,000 or more.  No More Woof aims to translate your dog’s EEG reading to understandable words such as “I’m Hungry,” “I’m tired,” and “Who are you?”  These responses are very basic and limited, but at least No More Woof offers insight on what our furry pal means when he whines or bark.

The Nordic Society invented No More Woof with dogs in mind so interested backers can rest assured that it will not harm your dogs.  It uses sensors to get your dog’s EEG and translate them into human words.  The Nordic Society hopes that in the long run, No More Woof will be able to facilitate more meaning conversations between you and your dog.

A connected Christmas

Ever wonder how Christmas will be in about 50 years?  Animator Margot Bowman shares her vision of the future’s holiday season in a three-part series called Christmas Decorations of the Future.  The series illustrates how a connected world would play out, contextualized for the holidays.

One particularly intriguing part of the series is the connected Christmas sweater.  The Huggeration is a sweater that features hundreds or ever thousands of small entities with extendable arms and emotionally sensitive skin that changes in appearance and texture from a decorative state to a hugging state, making the receiver of the hug feel more loved.  These little particles connect with one another via their interlocking hands and because their arms are extendable, it will snuggly fit into any body type.

There are several other concepts animated in this series – watch all three clips here.

Christmas Decorations of the Future: Part 1 (of 3) on Nowness.com

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iWatch + FuelBand

Nike’s FuelBand is probably one of the first fitness trackers that gained popularity.  And with rumors of an impending Apple iWatch on the horizon, people are thinking that the FuelBand may soon be snubbed by Apple.  But what if Apple uses the FuelBand’s design for the iWatch?

Browsing through 9gag the other day, I came across an interesting smartwatch design.  It looks a lot like the FuelBand but instead of the LED indicator lights, it has a small touchscreen where you can access your messages, calendar, playlists, time, and even mail.  The concept design showed that it supports voice commands which means you can input messages just by speaking.  Aside from some of the iPhone’s functions available on the said iWatch, it will still have the Nike+ app which means you can still use to track your fitness regimen.

This design may be a long shot but it won’t hurt Apple to consider this design.  It’s is one of the few smartwatch designs that is both simple and functional.