Microsoft’s ‘smart bra’ stops emotional overeating

Some men might find bras to be the highest order of puzzling technology, but they’re actually relatively simple. Too simple for the scientific community, it would seem, since the past few years have born a bra that basically administers mammograms, one that harnesses the energy of breast motion and the almost-frightening internal bra. Now, it might help women who struggle with emotional overeating.

Microsoft has been steadily expanding into the realm of hardware in recent years with the Surface, the Nokia handset deal and the Xbox One. Now, the tech giant is taking its first tentative steps into the world of lingerie. The smart bra was revealed in a new paper (.PDF) from a team of five scientists at Microsoft Research, titled “Food and Mood: Just-in-Time Support for Emotional Eating.” The idea is to measure your emotional state via sensors built into the bra, cross reference that with your feelings when overeating in the past, and send a warning to your smartphone if the system thinks you’re likely to reach for the jar of cookies at any minute.