Electronics and Fabrics: The Development of Garment‐Based Wearables
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract As the lines between computing and textiles blur, so do the lines between computing and human bodies. Wearable technology is evolving to a point where it pervades many aspects of human lives. One has become accustomed to being surrounded with technological conveniences. Soon, the garments will become mobile devices that will seamlessly connect one to his/her networks. They will give and receive vital information through interfaces that become so integrated into the actions and activities that they become less invasive and more pervasive. This Essay presents a vision for the future of sensor‐enabled garment‐based wearable technology and identifies barriers faced by designers in the creation of wearable technology. Case studies illustrate problems encountered in both a micro‐ and macroscale from three different perspectives uncovered during the discovery and application of various methods of embedding circuits into textiles projects. The identification of five key areas that need changes in order to bridge the gap between textiles and electronics are discussed alongside the benefits of bringing technology “out of the box” which will revolutionize how one approaches many aspects of his/her current lives.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Interactive and Immersive Displays · Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Pratt Institute 200 Willoughby Avenue Brooklyn NY 11205 USA
References (18)
Show source-provided references
1. 10.1533/joti.2004.007110.1533/joti.2004.0071 ↗
2. Early studies of the development of the field of wearable technology identified three periods of growth: a first period from the 1980s to 1997; the second period from 1998–2000; and a third period from 2001–2004. They describe the first period as technology‐driven with an emphasis on wearable computing applications; the second period as a period of integration with the fashion and textiles sector showing more extensive garment‐integration; and the third period as a period of growth in smart clothing and garment integration in the commercial sector.
3. Wearable Usage Will Grow by Nearly 60% This Year http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Wearable‐Usage‐Will‐Grow‐by‐Nearly‐60‐This‐Year/1013159(accessed: September2016).
4. Wang J. · 2016 · 1159
5. Nakagawa S. · 2017
6. Dunne L. · J. Text. Apparel Technol. Manage. · 2005 · 4 · 1
7. InExpanding Garment Functionality Dunne Ashdown and Smyth state that “ubiquitous computing devices result in a flow of information that pervades our living spaces. This may seem like a “futuristic” concept but in fact most of us interact with ubiquitous technologies every day: from automatic door openers to self‐flushing toilets.”
8. Sterling B. · 2005
9. In his book Shaping Things Bruce Sterling describes a similar scale of “classes of objects” (pages 8–14). His scale is not entirely dissimilar to what I am describing here in the developing scale of wearable sensing technology.
10. Dunne L. E. · Fash. Pract. J. Des. Creat. Process Fash. Ind. · 2010 · 2 · 1
11. A 2010 analysis offers a potential explanation for the developments between 2004 and 2016 pointing to obstacles to garment‐integrated development of wearable technologies based on challenges to manufacture application development and cultural differences between subfields contributing to wearable technologies.
12. Berglund M. E. · 2016 · 4010.1145/2971763.2971796 ↗
13. 10.1207/s15327051hci1904_110.1207/s15327051hci1904_1 ↗
14. Delta Glove by Pure Carbon http://www.purecarbon.co/(accessed: October2017).
15. Ultrasonic welding is and industrial technique that uses high‐frequency ultrasonic acoustic vibrations applied to a specific area where pieces of material held together under pressure to create a solid‐state weld. It is most often used for plastic and for joining dissimilar materials. For example a solid plastic molded part and a flexible polyester or nylon fabric part.
16. Loomia https://www.loomia.co/andhttp://www.madisonmaxey.com/about/(accessed: October2017.
17. Remo Haptics https://www.loomia.co/andhttp://www.madisonmaxey.com/about/(accessed: October2017).
18. Lean Launchpad is an entrepreneurship methodology created by Steve Blank a serial entrepreneur and educator that emphasized fast iteration of prototypes and business models to test by questioning and leaning directly from customers. The Lean Launchpad method had changed the way entrepreneurship is taught.