The document discusses how the availability of sewable electronics and sensors has revolutionized the work of artists and designers by allowing them to more easily incorporate technology into their designs. It notes how hacker and maker communities sharing knowledge online has helped demystify electronics and coding. This has inspired creatives to explore wearable technologies through projects like a proximity detecting "techlace", a temperature and mood sensing t-shirt, and a color-coded distance warning system for cyclists.
2. The growth of hacker culture & communities has inspired a new group of creatives to evolve
and enter the tech industries
3. ..a convergence of readily available electronic components, shared knowledge through
communities and open source approaches to technology has broken barriers to learning &
creativity
4. For me, the availability of sewable electronic & e-textiles has revolutionised the way I and
many other artists & designers work
5. ..plus the styling of some of these components has made them more attractive to work with
6. Which has changed how people regard wearable tech & electronics; they’re no longer
comprised of cold, bulky sharp, boxy & ugly components that you might prefer to remain
hidden
11. In my research I’m starting to note key areas of sensor & actuator usage, against groups &
areas of usage…
12. Hacking existing tech & combining sensors has allowed me to
make pieces such as ‘You Make My <3 Flutter’: a proximity
detecting, heart rate sensing ‘techlace’
13. And for looking at social interaction -‘Yr In Mah Face’: temperature /mood sensing t-shirt
- uses Celsius temperature data from a sensor, averages it, then visualises the results via
LEDs.
14. I’m also interested in practical uses - Don’t Break My Heart is a wearable, colour-coded
distance warning system prototype for cyclists to wear on their back
15. Summary
Exciting time for e-textiles & wearable tech
Availability of sewable electronics is revolutionising the work of artists &
designers
Hackspaces & online communities are helping demystify electronics & coding
Open Source ethos is sharing & making knowledge more accessible
Small Maker start-ups are changing the face of tech entrepreneurs
Sewable electronics are inspiring a broader demographic to become
interested in electronics & coding
School age students are investigating electronics & code via e-textiles and
wearable tech
16. Thank you for your attention!
@Rainycat
http://rainycatz.wordpress.com
http://Rain Ashford 2012
Notas do Editor
Protosnap LilyPad Arduino board & component kit
Protosnap LilyPad Arduino board & component kit
I’ve taken those lists of sensors and actuators and fitted them into categories of what I feel are the most important areas of wearable technology. This list isn’t exhaustive and there’s definitely a certain amount of blurring between the categories – I hope for the viewer it starts to give a bit of insight and an some idea of where the technology is lending itself in these areas. Please forgive my wibblyphotoshop skills!It’s very interesting to compare the categories. As you can see the biggest range of sensors and actuators are concentrated in military, extreme environment, self monitoring, lifestyle, are and maker’s categories. This is interesting to me for many reasons, it gives me an idea of whom is pushing the technology forward, who has the most funding and who is the most experimental and also the category with probably the least money and not much funding is equally as interested in a plethora of technologies and potential outcomes as the richest.