Did you know that T-shirts have a military history? First introduced as an undergarment for the US Navy in the 1910s, they eventually became civilian outerwear when movie stars like Marlon Brando popularized them in the 1950s.
“It’s less about ‘bulletproof’ as a function or feature, and more about an infrastructure layer for clothing to begin with.”
Zavosh Zaboliyan, Aurmada
Aurmada founder and CEO Zavosh Zaboliyan took attendees at a Toronto Tech Week event through that history on Thursday as his startup showcased textiles that he hopes will one day dress both military members and everyday consumers. In partnership with the non-profit Canada Startup Association and Toronto Metropolitan University’s Fashion Zone, the startup held a demo showcase for its wearables made of bulletproof fabric and sensors that it hopes to embed in clothing.
Aurmada has developed a line of “base layer” tops with bulletproof kevlar material that serve as a lighter alternative to heavy-duty ballistic vests. But it plans to integrate far more capabilities into its wearables.
“With each layer, the technologies we embed will get smarter,” Zaboliyan told BetaKit. “It’s less about ‘bulletproof’ as a function or feature, and more about an infrastructure layer for clothing to begin with.”
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Some of the additional features Aurmada had on display were sensors to process external data—like moving objects, sounds, temperature, and pressure. TMU student volunteers walked attendees through the tech.
Zaboliyan explained that Aurmada hopes to integrate these sensors into functional clothing that can be customized depending on the end user. A worker in the mining sector might need external air quality sensors, for example, while military personnel could require a vast amount of sensors for monitoring body temperature.
One of the company’s jacket prototypes inflates to cool down the wearer, but it has to be connected to a power bank kept in the jacket pocket.
Selling to the Canadian Armed Forces can be a challenge with existing procurement rules in place, defence tech founders have said. That’s why Aurmada is targeting private security firms, industrial companies, and police forces as customers. However, Zaboliyan noted that any data collected would be stored locally to preserve data privacy.
BetaKit is the official media partner of Toronto Tech Week.
All images courtesy Madison McLauchlan for BetaKit.