XS Labs: design research for soft computation

Let me see that LED, Hillevi...

2008-10-08T09:23:00.001-04:00

Let me see that LED, Hillevi...
Originally uploaded by berzowska

Congratulations Marguerite!!!

2008-08-31T12:04:00.001-04:00

IMG_0261
Originally uploaded by berzowska

Jussi, Daria, Jeff, Joey, Wil in Chicago, post Siggraph jury meeting

2008-04-14T01:30:00.001-04:00

Jussi, Daria, Jeff, Joey, Wil in Chicago, post Siggraph jury meeting
Originally uploaded by berzowska

Cidziy in FOFA gallery

2008-04-02T13:17:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by Jess Butler

Marguerite Bromley's Cidziy "sensate tapestry" shown in the REMEDIOS TERRARIUM exhibition
FOFA Gallery, Montreal - 19 March to 4 April 2008

Rhoda, who modeled "Enleon" at Seamless in Boston

2008-01-31T18:18:00.001-05:00

Rhoda, who modeled "Enleon" at Seamless in Boston
Originally uploaded by berzowska

Seamless is a fashion event featuring innovative and experimental works in computational apparel design, interactive clothing, and technology-based fashion. each project [re]interprets the conceptual goal of a seamless relationship between technology and fashion. these are real clothes that inspire and provoke.

http://seamless.sigtronica.org

Vincent's "Frisson" necklace (modeled by Natalie Key)

2008-01-31T18:12:00.001-05:00

Vincent's "Frisson" necklace (modeled by Natalie Key), originally uploaded by berzowska.

FRISSON by Vincent Leclerc
The Frisson necklace is made of a series of individual beads resembling teardrops. Each bead is adorned with a temperature-changing peltier junction that is controlled by a microcontroller embedded in the bead. Each bead is electrically and computationally autonomous and can decide to become cold, warm or hot on its own will. With such behavior, the necklace produces animated temperature patterns around the wearer's neck, creating an unsettling feeling apparent to shivers.

Vincent looks like a gangster

2008-01-08T14:31:00.001-05:00

IMG_3141.JPG, originally uploaded by maroussia.

Vincent Leclerc presented his XS Labs project Accouphene at a recent meeting of Dorkbot in Montreal. I love how shady he looks in this photo, showing our embroidery machine in the background, making soft speakers, "embroidered in the shape of a coil with highly conductive yarns. By pulsing energy through the coils and running a magnet, embedded in the sleeve of Accouphene, over the coils, sounds are generated."

The Skorpions Project

2007-10-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

SKORPIONS are a set of kinetic electronic garments that move and change on the body in slow, organic motions. They have anthropomorphic qualities and can be imagined as parasites that inhabit the skin of the host. They breathe and pulse, controlled by their own internal programming. They are not “interactive” artifacts insofar as their programming does not respond to simplistic sensor data. They have intentionality; they are programmed to live, to exist, to subsist. They are living behavioral kinetic sculptures that exploit characteristics such as control, anticipation, and unpredictability. They have their own personalities, their own fears and desires.

SKORPIONS integrate electronic fabrics, the shape-memory alloy Nitinol, mechanical actuators such as magnets, soft electronic circuits, and traditional textile construction techniques such as sculptural folds and drapes of fabric across the body. The cut of the pattern, the seams, and other construction details become an important component of engineering design.

SKORPIONS reference the history of garments as instruments of pain and desire. They hurt you and distort your body the same way as corsets and foot binding. They emphasize our lack of control over our garments and our digital technologies. Our clothes shift and change in ways that we do not anticipate. Our electronics malfunction and become obsolete.

SKORPIONS shift and modulate personal and social space by imposing physical constraints on the body. They alter behavior, by hiding or revealing hidden layers, inviting others inside the protective shells of fabric, by erecting breathable walls, or tearing themselves open to divulge hidden secrets.

Constellation Dresses

2007-10-11T15:33:00.000-04:00

The Constellation dresses are covered with twelve magnetic snaps arranged over the torso and thighs and connected in pairs through a single line of conductive thread. Light Emitting Diodes are integrated into the dresses in a design that resembles a constellation, with a cluster of stars connected to each other through short and straight lines. One set of snaps acts as a switch for the LED circuit and, when connected to the snaps from another dress, the circuit on the garment is closed and the LEDs light up. The magnetic snaps act as a mechanical and electrical connection between bodies, and their irregular placement induces wearers to create playful and compelling choreographies to connect their circuits. Rather than being complete and functional electronic pieces in themselves, these garments work as meshes on a circuit network and depend on the physical contact of the magnetic snaps to function. By bringing people together mechanically and electronically, the garments explore metaphors for building electronic or social networks. In addition, the dresses compel people to draw power from each other, hinting at a parasitic model for powering our mobile technologies.

LEECHES

2007-10-11T15:29:00.000-04:00

The Leech dress, constructed with stitched conductive organza stripes, functions as a soft, wearable, and reconfigurable power-distribution substrate for attaching individual siliconecoated electronic modules (the “Leeches”) that illuminate the dress. The Leeches can be attached in a variety or positions and configurations. They are held in place by magnetic snaps, which act both as mechanical and electrical connections. A single power module can be attached at the shoulder. This module can power up to ten Leeches scattered around the body. The red LEDs inside the Leeches resemble powerhungry creatures that, once attached, suck or draw power (the metaphoric "blood") from your body and reference the potential dangers of electromagnetic fields emanating from electronic garments.

What is "wearable technology"?

2007-02-04T06:31:00.001-05:00

What is "wearable technology"?

All that surrounds us was once technology. Once a technology becomes commonplace, it disappears. But what happens when we engage new bizarre forms of technology that have not yet penetrated the mainstream? We think of them as special, even when they are not. We use the term technology to refer to the things that are still rare and surprising; the things that are fragile; the things that are complex. We no longer think about weaving as a technology, but it still is. All of these things are technologies and we need to approach them in the same way.

We think that electronic objects need to be rational because circuits and programming are based on logic. We assume that function needs to be rational. Function implies a logical engineering process of needs assessment and problem solving. But do not forget that pleasure is function. Beauty is function. Poetry is function. And at the same time, technology is ornament and ornament is technology.

I would like to suggest that "smart objects" are actually stupider than plain objects. Plain objects have more of projective nature. They allow us to project our desires and to create complex behaviors and narratives. Smart objects are more linear and they constrain our imagination by providing a determined behavior and narrative.

So, now, the crucial question is: "What does technology look like?" Maybe it needs to look more like magic. Maybe it needs to look a lot more like art. In any case, I believe that it needs to flirt with the irrational in order to be meaningful.

Wear Now Symposium

2007-01-23T15:43:00.000-05:00

Wear Now Symposium

Friday 2nd February
5:00pm to 7:30 pm
On the last day of the reSkin lab we’re throwing open the lab doors to invite the public in to see the prototypes artists have been working on. Come along for informal discussions, wearables viewings and drinks with reSkin artists and facilitators. Launch of Filter wearables edition.
Venue: The Textiles Workshop and Foyer Gallery at The School of Art, Australian National University, Building 105, Childers St, Acton, Canberra, ACT.

Saturday 3 February
10-10:20 Welcome Dr Melinda Rackham ANAT Executive Director
10:20-12:00 Wearable Histories
Assoc. Professor Joanna Berzowska and Dr. Stephen Barrass Panel Chair Nigel Lendon, Associate Head of School, School of Art, ANU.
12:00-1:30 Wearables Now
Elise Co, Susan Cohn and Angela, Rowena and Juliana Foong of High Tea with Mrs. Woo label Panel Chair Valerie Kirk, Head of the Textiles Workshop ANU.
1:30-2:30 Lunch
2:30-4:00 Wearables Research and Development
Robin Cranston (CSIRO) Oron Catts (Symbiotica) and Sarah Kettley (Arts and Science Research Fellow, Napier University, Edinburg). Panel Chair Gordon Bull, Head of School of Art, ANU.
4:00-5:30 reSkin Outcomes
Dr. Alistair Riddell and Cinnamon Lee and demos from participants. Panel Chair Eleanor Gates-Stuart, Head of CNMA, ANU.
5:30-5-50 Closing Statement
Catrina Vignando, General Manager, Craft Australia
6:00-7:00 Informal Drinks
7:30 Symposium Dinner at The Chairman and Yip

Venue:
Visions Theatre
National Museum of Australia
Lawson Crescent
Acton Peninsula
Canberra
Acton ACT

essay about EXPORT trip from last October

2007-01-17T20:16:00.000-05:00

It is always with mixed emotions and some amount of internal conflict that I "export" our work in electronic textiles and reactive garments. Although all of our projects at XS Labs use weaving, stitching, embroidery, and other traditional construction techniques, they also (1) necessitate considerable cutting-edge technical know-how and (2) rely on the integration of materials such as conductive threads and textiles that are quite expensive and difficult to source.

I grew up in Poland and in Equatorial Africa. I am aware, from first-hand experience, that most of the world does not share the economic comfort, intellectual freedom, and focus on self-empowerment that we enjoy in Montreal. Yet I still always "export" our electronic textile work in the hope that the technical innovations and the conceptual ideas will be relevant in other socio-economic contexts. This is often not the case.

After my first presentation in Serbia, I was informed (in private, outside the building) that the Design Academy barely had a couple of old computers. The students who attended my presentation were interested, of course, but were also critical (in private, outside the building) of what they perceived as the arrogance inherent in my expectation that they would have access to the same resources and training that we provide in the West.

My reply to those women, as well as those in Sofia and Istanbul, is that yes, in the words of William Gibson, "The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet." On the other hand, I personally believe that many of their fears and doubts are not justified. I believe that there is a lot of propaganda, especially aimed at women, about electronics and digital technology being hard and inaccessible. But I am hoping to show, through continuing "export", that we can use simple electronics to do things that, although they are extremely cheap and technically trivial, can be very complex conceptually or aesthetically. Although they are simple, they can raise complicated issues around questions of individual, social, cultural, and political identity. This is not high tech; it is merely good design.

getting pumped

2006-11-29T16:24:00.000-05:00

getting pumped
Originally uploaded by Marcelo Coelho.

Joey at the Fleshing Out event

2006-11-11T20:44:00.000-05:00

Joey at the Fleshing Out event
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

Check out the we-make-money-not-art entry about the event.

v2

virtueelplatform

mediamatic

FLESHING OUT

2006-11-10T05:22:00.000-05:00

I just got back from Rotterdam and Amsterdam after participating in the Fleshing Out Wearable Interfaces, Smart Materials and Living Fabrics seminar and workshop (organized by V2 and Virtueel Platform).
On Thursday, I talked about our new XS Labs SKORPIONS project and our work with shape-memory alloys in textiles, including the Kukkia dress. The day also included two great and inspiring presentations from Suzanne Lee (author of Fashioning The Future), Anne Galloway’s insights on Seams and Scars, Thecla Schiphorst's demo of Exhale, and Kristina Andersen cool work with "naive electronics".
An interesting addition to the usual topics covered in the "Wearable Interfaces and Smart Materials" conferences came in the form of "Living Fabrics". This involved integrating presentations and discussions around biotechnology and ideas around growing bone, skin, and other fleshy things as a way of framing Wearable Technologies. The day included two presentations from the Biotech world, Tobie Kerridge (Biojewellery) and the Victimless Leather from Symbiotica's Ionat Zurr.
A longer description of the day can be found here.
On Friday, after my workshop, I had the pleasure of meeting Angel Chang, who gave me her look book for her Spring 2007 Fashion Technology Collection. She describes it as "a series of concepts I developed in the last year: color-changing inks, 3-D images, iPod clothing, and light-up gear. Some serve a specific function while others are for personal entertainment."

I really appreciated her design methodology, her aesthetic philosophy, and her approach to technology deployment in fashion: "Each piece is a collaboration with someone in the technology world. It goes beyond the forced superficial fashion & tech marketing pairings we've seen in recent years, and is based on a more organic creative process. The technology itself is oftentimes concealed in the design, so the clothes can maintain their design integrity. I hope to show the fashion world that innovation goes beyond just rearranging ruffles, and to convince tech companies that they should invest further in these types of collaborations."
You can read about her collection online in Craftzine and Fashion Wire Daily, and see photos of her collection on Flickr.
Our workshop was d a critical Intervention by: Kristina Andersen, Joanna Berzowska, Anne Galloway
Keywords: power, make, body, identity, research directions, hackability, critique
A critical look at how technologies come to be, a look that will go beyond existing funding structures, happy-go-gadget applications, techno optimism, and grey goo scenarios. What means and methods do artists and designers use to take a critical stand? How can they intervene in the process by which social acceptance of wearable technologies takes place? And how can they use or abuse the power of the user, and the way he or she appropriates and reuses technologies?
Other participants included:
Anne Nigten
Thecla Schiphorst
Sabine Seymour: Interface Culture
Toby Kerridge: growing human bones for rings
Ionat Zurr: growing animal-free leather
Sue Lee: growing cellulose for making clothes
Michiel Scheffer said that Europeans consume 30 kilos in fibers per year (Chinese consume 6 kilos). If the Chinese were to match the Europeans, we would need to take over Brazil and turn it all over to cotton plantations.
Some links he mentioned include:
One of the advertising messages that SCOTTeVEST is using with their new Sport Jacket is "Imagine what would happen if Giorgio Armani and Bill Gates were stranded on a desert island, and you’ll have a good idea of what the TEC Sport Jacket offers."
Hybrids-Fusion, Nanosilver
Digitex

Sartorial Flux

2006-09-11T10:56:00.000-04:00

XSLabs is now showing Kukkia in Chicago!

"Sartorial Flux reflects on the changing nature of clothing and fashion in light of modern society’s increasingly nomadic and technologically ubiquitous lifestyle. This exhibition investigates the field of wearables – from the imaginative to the practical – through the presentation of art projects plumbing the social, cultural, and technological possibilities for the design of a networked and responsive fashion adapted to our modern actuality. Sartorial Flux features recent works investigated by international artists approaching wearables from fields of design, computation, interactive textiles and social networking." Curated by Valerie Lamontagne.

Featured artists include Joanna Berzowska, Leonardo Bonanni and Cati Vaucelle, Heidi Kumao, Valerie Lamontagne, Despina Papadopoulos, Alyce Santoro, and Hoyun Son.

The show is up at the a+d Gallery in Chicago Unitl October 21, 2006. 619 S. Wabash Ave.

Despina Papadopoulos' hugJackets

Valerie Lamontagne's Sun Dress from the Peau D'Âne serries.

Despina in the gallery

People mesmerized by Kukkia's movements

2006-09-06T23:10:00.000-04:00

http://jerome-plantevin.blogspot.com/2006/08/les-vtements-lectroniques-ont-la-cte.html#links

Les vétements-ordinateurs prêts à porter débarquent en masse, annonçant l’explosion des vétements et accessoires textiles intelligents de demain.

Jérôme Plantevin

Jeans ou chaussure iPod. Blousons GPS. Sac à dos téléphone. Les plus grands fabricants de vêtements et d’accessoires textiles de la planète n’ont d’yeux ces derniers mois que pour les vêtements-ordinateurs prêts à porter (wearable computer en anglais). Levi Strauss vient de dévoiler son RedWire DLX, un nouveau modèle de jeans conçu pour accueillir le baladeur iPod d’Apple. Un joystick est intégré à la poche porte-clé. Un emplacement spécial pour les haut-parleurs a été aménagé tandis que le iPod se place dans es poches frontales plus larges. L’américaine O’Neill commercialise depuis quelques temps ses sacs à dos H2 Solar qui intègrent des batteries solaires sur lesquelles peuvent se brancher un téléphone cellulaire. Le sac dispose aussi de prises sans fil pour les écouteurs et un panneau de contrôle sans fil. En juillet, c’était autour de Nike de tâter le domaine en lançant des chaussures intelligentes iPod. Un capteur placé sous la semelle intérieur mesure l’allure, la distance, le temps écoulé et les calories brûlées puis transmet sans fil cette information à un récepteur placée dans un iPod nano, permettant au coureur de recevoir une rétroaction audio en temps réel tandis qu’il écoute sa musique favorite.

Des wearable computer plus fiables

« Les wearable computer représentent la première étape de la révolution des vêtements intelligents électroniques », explique Jacek Mlynarek, président et directeur général du Groupe CTT, le Centre des technologies textiles et géosynthétiques affilié au Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe. « C’est un marché appelé à exploser », ajoute M. Mlynarek. Les grands fabricants de vétements et d’habillement l’ont compris et M. Mlynarek espère que les entreprises québécoises les imiteront.
Dans un vêtement wearable computer, l’ordinateur, le téléphone ou le lecteur numérique est décomposé en général en trois éléments individuels -le système d’affichage, qui peut être un simple écran incorporé dans des lunettes, le système d’entrées et de sorties et l’unité centrale relié aux batteries. Ces éléments sont ensuite répartis autour du corps dans ou sur un tissu. « Les wearable computer ne datent pas d’hier [Bell Canada en avait testé en 2001 pour ces techniciens], mais aujourd’hui, ils semblent avoir atteint un degré de maturité intéressant », indique M. Mlynarek. Il y a quelques années, ils étaient pesants et les éléments électroniques étaient trop rigides. Aujourd’hui, ces éléments sont plus souples et ils sont mieux intégrés aux vêtements ce qui fait que ceux qui les portent ressemblent moins à des cyborgs.

« Les wearable computer d’aujourd’hui sont aussi plus fiables bien que des progrès restent encore à faire notamment ce qui a trait à leur durabilité lors du nettoyage du vêtement », ajoute M. Mlynarek. Selon la société de recherche IDC, le nombre de wearable computers vendus aux États-Unis devraient atteindre les 1,39 million en 2008, soit 6 fois plus qu’en 2003.

Un acteur du wearable computer bientôt au Québec

Le Québec compte peu de joueurs dans le domaine des vêtements électroniques, mais cela pourrait changer. Une entreprise européenne spécialiste de microélectronique intégrée aux vêtements devrait ouvrir prochainement avec l’aide du Groupe CTT une filiale dans la province. L’annonce sera faite en octobre prochain lors de la sixième édition de l’Exposition Hightex sur les textiles à valeur ajoutée. « La filiale canadienne dont je préfère taire le nom aujourd’hui proposera ses services techniques et sa technologie de microélectronique aux entreprises nord-américaines de vêtements et du textile », dit M. Mlynarek « J’ai bon espoir qu’elle serve aussi de catalyseur pour stimuler les chercheurs de la province ainsi que les entreprises qui s’intéressent aux vétements intelligents. »

Joanna Berzowska, directrice du laboratoire de recherche Extra-Soft Labs (XS Labs) et professeur adjoint en design et art numérique à l’Université Concordia, n’a pas attendu 2006 pour s’intéresser aux vêtements électroniques. Elle travaille depuis quatre ans à concevoir des vêtements « dans lesquels l’électronique est intégrée à 100%. » La chercheur, également membre de l’Institut montréalais de recherche-création en arts et technologies médiatiques Hexagram s’intéresse en particulier aux textiles électroniques, des tissus filés ou tissés qui possèdent des capacités de transport d’énergie et d’interconnection électrique et électronique. De nombreux centres de recherche dont le Georgia Institute of Technology à Atlanta s’intéressent comme elle aux textiles électroniques, notamment pour concevoir des tenues militaires de camouflage capables de changer de couleur selon l’environnement. Des entreprises privées planchent également sur les textiles électroniques pour concevoir des produits permettant la détection à distance de signes vitaux. L’américaine VivoMetric, par exemple, a conçu sa LifeShirt, une veste qui renferme des électrodes permettant de mesurer le rythme cardiaque, et des bandes conductrices qui suivent le mouvement du coeur et des poumons en mesurant les variations de leurs champs magnétiques.

Des robes qui bougent

« Nous, pour notre part, travaillons sur des vêtements de mode dont certains éléments décoratifs bougent après avoir été stimulé électriquement, explique la jeune femme de 33 ans. Nous devrions faire un défilé dans un an avec la designer Diana Mainstone.» XS Labs planche aussi sur des tissus muraux qui changent de couleur ou encore qui affichent des images ou des motifs différents. « Ils pourraient être commercialisables tout de suite, mais ils sont encore réalisés à la main et ils coûtent cher, 10 000 $US pour un tissu mural de deux mètres coûte 10 000 $US et une courte pointe qui affichent des images 20 000$US. »

Les vêtements intelligents de Mme Berzowska sont tissés en trois dimensions et incorporent des fils conducteurs et/ou à mémoire de forme comme les fils de nitinal et de petits composantes électroniques. « Ces textiles tissés ont des problèmes de fiabilité, dit Mme Berzowska. Par exemple, si on les plie, il peut y avoir des courts-circuits. C’est pourquoi l’avenir est dans l’utilisation de fibres intelligentes qui incorporent déjà des propriétés électroniques. » Les travaux en nanotechnologie devraient aider les recherches de Mme Berzowska. Ces travaux visent à doter les textiles de capacités particulières. Une fois transformés, ces derniers s’adapteront en transformant leur forme, leur pouvoir d’isolation, leur coloration, leur élasticité lorsqu’on les soumet à des stimulis externes comme un changement de températures, de champs électriques ou magnétiques ou un éclairage ou des couleurs ambiantes différentes. Plusieurs chercheurs travaillent aussi à modifier les fibres textiles pour leur donner des facultés cognitives comme l’enregistrement et le stockage de données, d’envoyer des signaux ou d’en recevoir, et même de devenir des intermédiaires de communication à distance. « Il reste à inventer ces fibres et les entreprises d’ici peuvent en tirer des bénéfices », indique M. Mlynarek.

Publié par Jérôme Plantevin à 12:24 PM

driving innovation

2006-09-06T22:57:00.000-04:00

DSC_0059.JPG
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

stuffing the big carrot pillow

2006-04-15T17:18:00.000-04:00

stuffing the big carrot pillow
Originally uploaded by Marcelo Coelho.

apparently, pillows were being built in the lab last week for a raging street pillow fight:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelosco/127982618/

Forbes on the future of fashion

2006-04-05T07:43:00.000-04:00

reblog:
http://twenty1f.com/news/forbes-on-the-future-of-fashion/
Forget fancy camcorder phones and wireless internet routers; the future’s most innovative gadgets come in a strapless size 4.And we’re not talking about just any size 4. These fetching gowns will come complete with remote controls, global positioning systems and radio frequency identification tags, making catwalk shows look more like scenes from Mission Impossible than showcases of exclusive designer wear. Why? With the rapid merging of fashion and technology, future brands of haute couture will probably owe more to Cisco Systems than Coco Chanel.

Designers have been experimenting with innovative materials for years. Once-revolutionary synthetic fabrics such as polyester, Spandex, Gore-Tex and Ultrasuede are now used in a wide range of apparel and footwear. Recently, hip, Los Angeles-based denim designer Serfontaine Jeans started using DuPont’s Lycra T400, which is made from multicomponent yarns, to create stretch jeans that don’t lose their elasticity, thereby virtually eliminating the need for a belt.

But we’re not just talking about clothes made with cool fabrics that retain their shapes or better resist stains — what’s known as “smart clothing.” We’re also talking about clothing with new technology incorporated into its design, aka “wearable technology.” Many companies are already blending fashion and technology in a limited way: Burlington, Vermont-based snowboard maker Burton sells the Clone Mini Disc Jacket, which is a coat with a built-in Sony mini disc player and a remote control sewn into the sleeve. And to help fashion-forward customers keep even cooler during the summer, Japanese company Kuuchoufuku makes jackets with built-in fans.

But the real high-tech designs of the future have yet to reach the stores. These will consist mainly of technologically enabled fabrics and garments that are only being sketched out in ateliers and research labs around the world.

According to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst of Port Washington, New York-based NPD Group, wearable technology still accounts for less than 1 percent of the U.S. fashion industry’s retail sales. Although this sector is still in its infancy, the fashion industry as a whole is exhibiting solid growth. Last year, total U.S. apparel sales reached $181 billion, an almost 4 percent increase from 2004.

However, Cohen says wearable technology will eventually become a basic commodity, much like bluejeans. “Why buy a basic pair of khakis when future ones will be able to keep your legs warm with heating coils built into the lining? The future of technology in fiber and products is only a few years away.”

As usual, expect to see wearable tech and smart clothing first adopted by fringe groups such as skiers and students before the concepts catch on with the mainstream. NPD expects that ski-wear and active-wear companies, such as Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Adidas and Timberland, will be the most likely to drive development. Last year, Adidas released Adidas 1 footwear, a running shoe with an embedded microchip that monitors the terrain underfoot and accordingly adjusts the level of shock absorption provided by the shoe’s heel.

Students at the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believe young men with a keen interest in technology are more likely to embrace wearable technology trends than are women, who will prefer “computational clothing,” which does not sacrifice its aesthetic value for the sake of technology.

In London, it’s not just clothing that is becoming technical — designers are innovating with the way clothes are fitted. Bodymetrics, a London-based fashion-technology firm, and Serfontaine Jeans have joined together to create the world’s first pair of perfectly fitted jeans. Using a light scanner, Bodymetrics has created a pod to scan a client’s body and record exact body measurements.

Once in their underwear, clients stand in a pitch-black chamber while a light flashes over their body for eight seconds. Their measurements are then recorded and a pair of “perfect fit” jeans arrive in the mail within two weeks — for $530 a pop, or more than twice the price of a regular pair of Serfontaine jeans.

But innovative clothing need not be so expensive. Students at MIT’s Media Lab are also experimenting with affordable wearable tech. Using fabrics imbued with various metals, such as organza, copper, carbon and stainless steel, they have produced conductive clothing that is still soft to the touch. Amanda Parkes, an MIT student, has been studying how “nitinol” — an acronym for Nickel Titanium Naval Ordnance Laboratory, it’s a material that contains a nearly equal mixture of nickel and titanium — changes shape during fluctuations in temperature. With the application of a small amount of heat, a nitinol-based long-sleeve shirt can become short-sleeved in seconds, while still being able to revert back to its original shape.

Some ideas are even more radical. Suzanne Lee, a senior professor at St. Martin’s School of Fashion in London and the author of Fashioning the Future, describes a ” spray-on dress” made from a chemical formula that allows you to create a temporary dress from virtually nothing. The chemical is sprayed directly onto the skin to form a cloud of non-woven cloth, which can be styled as desired. At the MIT Media Lab, students have also conjured up “epi-skin,” a piece of jewelry made from epithelial skin cells that are cultured in the lab and grown in a test tube.

Some of the concepts being explored, such as air-conditioned jackets and wrinkle-resistant sweaters, will probably be on the market before long. But others, such as talking T-shirts and airplane dresses, may never find a practical application, let alone see the light of day — no matter how cool they sound.

Now if we can get a pair of sneakers that give us a good workout without us having to move, we’d be set.

SLIDESHOW:
http://www.forbes.com/2006/03/15/cx_me_0316featslide2.html?partner=lycos

Traditional Ethiopian textiles

2006-04-03T16:55:00.000-04:00

The following are a list of links related to Ethiopian women, textiles, and technology.

*Traditional Ethiopian textiles from the Ethiopian Women's Promotion Center website
http://www.bds-ethiopia.net/ewpc.html

*Guenet Fresenbet
http://philippe.guenet.free.fr/siteref/fresenbet/fresenbet.htm

" Guenet Fresenbet or GIGI, an Ethiopian woman on a mission to change this inferior image in the area of textiles and fashion. Using all handmade ethiopian traditional textiles and many natural dyes for her high fashion designs. 'The show featured ‘ecologically friendly’ spring and summer day wear. The playful and attractive, yet reassuringly simple designs were made from 100% traditional hand woven cotton fabrics (shemma), dipped in a variety of natural dying agents including tea, coffee, carrot and avocado."

*'Support for Growth-orientated Women Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia'
http://www.afdb.org/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ADB_ADMIN_PG/DOCUMENTS/PRIVATE_SECTOR_OPERATIONS/ILO-ETHIOPIA_14.01.2005.PDF

This link is to a report entitled 'Support for Growth-orientated Women Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia' which outlines, using pretty recent statistics and information (2003), socio/economic status Ethiopia and ways of improving the entrepreneurial growth of women.

It outlines a brief history of many networks, working groups, organizations concentrating on bettering women's entrepreneurial skills in both local and world markets. Based on a project that integrated the framework developed for Atlantic Canada growth-oriented women entrepreneurs, the report gives suggestions on ways of improving what is already in order as well as ideas for future projects.

*'AN ASSAULT ON POVERTY
Basic Human Needs, Science, and Technology'
http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-28593-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Chapter 8. Technology and Basic Needs in Ethiopia by Getaneh Yiemene 1997

"To discuss technology to address basic needs is to discuss national development. Ethiopia has very limited resources at her disposal to allocate to the building up of a national S&T capability, although extensive and sustained development of S&T capability is required to bring about massive social and technical changes, to rapidly achieve increases in agricultural and industrial productivity, to rationally conserve and use natural resources to provide for basic human necessities (for example, food, clothing, shelter, education, and energy), to modernize communication networks _ in general, to improve the standard of living of the people. Such long-term undertakings, with limited resources, can only succeed if guided by a coherent S&T policy."

This book written and published by the UN can be read online and chapter 8 discusses Ethiopian statistics, outlines many needs and goes into detail of the science and technology policy developed in 1993 by the Ethiopian government.

*The Rise of Women Entrepreneurs: People, Processes, and Global Trends
by Jeanne Halladay Coughlin

This could be an interesting book not specific to Ethiopia but more towards motivation and empowerment of women entrepreneurs.

*Textile Engineering Department
of Bahir Dar University
http://www.telecom.net.et/~bdu/texteng.html

*The Ethiopian Textile and Garment Sector
http://www.bds-ethiopia.net/textile/

Overview of the Textile Sector
Companies and Products
Training Centres (could be useful for teaching locations)
Export Markets
Supply Markets

Interesting fact: the Ethiopian government employes 2/3 of all the textile manufacturing. as appossed to 1/3 private.

The Role of Women
http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/ethiopia/ethiopia70.html

This article outlines the need for more education for women especially in rural areas. (no so current statistics)
A need to increase women's rights, higher wages, more available jobs and equal opportunity in the work force for men and women.

*Decent Work Country Programme for Ethiopia
Mapping Participants in the Cotton and Textile Sector:
Their Past, Present and Future Action Programmes
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:mtkDESnhXnIJ:www.ilo.org/public/english/region/afpro/addisababa/publ/cottontextilesectors.pdf+women+technology+textile+ethiopia&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=14

This article reports on many sides of the textile sector: programms that have been instated to improve them and areas of future improvement. (note to self read in greater detail later.)

"The status of handloom production in the country in terms of production technology and marketing is however found to be very low and limited." (page7)

-this could be an area we could help

*Trade and Gender
Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Countries
United Nations 2004
http://www.intracen.org/e-trade/events/2005/UNCTADO.pdf
Chapter 14
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY

*National Policy on Ethiopian Women created in 1993
http://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/fact%20file/a-z/women-1.htm

textile architecture

2006-03-31T07:18:00.000-05:00

http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/008271.php

The textile brick designed by Erwan e Ronan Bouroullec for Kvadrat showroom in Stokholm is the latest step in their process of deconstructing space. Walls, doors and passageways regarded so far as closed and permanently fixed entities can instead be transformed into free configurations.

The soft brick is in fact self-organised in a continuous surface. This determines its growth in space according to the context.

The brick's basic module, mass-produce using industrial processes, has no clearly perceptible form as such. Once aggregated into a settled combination, the module tends to lose its separate identity and merge into a continuous flow. Each unit is a "fabric sandwich" containing a soft and deadening layer of cellular foam. In this way, areas enclosed by the flexible textile brick surfaces acquire a special sound quality that tends to create a muffledand warm sensation of that space. At any moment, doors, spare space, services, offices can be replanned differently, thus adapting to changing interiors.

More images.
http://www.europaconcorsi.com/db/pub/architecture.php?id_scheda=9681&idimg=79224
Via dezain < Domus.

tqs shoot

2006-03-30T22:56:00.000-05:00

tqs shoot
Originally uploaded by Marcelo Coelho.

Before our live TV interview (TQS noon talk show), joey prepares the squirrlel models for a good demo. As usual, pointing her fingers and micro-managing things...

rickshaw crew

2006-03-30T08:15:00.000-05:00

rickshaw crew
Originally uploaded by kinked.

joey, bruno (squirrel in training) and marguerite (master squirrel) made lots of funny faces during their week in ahmedabad.

some research stuff

2006-03-29T07:59:00.000-05:00

http://www.lectra.com/en/fashion_apparel/products/bodyscanner_fashion.html

In less than 12 seconds the BodyScanner, which is installed in your boutique, scans and memorizes the customer body volume and then calculates his/measurements and postures. All measurements required for the relevant garments are extracted from the 3D scan. The virtual body shape is available after the customer leaves the boutique.

http://www.usa.messefrankfurt.com/shows/northamerica/techtixtil/exhibitorlist.htm

Techtextil North America will showcase the higher performance areas of technical textiles and continue to grow and attract an eclectic collection of researchers, manufacturers and product specifiers. It is the only trade show that assembles all vertical aspects of the technical textile industry. From research and development, through raw materials and production processes and finally ending in conversion, further treatment and recycling.

joey in kurta at the NID

2006-02-22T10:04:00.000-05:00

joey in kurta at the NID
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

After Air Canada lost my luggage, I bought some little kurtas in Delhi. The course at the NID (national institute of design) in Ahmedabad went very well. the students made some amazing work in one week.

In this six-day course, a cross-disciplinary group of 38 NID students (from New Media, Product Design, and Textiles) examined the theory and applications of "smart objects” and “soft computation". Students designed and built simple interactive objects with embedded electronics, within the conceptual framework of “wellness”.

In the morning lecture component of the course, we presented an overview of previous work, as well as theory and history, in several relevant thematic areas, which included (1) physical interaction design, (2) physical computing, (3) ubiquitous computing, (4) tangible media, (5) wearable computing, (6) technical textile history, (7) electronic textiles, (8) embedded electronics, (9) responsive environments, (10) design research concepts, and (11) related post-graduate research programs internationally.

brainstorming with crayons

2006-02-08T22:33:00.000-05:00

brainstorming with crayons (or the crayon providence)
Originally uploaded by Marcelo Coelho.

This is the result of a brainstorming session between XS Labs and Barbara Layne's team. We are collaborating on a cool new project.

back to paper(making)

2006-02-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

back to paper
Originally uploaded by Marcelo Coelho.

My latest effort in extending soft computation to every corner of this earth.

joey weaving on jacquard loom

2006-02-06T17:13:00.000-05:00

joey weaving on jacquard loom
Originally uploaded by Marcelo Coelho.

I spent all of Tuesday working on our new Jacquard loom. My tricep was really sore. I wove a big picture.

Vincent, Christine and Joy (super model)

2006-02-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

Vincent, Christine and Joy (super model)
Originally uploaded by catinettev.

Accouphene on the runway

Vincent Leclerc

2006-01-28T08:18:00.000-05:00

IMG_3632
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

Vincent spent two weeks with XS Labs as a visiting artist at the end of January. He put together (with the whole team) a cool new wearable soundscape generator, Accouphene.

Anastasia and Agnes

2005-12-03T15:21:00.000-05:00

Anastasia and Agnes
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

Very fun event in London this week: I presented some of our dresses and the videos that Marc edited at an evening event at the ICA, organized by Sandy Black through her Interrogating Fashion Cluster. Our collaborator Di Mainstone came over and helped so much with the show! She was really amazing. Rachel Wingfield took all the photos and provided love, support, and beer. The next day, I gave a keynote talk at the LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION and then had a great dinner with Rachel, Di, and Carole Collet. I ate these weird gooey fish roe things.

Keynote in Manitoba.

2005-11-26T14:49:00.000-05:00

I gave a cool *new* talk at the launch event for the New Media Initiative at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture. Polly Washburn blogged about my talk in her blog.

the office

2005-11-13T08:54:00.000-05:00

DSC_0044.JPG
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

After a disappointing photo shoot for the Voir Fashion cover, we decided to take some pictures of our own. Marcelo, Joey, and Marguerite.

feathery

2005-11-05T00:56:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by Franziska.

showing the feathery dresses at the f0am workshop in Brussels

How to work with thermochromic inks

2005-11-05T00:51:00.000-05:00

How to work with thermochromic inks
Originally uploaded by Franziska.

Joey demonstrating thermochromic inks at the f0am workshop in Brussels.

f0am active materials workshop

2005-11-01T07:59:00.000-05:00

You can see more photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/berzowska/sets/1217040/

ISWC paper presentation

2005-11-01T07:42:00.000-05:00

On October 20, I presented the short paper that I co-authored with Marcelo, Kukkia and Vilkas: Kinetic Electronic Garments, at ISWC 2005, the 9th IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers, in Osaka, Japan.

Bradley Rhodes (program chair) reviewed the presentation in his blog,
http://docbug.com/

Weaving Workshop

2005-10-25T18:40:00.000-04:00

Barbara Layne (from Hexagram/Concordia) has recently invited our team to attend her weaving workshop. Weaving is not only fascinating for its history and aesthetic qualities, but also for its mathematical rigor and symmetric properties. The potential for soft computation is enormous.

Sproject SKORPIONNNN

2005-10-13T20:01:00.000-04:00

Di Mainstone is working hard on our new collaborative project called Scorpion Tales, which takes a further look at reconfigurable clothing. We propose to develop six kinetic electronic garments that move and change on the body in response to various internal and external stimuli. These transformable interactive costumes will be, in a sense, behavioral kinetic sculptures that exploit characteristics such as control, anticipation, and unpredictability to challenge expectations and provide a playful space for expression. As such, they will shift and modulate personal and social space by imposing physical constraints on the body. They will alter behavior, by hiding or revealing hidden layers, inviting others inside the protective shells of fabric, by erecting breathable walls, or tearing themselves open to divulge hidden secrets.

Marguerite finishes the Quilt!!!!!

2005-10-05T19:54:00.000-04:00

Marguerite finishes the Quilt!!!!!
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

After many months of eye-crossing and finger-numbing work, it looks like version four of the 10 by 10 animated quilt is finally ready. I can't wait to hook it up to the control electronics. It will certainly have the slowest refresh rate of any 100 pixel display...

Di and Marcelo at the lab on a Saturday night

2005-10-03T19:02:00.000-04:00

Di and Marcelo at the lab on a Saturday night
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

Our research coordinator Marcelo is hard at work while Di Mainstone, fashion designer extraordinaire, toils in the background.

Marguerite and Shirley

2005-10-03T19:01:00.000-04:00

Marguerite and Shirley
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

Our new supermodels Marguerite and Shirley model the Kukkia and Vilkas shape-change dresses. Kukkia and Vilkas are expressive behavioral kinetic sculptures. They are a personal and poetic extension of our skin.
Their movement comes from unexpected places and works in contradiction to or in reinforcement of movements naturally associated with the body.
The flowers “pulse” around the neck, hinting at the movement of nature, like breath or a heart beat.
The hem of Vilkas goes up and down automatically, it works like a curtain that reveals and hides, protects and exposes. At the same time, a conversation takes place between the dress and the wearer.

datamation lucknow center

2005-09-23T19:52:00.000-04:00

datamation lucknow center
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

I spent a day in and around Lucknow visiting Datamation centers, where yound girls, predominantly Muslim, come together to study computer skills as well as traditional textile construction techniques such as Chikan embroidery.

datamation lucknow center

2005-09-23T18:44:00.000-04:00

datamation lucknow center
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

The girls at the Center show me examples of the Chikan embroidery that Lucknow is famous for. THe photo on the right shows the back. The cross-stitches give the shapes a raised appearance.
The photo beflow shows the right side.

barbara's papermaking workshop

2005-08-26T15:20:00.000-04:00

barbara's papermaking workshop
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

Kukkia on the big screen

2005-06-30T20:41:00.000-04:00

Kukkia
Originally uploaded by berzowska.

Bodies in Motion: Memory, Personalization, Mobility and Design: Joey is a faculty member, co-organizer, and speaker for this summit held at the Banff New Media Institute. Also speaking are Paul, Vincent, Marcelo, and Christine!
Banff, Canada - June 25 - June 28, 2005

LED illuminating wearable fanciness

2005-05-14T17:46:00.000-04:00

Using small and bright LED matrix(177LEDs), moving pictures, images, texts, and various patterns are displayed. Intense visual effects related to emotions, opinions and information are fashionably displayed.
http://ilovepix.com/en/htm/main.htm
Introducing the most technologically advanced piece of clothing since the Hypercolor t-shirt ... the LED scrolling belt buckle. http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/nyx-screen-jacket-024883.php
The PIMP watch from Japan.
http://wearables.engadget.com/entry/5719585415083584/
http://www.tokyoflash.com/viewwatch.php?id=53&from=W1&KW=LED-watches
Nyx clothing offers built-in flexible display screens
http://www.gizmag.com/go/3409/
There is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come, and the response to this article has made it the most popular article on the site this week. Similarly, regardless of the trade show at which NYX illuminated clothing is shown, it becomes the talking point of show attendees and the catalyst for vivid imaginations as they seek to project what might happen with this technology over the next few years.
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2004/11/nyx_wearable_di_1.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/nyx-screen-jacket-024883.php
Media Lab Europe Human Connectedness research group's iBand: a wearable device for handshake-augmented interpersonal information exchange.
http://web.media.mit.edu/~stefan/hc/projects/iband/

Electronic Textiles 101

2005-04-22T07:42:00.000-04:00

A participant tests the conductivity of the applique leaf-switch, during the workshop "Electronics Textiles 101" that Joey gave in Manchester. Joey went over the basics of electronics (current, voltage, V=I*R...) in the morning, and covered basics of conductive fibers and stitched circuits in the afternoon. By 5pm, everybody had sewn a "soft switch" out of conductive organza and various conductive threads, which illuminated when squished. We had a fantastic time. Thanks for inviting me, Janet Bezzant!
This is the back on the flower circuit.

Kelly's Body Organs

2005-04-13T07:57:00.000-04:00

Kelly Dobson with her Body Organs at Goldsmith's College (for the 5th International Conference on Creativity & Cognition 2005).

We have lots of people from Concordia Fine Arts at the conference: Ingrid Bachmann and Barbara Layne from the Interactive Textiles and WearableComputers Axis of Hexagram (the three of us are also giving a special invited panel presentation on Monday), Chris Salter (who, together with Joey, Barbara and Sha Xin Wei, is one of the members of the Excitable Sites project), and Lorraine Oades, showing Invisible Sculpture #1/The Architects House.

Spotty Dresses

2005-04-09T21:17:00.000-04:00

Shirley, Hanna and Marguerite are modeling the "spotty" color-change dresses on the roof. The spots disappear when people touch you. Physical contact makes your camouflage disappear. You become nude, revealed... These three dresses are the first set of "Touch Memory" clothing produced in Banff during the summer of 2004. They jump-started the "Memory-Rich Garment" project.

2005-04-09T14:41:00.000-04:00

Shermine puts makeup on Marguerite in preparation for the photo shoot.

2005-04-08T05:17:00.000-04:00

Joey makes an evil face while groping her "Intimate Memory" shirt.

Company Keeper

2005-04-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

Di Mainstone, a fashion designer from London who is currently working with the Banff team on the Am-I-Able Network extravaganza, visited us at XS Labs this week. She is showing her "Company Keeper" -- a garment that plays lovely music in its hood (great integration of speakers, by the way, very SOFT) in response to various body language cues (arms crossed, resting on hips and so on.) Through this collaborative Network grant, and our joint worshops, the Banff team as well as the SFU team have started using some of our tricks for soft computation: the "soft switches" made out of conductive organza, the use of various conductive threads and yarns etc... it's great.

Di Mainstone showing the Company Keeper, during her visit at XS Labs.

Color-Change textile

2005-03-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

Joey shows off her Thermochromic ink samples, which change color in response to resistive heating of the textile.