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E-textiles: The intersection of computation and traditional textiles Interactive Sample Book Marija Andonovska Master Thesis, Medialogy Aalborg University Copenhagen Spring 2009 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people for their assistance, participation and moral support during the project work. Luis Emilio Bruni, Smilen Dimitrov, Elisabeth Heimdal, Diffus, Lars Bojsen-Møller, Pernille Ravn, Thomas Jaskov 2 PART 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 5 1 2 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 PRELIMINARY PROBLEM AREA ................................................................................................................................6 1.2 FRAMEWORK OF THE THESIS – INTERACTIVE BOOK SAMPLE .........................................................................................7 1.3 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................................8 1.4 DEFINITIONS ......................................................................................................................................................9 1.4.1 Material/ Fabric/ Textile ........................................................................................................................9 1.4.2 Smart Materials/ Intelligent Materials ................................................................................................10 DEFINING PERVASIVE CONCEPTS.................................................................................................................. 13 2.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION...........................................................................................13 2.2 UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING ..................................................................................................................................14 2.3 PERVASIVE COMPUTING .....................................................................................................................................17 2.4 AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE .....................................................................................................................................18 2.4.1 2.5 WEARABLE COMPUTING ....................................................................................................................................21 2.5.1 2.6 3 SUB – CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................................25 INPUTS ...........................................................................................................................................................26 3.1.1 Input Interfaces ....................................................................................................................................27 3.2 OUTPUTS ........................................................................................................................................................29 3.3 COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES........................................................................................................................29 3.3.1 Long-range communications ...............................................................................................................30 3.3.2 Short-range communications...............................................................................................................30 3.4 DATA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS................................................................................32 3.5 ENERGY MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES .................................................................................................................33 3.6 RESPONSIVE MATERIALS ....................................................................................................................................34 3.7 SUB CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................38 RELATED WORK ............................................................................................................................................ 39 4.1 5 Electronic Textiles ................................................................................................................................23 CURRENT AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES FOR WEARABLES AND E-TEXTILES .................................................. 26 3.1 4 The Invisible Computer.........................................................................................................................20 SUB-CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................44 CONTEXT AND FUNCTIONALITY OF WEARABLES AND E-TEXTILES ................................................................ 45 3 6 REFLECTION.................................................................................................................................................. 46 7 DEFINING THE PROBLEM .............................................................................................................................. 48 PART 2: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................................. 49 8 DESIGN ......................................................................................................................................................... 49 8.1 8.1.1 Brainstorming of ideas .........................................................................................................................50 8.1.2 Design specifications ............................................................................................................................51 8.2 9 INTERACTIVE BOOK SAMPLE................................................................................................................................49 SUB- CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................64 IMPLEMENTATION ....................................................................................................................................... 65 9.1 CHOICE OF PHYSICAL COMPUTING PLATFORM .........................................................................................................65 9.2 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERACTIVE SAMPLES....................................................................................................67 9.2.1 Sub-conclusion .....................................................................................................................................70 PART 3: METHODOLOGY, SURVEY AND FEEDBACK .............................................................................................. 71 10 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................... 71 10.1 SURVEY METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................................................71 10.1.1 Survey background and procedure ......................................................................................................72 10.2 SURVEY FEEDBACK ............................................................................................................................................74 10.3 FEEDBACK FROM THE PRODUCT REACTION CARDS ...................................................................................................77 11 DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................................................. 78 12 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................ 81 12.1 13 FUTURE PERSPECTIVES .......................................................................................................................................81 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................... 82 4 PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction During the past couple of decades, we have seen progress at a revolutionary scale in many fields of science and technology. The invention and constant improvement of electronic chips, computers, the internet, wireless communication, nanotechnology and many other developments, have transformed most of our world and the lives of nearly every human being of our Western society. Looking ahead, the technology of the future seems even more promising. It will have features such as ubiquitousness (Weiser, 1991), ambient intelligence (Punie, 2005), terascale, nanoscale, complexity, cognition and holism (Tao, 2005). The number of systems and information appliances connected to the internet and 1 9 mobile network are already being counted by the billions , with over one trillion (1x10 ) operations crossing the internet every minute. As envisioned by Tao (2005) nanotechnology will soon allow us to: “…arrange atoms and molecules inexpensively in most of the ways permitted by physical laws. It will let us make supercomputers that fit on the head of a fiber; impart sensing and actuating mechanisms in micrometer- or nano-structures; allow wireless communication between devices, our body and environments; and make fashionable, intelligent clothing with built-in electronic and photonic functions.” (Tao, 2005) In the attempt to reach this vision, our understanding of computational technology as large square boxes with screens, keyboards and a multitude of accessories has been challenged by the fast development of current technologies, transforming computation into a ‘ubiquitous’ resource, an ‘intelligence’ embedded into things and environments. Today, we are witnessing the arrival of the fifth paradigm of the human-computer interaction evolution, ubiquitous computing. A paradigmatic shift, which Mark Weiser (1991) and John Seely Brown (1991) 2 around 20 years ago predicted would most likely occur over the years 2005-20. In the era of ubiquitous computing the internet and embedded microprocessors will be everywhere from garments and mobile phones to bus tickets and refrigerators. By letting computation out of the box and into our physical world, embedded into soft and flexible substrates, with materials that possess electromechanical and photonic 1 2 3 www.gsmworld.com/newsroom/press-releases/2009/2521.htm (11 February 2009) Xerox engineers Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown first forwarded the idea of ‘ubiquitous computing’ According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a photon (from Greek phōs, phōtos, “light”) is an elementary particle. The energy of a photon depends on radiation frequency; there are photons of all energies from high-energy gamma- and X-rays, through visible light, to low-energy infrared and radio waves. All photons travel at the speed of light. They have no electric charge or rest mass; they are field particles that are thought to be the carriers of the electromagnetic field. 3 5 functions, potentials for new ways of usage within fields such as military, medicine and industry are 4 predicted to arise (Hassan, 2008). Miniaturization of electronic devices has already changed our lives dramatically, and will most likely continue doing so with further integration of technology, electronics and computing, with other traditional fields such as the textile industry. Koninklijke Philips Electronics (2000) on the topic of integration and harmonisation of techology with other industires, more specifically with fashion, state, that we are talking about a new lifestyle and business revolution. Furthermore it is claimed that in the future of the fashion industry, technology will have to learn to deal with fashion and adapt itself to the needs of users, and not the opposotite way around. This urges the need for the technology and electronics industry to adapt their physical form of an electronic hard shell, to soft, light and flexible form, easily integrated on textiles, adding value to the experience, of a sensory or emotional fulfillment for the user. So what happens when we combine technology and textiles? The convergence of technology and textile opens new questions about the expressions of technology as it gets a textile surface. It opens questions about the design of new displays for human computer interaction (HCI), which should be close to the natural characteristic of textiles, which are soft and flexible, opposite of the traditional hard and rigid digital displays. On the other hand, the creation of materials with the ability to sense, react and change points towards a world of possibilities for design and application which previously have not been associated with textiles. In that sense what happens to textiles, which are traditionally developed with the purpose of creating static graphical patterns, as computational power makes it possible to work with dynamic patterns and change visual, sonic and even tactile properties (Redstrom, Redstrom, & Maze, 2005). This requires a new perspective and conceptual view from textile designers to rethink their traditional approaches and techniques of working with textiles and open for new possibilities and opportunities arising from the integration of digital computing, electronics and smart materials. 1.1 Preliminary problem area As a conclusion to the prior discussion, the research in the pre-analysis stage (conducted prior to the design and implementation stages) will focus on applying a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the development of e-textiles, as part of a bigger concept: ubiquitous computing, as being the intersection of computer interaction, computation, electronics, smart materials and traditional textiles. 4 Smart materials combined with digital technology are currently under investigation and are applied in the military, the medical and the industrial sector; however it is evident that very soon they will be part of our everyday lives – our living spaces and clothing. 6 1.2 Framework of the thesis – Interactive Book Sample The design and implementation part of the thesis is developed in conjunction with a research project called Interactive Book Sample (Heimdal, 2009). It is a cross-disciplinary project bringing together designers and engineers exploring the field of electronic textiles. The conceptual idea behind the Interactive Book Sample was developed by Elisabeth Heimdal, master student from the Design & Innovation department at the Technical University of Denmark together with the design bureau Diffus (lead by architect Michel Guglielmi and art historian Hanne-Louise Johannesen), based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Collaboration partners for the development of the sample book are textile designer Priya Mani (responsible for the aesthetic design of the samples) and Marija Andonovska, master student from the Medialogy department at Aalborg University-Copenhagen (responsible for the technical design and implementation). The idea behind the sample book is to function as an inspirational tool for designers (special emphasis is put on textile designers), who wish to start working with some of the possibilities within the area of electronic textiles. As already mentioned the textiles were meant to inspire designers and therefore they had to show what they could do, rather than how they were doing it. When joining the project I took on the task to design how the textiles would work. More specifically a large part of my work took focus in the technology which needed to be implemented allowing the smart materials to show what they were able to do. The way in which each textile responded to the users’ actions was designed by the team’s textile engineer. On the other hand, the textile designer together with the design bureau, Diffus held the responsibility of the aesthetic expressions of the sample materials. For me personally, the development of the sample book was a way to better understanding the technical challenges and opportunities arising from constructing e- textiles. Some of the questions specifically related to the design and implementation of the electronic circuits were: 1. Which electronic components and smart materials should we use for the development of each sample? 2. How should the chosen components and materials be integrated with the textiles? 3. Which techniques should we use to retain the soft and flexible characteristics of the textiles together with hard, rigid and bulky electronics? 4. Should the textiles as an interface reach such an aesthetic form, that they would make the technology disappear from the users’ perception? The task of developing these samples required new and innovative ways of using available materials and technologies making the samples functional, and in the same time preserving the fabric soft, flexible, light and self-contained. Nevertheless these questions were only the base of a bigger perspective related to 7 the integration of technology and new materials, such as textiles and the implications this had on the new materials’ interfaces. 1.3 Overview This thesis consists of three parts guiding the reader through the research, design and implementation and the testing of the sample book. It is concluded with a discussion based on the results from the survey conducted at the end. Each of the following chapters opens with an introduction to uncover the areas, which will be described in details within the section. They are closed with sub-conclusions. PART 1: INTRODUCTION. Introduction (chapter 1) reveals the inspiration for this thesis, the preliminary problem area as well as the Interactive Sample Book as a framework within this thesis. Defining Pervasive Concepts (chapter 2) sets the base for the research area in this thesis. It starts with an overview of the paradigm change in HCI over several decades. It further describes ubiquitous, pervasive, ambient and wearable computing as next step in the development of HCI thus giving the broader perspective in which this project is placed. The chapter ends with presenting the focus area of this thesis which is e-textiles. Current and future wearable Technologies (chapter 3) details the current and future technologies in the area of wearables and e-textiles including data and energy management technologies, smart materials and soft computing. Related work (chapter 4), Context and functionality of wearables and e-textiles (chapter 5), Reflection (chapter 6) and Defining the problem (chapter 7) conclude Part 1. PART 2: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION, includes a description of the Interactive Book Sample, brainstorming and Design specifications (Chapter 8). This is followed up by Implementation (chapter 9) covering the choice of physical computing platform and implementation of the interactive samples. PART 3: METHODOLOGY, SURVEY AND FEEDBACK, wraps up this project with Methodology (chapter 10), Survey feedback (chapter 11), Discussion (chapter 12), and Conclusions (chapter 13). 8 1.4 Definitions The theoretic discourse presented in the thesis is based on terms which many researchers would treat as synonyms, while others define them as slightly different. To clarify the reading, an overview of the different definitions will be presented, with the intent to highlight the differences between. Figure 1 illustrates some of the possible word combinations which have similar meaning. Figure 1 Word combinations 1.4.1 Material/ Fabric/ Textile Materials - the substance or components of which a thing is made or composed of. Before materials are used as an input for production of manufacturing, they are known as raw materials. For example, cotton is a raw material, which can be processed in a thread, and woven into cloth (semi-finished material). By cutting and sawing the fabric, it is turned into a finished product, a garment. Textiles – materials are considered to be textile when they consist of drapeable structures that can be processed on textile machinery. Usually textiles are made from of fine and flexible, natural or artificial fibers and threads that have a high length/ diameter ration. The hierarchical structure is made of bundles of fibers, twisted to form yarns, which again are e.g. woven or knitted into fabrics. Ready-made textiles products include ropes, ribbons, fabrics and also three-dimensional products such as clothing (Kirstein, Cottet, Grzyb, & Troster, 2005). In this thesis, links are sometime made to clothing because it is a natural and obvious starting point for textiles, especially if we refer to wearables, where clothing serves as the base to which devices are attached to. When talking about e-textiles reference is also made to other items such as wall hangings, quilts and other fabric-based artifacts. 9 The words fabric and cloth are used as synonyms for textile; however there is a slight difference in the terms based on textile assembly trade such as tailoring and dressmaking. According to Foss (2007) “textile” refers to any material made of interlacing fibers, while “fabric” refers to any material made through weaving, knitting, crocheting or bonding. “Cloth” refers to a finished piece of fabric that can be used for a purpose such as a bedcover. 1.4.2 Smart Materials/ Intelligent Materials Many different terms have been used to describe or classify materials and structures that have their own sensors, actuators and computational/ control capabilities and/ or hardware, such as “smart”, “intelligent”, “responsive”, “adaptable”, “sense-able”, etc. As described by Addington & Schodek (2005) in our today’s society “techno-speak” terms seem to come into existence without universal agreement upon their meaning. They state that the word “intelligence” is itself problematic as well as the word “smart”, yet the first should be regarded as higher level that the later. However the engineering and computer science world seem not to make a distinction between the two, presuming that both represent the peak of current technological development. Since there has not been a consensus regarding the use of terminology, several definitions are listed below first for smart materials and later intelligent materials. Based on these definitions and the specific interest area for this report one definition will be chosen. Smart materials definitions: A smart structure is a system containing multifunctional parts that can perform sensing, control, and actuation; it is a primitive analogue of a biological body. Smart materials are used to construct these smart structures, which can perform both sensing and actuation functions. The ‘‘I.Q.’’ of smart materials is measured in terms of their ‘‘responsiveness’’ to environmental stimuli and their ‘‘agility’’ (Cao, Cudney, & Waser, 1999). Smart materials can be thought of as materials that replace machines and have the potential to simplify engineering considerably. They integrate the functionality of various separate parts into a single material. This is mechanically efficient because it eliminates the need for parts to be physically interconnected (Berzowska, 2005). The term “smart” has been used to refer to materials that can sense and respond in a controlled or predicted manner to environmental stimuli, which can be delivered in mechanical, thermal, chemical, magnetic or other forms (Tao, 2001). 10