Altering one's body-perception through e-textiles and haptic metaphors

Tajadura-Jiménez A, Väljamäe A and Kuusk K (2020) Altering One's Body-Perception Through E-Textiles and Haptic Metaphors. Front. Robot. AI 7:7.Technologies change rapidly our perception of reality, moving from augmented to virtual to magical. While e-textiles are a key component in exergame or space suits, the transformative potential of the internal side of garments to create embodied experiences still remains largely unexplored. This paper is the result from an art-science collaborative project that combines recent neuroscience findings, body-centered design principles and 2D vibrotactile array-based fabrics to alter one's body perception. We describe an iterative design process intertwined with two user studies on the effects on body-perceptions and emotional responses of various vibration patterns within textile that were designed as spatial haptic metaphors. Our results show potential in considering materials (e.g., rocks) as sensations to design for body perceptions (e.g., being heavy, strong) and emotional responses. We discuss these results in terms of sensory effects on body perception and synergetic impact to research on embodiment in virtual environments, human-computer interaction, and e-textile design. The work brings a new perspective to the sensorial design of embodied experiences which is based on "material perception" and haptic metaphors, and highlights potential opportunities opened by haptic clothing to change body-perception.This work was partially supported by PSI2016-79004-R Magic Shoes project grant (AEI/FEDER, UE), from Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad of Spain and the Magic Lining VERTIGO project as part of the STARTS program of the European Commission, based on technological elements from the project Magic Shoes. AT-J was supported by RYC- 2014–15421 grant from the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad of Spain and AV was supported by the Estonian Research Council grant PUT1518

A transdisciplinary collaborative journey leading to sensorial clothing

Recent science funding initiatives have enabled participants from a diverse array of disciplines to engage in common spaces for developing solutions for new wearables. These initiatives include collaborations between the arts and sciences, fields which have traditionally contributed very different forms of knowledge, methodology, and results. However, many such collaborations often turn out as science communication and dissemination activities that make no concrete contribution to technological innovation. Magic Lining, a transdisciplinary collaborative project involving artistic and scientific partners working in the fields of e-textile design, cognitive neuroscience and human-computer interaction, creates a shared experiential knowledge space. This article focuses on the research question of how a transdisciplinary collaborative design processinvolving material explorations, prototyping, first-person-perspective and user studies, can lead to the creation of a garment that invites various perceptual and emotional responses in its wearer. The article reflects on the design journey, highlighting the transdisciplinary team's research through design experience and shared language for knowledge exchange. This process has revealed new research paths for an emerging field of 'sensorial clothing', combining the various team members' fields of expertise and resulting in a wearable prototype.This work was partially supported by the VERTIGO project as part of the STARTS program of the European Commission, based on technological elements from the project Magic Shoes (grant PSI2016-79004-R, Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad of Spain, AEI/FEDER). The work was also supported by the project Magic outFIT, funded by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2019-105579RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). Aleksander Väljamäe’s work was supported by the Estonian Research Council grant PUT1518; and Ana Tajadura-Jiménez’s work was supported by RYC-2014–15421 grant, Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad of Spain

Magic lining: crafting multidisciplinary experiential knowledge by changing wearer's body-perception through vibrotactile clothing

Our complex and rapidly changing world presents us with profound societal challenges, but also offers tremendous opportunities for new technology to respond to those challenges. Several recent U initiatives have enabled participants from a diverse array of disciplines to engage in common spaces for developing solutions to existing challenges and to imagine possible futures. This includes collaborations between the arts and sciences, fields which have traditionally contributed very different forms of knowledge, methodology, results and measures of success. They also speak very different languages. Magic Lining is a collaborative project involving participants from the fields of e-textile design, neuroscience and human-computer interaction (HCI). Magic Lining combines the findings of their respective disciplines to develop a 'vibrotactile' garment utilising soft, interactive materials and is designed to alter the wearer's perception of their own body. Here we explain the process of designing the first prototype garment—a dress that produces in its wearer the sensation that their body is made of some of other material (stone, air, etc.) and in turn elicits various perceptual and emotional responses (feeling strong, feeling calm, etc.). We reflect on the collaborative process, highlighting the multidisciplinary team's experience in finding a common space and language for sharing cognitive and experiential knowledge. We share our insights into the various outcomes of the collaboration, giving also our views on the benefits and on potential improvements for this kind of process.This work was partially supported by the VERTIGO project as part of the STARTS program of the European Commission, based on technological elements from Magic Shoes. Aleksander Väljamäe’s work was supported by the Estonian Research Council grant PUT1518; and Ana Tajadura-Jiménez’s work was supported by RYC-2014–15421 and PSI2016-79004-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) grants, Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad of Spain

Mediating (nonverbal) communication between persons with different cognitive abilities using interactive artifacts

In a time of increasing interest in living and supporting life with mental illnesses, social design offers new tools and solutions for improving human livelihood and well-being. This paper presents student projects completed for a social design course in 2017 and 2018 at the Estonian Academy of Arts that combine traditional crafts with interaction design mindset and skills, resulting in social design work that tackles nonverbal communication with and between persons with different cognitive abilities. The paper compares the development processes of student work for a social design course from two consecutive years, sheds light on the project evaluations, future use in the real life context, and allows for a discussion of the future of design for social interaction between persons with different cognitive abilities mediated by interactive artifacts. The process of involving multidisciplinary instructors team and medical specialist into the design education process is described and reflected on

Crafting Butterfly Lace – Conductive Multi-Color Sensor-Actuator Structure

The work describes background and methods involved in the development of Butterfly Lace, a conductive multi-color sensor-actuator structure that lies in the intersection of traditional craft and smart materials. Traditional craft is introduced as inspiration for developing smart textiles in lace structure. Both, the process of dyeing conductive threads with multi-color thermochromic pigment mixes and the technical set up for the sensor-actuator system are described. The possibilities and challenges for the multi-color sensor-actuator combination in a lace structure are discussed based on the experience gained from working with the material. Potential applications are glanced for inspiration and future directions.

Crafting Butterfly Lace – Conductive Multi-Color Sensor-Actuator Structure

The work describes background and methods involved in the development of Butterfly Lace, a conductive multi-color sensor-actuator structure that lies in the intersection of traditional craft and smart materials. Traditional craft is introduced as inspiration for developing smart textiles in lace structure. Both, the process of dyeing conductive threads with multi-color thermochromic pigment mixes and the technical set up for the sensor-actuator system are described. The possibilities and challenges for the multi-color sensor-actuator combination in a lace structure are discussed based on the experience gained from working with the material. Potential applications are glanced for inspiration and future directions.