Accessorizing with networks : the possibilities of building with computational textiles

Abstract

What is a conversation like between a handbag and a scarf? How can you mediate their conversation and when is your skirt allowed in on the discussion? As a woman is about to leave her house, her handbag may solicit the weather forecast from the humidity sensor on its fellow smart curtain. It might deliver the news of an impending downpour by saying 'I think it might rain. Go get your umbrella." And after deliberating with her coat pocket, the handbag may use ambient light to caution the user if she's forgotten her cell phone. This work presents a prototype network embedded in fabric that allows, for example, sensors in a scarf to communicate with a handbag and vice versa. Novel materials and technology are integrated into a set of fabric blocks that can be configured into familiar garments and accessories that borrow and share sensory data. The system is designed to afford anyone the ability to build, rip apart and reconfigure intelligent objects. Because the user is able to 'accessorize' as desired, digital behaviors can always be changed to meet individual evolving needs.