My name is Tony Chahine and I am the founder and CEO of Myant.
Like so many other people, maybe even you, I had a parent who suffered from dementia. My Dad’s condition had progressed to the point where a nursing home made the most sense to provide the type of continuous care needed for him to get through the day. For the family, it was so challenging to be separated from someone we wanted to care for ... but really it was probably toughest for my Dad.
All I really wanted was a way to know that he was OK when I wasn’t by his side, some connection that would provide me, my family, and my Dad some peace of mind and the knowledge that we were in this together.
Skiin: Close to What Matters Most
My love for my Dad is what inspired me to develop a better way for people to stay connected and care for their loved ones who are separated by distance or physical/cognitive ability. Our passionate and brilliant team members (including designers, engineers, data scientists, researchers and many others) have worked tirelessly over the years, each driven by their own version of my story. And now after 11 arduous years, we are ready to share it with the world.
This is Skiin and it helps you stay close to what matters most.
We have named this line of clothing the Skiin Baseline Collection and this is how it works.
Consisting of underwear* in various styles for men and women, garments in the Baseline Collection collect information about a person through sensors knitted into the band. A discrete electronics pod, tucked neatly into the band of the garment, provides the small amount of charge needed to sense your loved one’s body. The pod then sends that information to a nearby mobile device where the Skiin Connected Life app keeps track of data that is captured through the garment, giving you a snapshot of how your loved one is doing at any given time. You can now reclaim your peace of mind knowing that your loved one is well and safe, whether you’ve stepped out to grab groceries for an hour or if you’ve moved to another city for work reasons. (*Other garments in the Baseline Collection include bras and tank tops, coming soon.)
Central to the way Skiin helps you stay connected to loved ones is Aura, a digital representation of your loved one’s well-being and status. The Skiin Connected Life app uses information from your Aura (like Heart Rate, Body Temperature, Activity Level, Posture, Location, plus more coming in the future) and summarizes it so that you can understand how Mom or Dad are doing at a glance. Have more meaningful chats with loved ones about how they are feeling using built-in text, voice, and video-messaging features, with their data conveniently shown in the Aura Overlay as you converse.
Care is Close: Open Beta is Now Live!
Skiin is now available to the public through Phase 2 of the Skiin Early Access Program (EAP)!
Phase 2 of the EAP is an Open Beta meaning that we have refined the garments and the accompanying app to a point where we feel it can meaningfully change the way you take care of your family. With something as incredible as knitting cutting-edge biometric sensing capabilities into clothing (one of the most ancient forms of technology) and connecting all of that to the digital world, we expect there to be rough edges that we will need to polish. Most of these rough edges will likely be bugs in the software which will be automatically addressed through frequent app updates without you even noticing.
Knowing that our first customers may not yet receive the perfect experience we are aiming for, we have decided to offer special discounted pricing for the Open Beta. This pricing is a limited offer as we will be continuously working towards getting our product for a full launch.
For the Open Beta Price of $99 USD ($129 CAD) you will receive:
- 4 pairs of underwear in the style of your choice
- 1 Skiin pod
- Skiin Connected Life app
- Charging accessories & wash bag
This represents more than a 60% discount compared to the official price at launch ($299 USD, $369 CAD).
Shipping for our product will begin in late March.
You can visit our website at www.skiin.com to learn more, to purchase and to be among the first to experience the closeness that Skiin can provide.
Get a Full Rebate Through the Early Adopter Feedback Program
The team at Skiin isn’t done refining our product!
We are looking for people who match the criteria listed below to participate in our Early Adopter Feedback Program. The first 100 people who successfully qualify and complete the program will receive a full rebate on their purchase in exchange for providing us the feedback we need to improve the experience for everyone else.
How to Get Started
- Before you make a purchase, take this short survey to see if you qualify: Early Adopter Feedback Program Qualification Survey
- If you qualify, you will be sent an email confirmation within 24 hours with next steps on how to get started.
- You (the Care Provider) must be using the product as a way to check in on the well-being of a loved one (the Care Receiver).
Care Provider must be 18+ years old. Care Receiver must be 45+ years old. - Both Care Provider and Care Receiver must agree to participate in the program for 4 consecutive weeks.
- The Care Receiver must wear the garment at least 4 days a week over the 4 weeks of the program. The Care Provider must be checking in on the Care Receiver via the Skiin Connected Life app at least once a week.
- Both Care Provider and Care Receiver must both complete separate online surveys at the end of each week to provide feedback. There will be a total of 4 online surveys to complete for each person.
- At the end of the program, you (the Care Provider) and/or your loved one (the Care Receiver) MAY be invited for an online video chat. This chat will last for a total of 60 minutes. If invited for the chat, you agree to participate in the call.
- Upon successful completion of the program, you will be given a full rebate on the cost of your purchase.
Changing the World Stitch-by-Stitch
While we are thrilled to be introducing Skiin to the world today, we are only just getting started. Beyond ironing out the rough edges in our app during this Open Beta, the team is working hard to bring you other garments in the Baseline Collection like a tank top and even more notably a bra. So many technological advancements are designed for men by default and we are committed to doing our part to reverse that tide, connecting the women in our lives to care through a garment designed for women by other women.
We are also close to bringing you the Skiin Connected Care Band, the tool that mothers will reach for whenever they suspect someone in the family might be coming down with an illness, as well as our Thermalink Collection of base layers and accessories for people who could benefit from the therapeutic comfort of heat. What you see is really only a fraction of the future we are creating stitch-by-stitch.
Wherever there is textile, we see another way to keep you close to what matters most. I truly believe that textile computing has the potential to fundamentally change the way all people across society connect with themselves, to each other, and the world around them.
All we have to do is to change the clothes we wear.
Tony Chahine
Founder & CEO
Myant, Inc. and Skiin
