Apparently, South Africans just aren’t built for the cold, judging from the latest tweets on the current cold front sweeping the country. Here’s the cool thing though – there is a technology that has been developed for that, one that is considerably more sophisticated than gloves and a scarf.

It is called the Embr Wave – the second ‘e’ seems to have gone missing in action. The wearable device, which successfully concluded a Kickstarter last year, actually raised almost seven times its initial $100 000 goal. In a nutshell, the device is billed as a thermostat for your body, helping warm you up, or cool you down, as appropriate.  

Now, some of the latest reviews of the device in action are coming in, and it looks like the gadget is worth its $300 pricetag. As noted by Digital Trends, even as the device doesn’t warm or cool your entire body,  it still successfully hacks your body’s response to temperatures to make it feel cooler or warmer. And according to Business Insider, the device’s impact is noticeable, irrespective of the varying environments in which it is employed.

The really interesting part of the wearable though, is that it plays directly into what cyborg Neil Harbisson encouraged last week at the recent SAS Road to Artificial Intelligence event, that of changing our response to the environment, rather than trying to change the environment  to suit ourselves. You can take a look at the Embr Wave in action in the video below, and some of the feedback from those who have used it. Then, if you must have one, pop  over to Embr Lab’s site to order it.