Schlagwortarchiv für: Innovation
Exploring Innovation
Innovation in the Alps
Winter is icecold. Competion isn’t in hibernation. Fortunately our strength is the freezing cold. Exploring innovation polychromelab moved to Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. Here we prepare our jackets for the iciness in two ways.
In the Alpine Proof Outdoor Lab on 2000 meters we’re sometimes feeling like the next ice age is coming up. We have state-of-the-art testing dummies for proofing our products against the freezing cold. This is innovation in the Alps. Read more on this in the post „Icy Innovation„.
Up against wind and weather, heat and cold, high UV radiation and frost isn’t enough for our approval. Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis offers a wide playground. On ski tours we’re testing our winterjackets for stretchability, at free ride skiing for insulation, at climbing for sturdiness and in town for lifestyle suitability. The team of Blog Tyrol shows what you can experience up here in 24 hours.
Innovation is our advantage. Against competition from large companies we proof polychromelab’s jackets for outdoor suitability like you really need it in the Alps.
Interview with Wolfgang Langeder – Part 2
About the Way from Inspiration to a Designerjacket
Wolfgang Langeder from the Austrian company Utope is a professional designer, who created the Manta Color Morph Jacket by polychromelab. Last week in part 1 of the interview he talked about his vision of creating a new kind of innovation. This week we dare to take a look deeper inside the designer’s mind.
Maximilian Frey: Why did you use polychromelab’s fabric for the Manta jacket? What did the fabric tell you holding it in your hands the first time?
Wolfgang Langeder: I find this purely functional side of polychromelabs’s fabric very interesting. This fabric is something highly innovative, and basically it is technology that makes the innovation. This agrees very well with my vision for Utope.
„I like the strong connection between polychromelab and nature, and the authenticity that originates right in the life of Lisa and Michele.“
Maximilian Frey: If you like to share your secret with us, were did you get your inspiration? Did polychromelab play a part in your decision?
Wolfgang Langeder: I like the strong connection between polychromelab and nature, and the authenticity that originates right in the life of Lisa and Michele. It was really important to me that the Manta Color Morph Jacket’s design makes a connection to this and smoothly fits in the overall image of polychromelab.
Maximilian Frey: When you look back on designing this piece of art and on the moment you first saw the prototype, did your eyes glow?
Wolfgang Langeder: When you work on a design, you’re really „close“ to the product itself and its details, and you recognise that everything fits together more unconciously. In the final phase then for the first time you have the chance to see the prototype from some distance, and I am glad that the Manta Color Morph Jacket had become such a strong and interesting piece.
Maximilian Frey: Design and fabric, interacting perfectly well. Manta Color Morph embodies the perfection of functionality and elegance. But what should we do with this? Where should we wear this special jacket?
Wolfgang Langeder: I guess that primarily there are situations in the extreme or outdoor range of use when customers wear this jacket. But additionally this jacket is a „style item“, which means that this jacket also could be worn only because of its elegance instead of its functionality.
Maximilian Frey: And what is it that one by any circumstances must not do with the Manta? When would your heart begin to hurt?
Wolfgang Langeder: I am a pragmatist, so I think the purpose of apparel is that it should be worn. Basically everyone should do everything he wants to do with the jacket.
Here you can read the first part of the interview. You can have a look on the Manta Color Morph by Utope and polychromelab here in our webshop. In this post we talked about the Manta Color Morph reversible jacket for women and men.
Interview with Wolfgang Langeder – Part 1
About a Vision to Create a New Kind of Innovation
Wolfgang Langeder from the Austrian company Utope is a professional designer, who created the Manta Color Morph Jacket by polychromelab. I met the visionary and textilie-virtuoso for an interview.
Maximilian Frey: Wolfgang, for everybody who doesn’t know you yet, can you explain what Utope is about?
Wolfgang Langeder: We at Utope want to create a new kind of innovation, something that hasn’t been developed yet. For this we integrate innovative technologies in textiles, that up to now only were components for digital devices, so new kinds of functions and applications for apparel become reality.
Maximilian Frey: How is this even possible, technologies in textiles? You and your team are trying to connect apparel to smartphones. Hopefully one doesn’t has to charge his jacket every evening, does he?
Wolfgang Langeder: No, the jackets doesn’t have to be charged on a daily basis. Our concept is quite different. We use sensors integrated in the jacket measuring specific data (of both body and environment) which are transmitted to the smartphone, processed and made available for use by an app. Because both wearer and apparel are in permanent movement, we work with stretchable electronics which are a basic requirement for integrating technology in apparel. This concept is washable and appropriately safe.
„It’s about essential applications, which occur in nature for adapting to the environment optimally.“
Maximilian Frey: If you look at the Sporty Supaheroe Jacket, you’ll notice that Wolfgang Langeder wants to tell a story with his designs. What’s the story behind the Manta Color Morph Jacket?
Wolfgang Langeder: The story behind the Manta Color Morph Jacket is about the connection of technology and nature. This is the very thing I wish to make transparent to the wearer. If you look at the jacket’s fabric, it’s a hightech textile capable of warming and cooling. These are essential applications, which occur in nature for adapting to the environment optimally.
Additionally, the fabric also has two different sides, which brought me on the trace of an animal which characteristics, because of its elegant and dynamic appaerance, I wanted to „translate“ into design. It’s the manta ray. This way a synthesis was made to combine my design vocabulary with the fabric’s hightech functionality. Men become part of the interaction between technology and nature, men become the link between these two parts, you can feel and experience wearing the jacket.
Next week we’ll continue with part two of the interview. Meanwhile you can have a look on the Manta Color Morph by Utope and polychromelab here in our webshop. In this post we talked about the Manta Color Morph reversible jacket for women and men.
Tyrol Future Day 2016
Starting into Tyrol’s Future Day 2016
We last were on an exhibition some time ago, so we were really excited to be part of Tyrol’s strategic Future Day 2016. Innovative companies from Tyrol and groundbreaking research projects from Tyrol’s academic schools were in the centre of attention at this event. Here’s the video „Leading by Research and Development“ with some impressions from Tyrol’s Future Day 2016.
Video Innovation Day from Amt der Tiroler Landesregierung on Youtube
Leading by Research and Development
Being a part of this ensamble of economy and research comes naturally to us. Since the founding of polychromelab we followed a two track strategy: Design, manufacturing and sale via polychromelab’s online shop and store in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis on the one hand, empirical research and structured product development in the Alpine Proof Outdoor Lab on the other hand. Unfortunately, as it is in modern times, one has less time to make one’s statement and this is why customers often get our two track strategy. So we were very happy about the fact that there was plenty of time and interest on Tyrol’s Future Day at Congress Igls to present our mission for the future of polychromelab (and apparel).
Here are some impressions of Future Day 2016. Photocredit: Land Tirol / Berger.
Further information on this event you’ll find in this German article by Land Tirol here.
Windtest Winterjackets in Outdoor Lab
Testing Winterjackets in Extreme Windspeed at Alpine Proof
The market never sleeps. It also never is full. One has to adapt to stay competitive. Every day there’re new innovations. Every innovation creates new target markets itself and hence influences the customer’s demands. For example, windproof winterjackets.
Luckily refining products is something we really like. We forgo some hours of sleep and watch the winterjackets at the windtest in the Alpine Proof outdoor lab, fortunately at home in front of our laptops via webcams. Here the video of the windtest
You can take windspeed from the graphic below to see what conditions the winterjackets have to stand up to. Normally one never has to feel windspeeds of 95 km/h and higher at regular outdoor activities, but it’s nice to know that in case the jacket can stand the wind, while the wear hardly can stay on his feet.
polychromelab concept store
Startups from Tyrol capture the world
Tiroler Tageszeitunng about Startup polychromelab
A few days ago the Austrian newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung published an article about chances for startups from Tyrol to become more famous. In this context they mentioned polychromelab as an example – which makes us very proud. Here’s the article about startups from Tyrol:
Chances for Startups from Tyrol to Become Famous
This article inspired us to compose a short list of which programmes were most helpful for polychromelab as a startup company from Tyrol:
Let’s start with the startup show 2 Minutes 2 Millions on channel Puls 4. Polychromelab hasn’t gained financial support from this TV show, but we learned one or two things. It was the first time of a broader public appearence on television, so we learned how to present key elements of the company. Anyway, Puls 4 made a great image video for us.
In Austria there is financial support from AWS for small business as well. Startups from Tyrol could apply themselves and with some luck and a solid performance they gain financial support for their label. More about polychromelab’s experiences with AWS here.
On local scale the Tyrolean Innovation Award was the most exciting one. There were various categories, in which startups from Tyrol compete against each other. On the day of the price-giving ceremony of Tyrolean Innovation Award 2014 in Innsbruck the presentation of image videos of the participating startups impressed us most.
In conclusion, there are many opportunities and chances, many challenges, a startup must stick to its guns, but in the end there is the chance that you become the prime example out of startups from Tyrol to be presented at Standortlounge in Vienna. More on this here.
Standort Lounge Vienna with polychromelab
Tyrol Takes Industry 4.0 into the Mountains at Standort Lounge
Early in october polychromelab was invited to Standort Lounge in Vienna together with a project for snow technologies to present its research project Alpine Proof as an example for innovation and regional support for competences. It was a great experience to visit Vienna once again explaining the own work to an interested audience.
For this event the Standortagentur Tirol made a short movie about Alpine Proof. Some weeks ago they visited us in the outdoor lab on Schönjoch on 2436 meters in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. The movie looks pretty good and explains plainly all facets of our alpine work on high altitude. You’ll find the movie by Standortagentur Tirol at: Alpine Proof Outdoor Lab.
Here are some impressions from the shooting in late summer this year:
We’d like to give a compliment to the hosts for this modern and innovative ambiente matching the presented projects from Tyrol. All information on Standort Lounge Vienna you’ll find on the website of Standortagentur Tirol here.
Testing Jackets Scientifically – Alpine Proof
Meeting with Sports Scientists: Testing Jackets Scientifically
Unfortunately weather wasn’t that good, after heavy rain the ground was wet. The clouds only hestiantly reveal the view of Serfaus – Fiss – Ladis‘ unique panorama. Yet the sports scientists came to the building site of Alpine Proof’s new textile lab. Because the things we’re creating here are more important than dry shoes. From Textile Physics Dornbirn Dr. Tom Wright and Dr. Barnaby Caven, from Sports Sciences Innsbruck Dr. Robert Csapo and Sebastian Wenger and from polychromelab Michele Stinco and Elisabeth Frey are completing the Alpine Proof Team to make testing jackets scientifically under studio and real conditions accessible for companies and manufacturers.
When the cloud cover brightened and revealed the view on the Upper Inntal, plans of the textiles research project Alpine Proof in Serfaus – Fiss – Ladis became clearer too. The ground, on which we’re standing, is safer than before, because we discussed some great ideas to test in near future jackets scientifically, right in the heart of the Alps. The centrality but even though exposition of the new textile lab makes insights in testing jackets scientifically accessible for a broader audience, without passing on extreme weather conditions. Soon customers can see by theirselves what a outdoor jacket is capable of before buying it in the store. Only an ideal? No, soon we’ll see!
All information on the progress of Alpine Proof Serfaus – Fiss – Ladis you’ll find on our facebook page!
