Imagine this: you’re sitting on the couch watching some bad late night TV, then you suddenly hear your dog blurt out “Can I please have a midnight snack?” — literally, in HUMAN LANGUAGE. Seem farfetched? Before you go waving off the idea completely, you might want to check this out. It looks like the future of wearable technology is poised to go above and beyond the fitness bands and smart watches that currently dominate the wearables space.

Aiming to capitalize on what’s potentially an estimated $19 billion dollar market by 2018, folks from all kinds of disciplines are running with their wildest ideas and turning them into futuristic gadgets ready to take place on the human (and animal!) body.

Here are some of the most radical things we’ve seen thus far:

1. It really exists! Dubbed “No More Woof,” this contraption takes animal thought patterns and translates them into human language using a loudspeaker. Created by a team of Scandinavian researchers at the Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery, the animal-friendly wearable uses EEG-sensors, micro computing and special BCI software to make the talking dog a reality. It’s still in the early stages of development (apparently, brainwaves vary between different breeds), but hopefully with continued progress, we’ll no longer need to question the ambiguity behind a bark, arf or howl.

2. Calling all dog-owners! Here’s another gizmo geared towards pets. This canine suit made by scientists Jeff Miller and David Bevly, is a tech pack that wraps around your dog and allows you to send him for a walk without ever having to get up from the couch. Using a microprocessor, a wireless radio, GPS receiver and a remote control, the gadget allows for autonomous control of the canine and trains him to head in a particular direction depending on the different modes of vibrations and buzzes it makes.

While it’s not yet on the market, Miller’s dissertation states it has an obedience success rate of nearly 87%.

3. This is a tweeting bra.

Yes, you read that right and it does exactly what you think it does. Ad agency OgilvyOne Athens, last fall, designed this “social bra” as a part of their Nestle Fitness campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer and promote the need for self-examinations. It’s simple: every time the bra was unclasped by the brand’s spokesperson, Greek actress, Maria Bakodimou, an automatic tweet went out reminding others to take part in a self-evaluation: “Maria has just unhooked her bra! When you do the same, don’t forget about your self-exam.” While it’s a fruition of good intentions and really just a prototype (for now), we’re not sure how we feel about broadcasting this kind of information.

4. In more high-tech bra news, five scientists from Microsoft Research last December, released a paper on the development of a bra that aims to curb emotional eating habits and sends high stress level notifications to a user’s smartphone.

Powered by a 3.7-volt battery, the “device” is essentially a stress sensor, measuring and collecting EKG and EDA data to analyze a female’s psychological state.

While studies revealed a 75% accuracy among women who were trialed, Microsoft has no plans on making the bra available for market, and told us it is strictly research-based and part of a broader topic of affective computing.

5. Announced way back in 2006, The Hug Shirt was perhaps a pioneer in the wearable tech space. Created by founders of the London-based design company CuteCircuit, the shirts are enabled with Bluetooth technology and java software to send “hugs” across far distances; embedded in them are sensors that are able to mimic the touch, warmth and even the heartbeat of the sender, according to the company. What’s more is that the sender doesn’t necessarily need a shirt either, using the features of the HugMe software to deploy the aforementioned sensations. They come complete with a variety of colors and are also fully washable. Keep calm and hug on, people.

6. If Siri texting via voice commands was innovative, this next invention just took that game to a whole new level. “The Smart Hoodie,” made by NYU grad students Rucha Patwardhan and Alina, is a hoodie that sends pre-programmed texts using a mobile chip.

How it works: gestures such as rolling up your sleeves or pulling on your hood will trigger the chip and prompt it to send messages to designated contacts.

Development is still in its infancy and news of it was just announced last week. While we imagine it receiving criticism from naysayers — like how lazy does someone have to be to use this kind of thing—it may just come in handy when in need to text discreetly.

7. Most of us tend to feel more sluggish and blue during the cold winter months, but for 10 million Americans suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, the symptoms may be more serious, and can cause the likes of depression, hopelessness and anxiety. Light therapy has been a common treatment for SAD for years, but it’s known to be cumbersome and time-consuming. Enter “Light Therapy Glasses,” developed by students at Drexel University: the glasses simulate natural light and infuses it directly to a person’s retina in order to increase serotonin levels; it’s primarily the same treatment as the original but in a hassle-free wearable form.

8. How superhuman does it sound to use your own body heat to charge your devices? Well folks, the concept may not be so far in the future, thanks to a team of researchers from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who recently announced the development of an extremely thin, light and bendable ThermoElectric (TE) generator. The wristband-like device transforms body heat into electricity through the balance of both organic and inorganic materials, and has 10 times the output density power of similar generators, according to KAIST.

(These are not the actual pants.)

9. “Wearable chino” is what they’re calling it. Created from a joint effort between Microsoft and British fashion designer Adrien Sauvage, it’s the world’s first trousers with charging capabilities. According to a statement made to UK news site the Telegraph, the pants are more of a hack that uses Nokia’s portable wireless charging plate and inserts it into the front pocket of the trousers. It is slated to go on sale for the next three months on Amazon, and will reportedly cost over $340.

10. Moving onto to more firsts in the world of wearable tech, take this next product, Darma:

the world’s first-ever smart cushion designed to measure heart rate, respiration, stress level and posture via a thin 1mm sensor.

The purpose: to show how sitting habits can influence your health. It also goes a step beyond the standard tracker and provides recommended activities based on what it detects.