The website for the project is
The speakers in this opening session are: Tom Fisher, Adam Drazin, and Janis Jefferies.
Tom – While there’s a lot of work going on in various laboratories, the seems to be a lack of relationship between the ‘heat and light’ in fashion, performance and art – this doesn’t seem to me to be feeding through into actual innovation in practical applications.
Adam – issue he’s seeing is to do with ‘ecosystem’ approach and how it doesn’t link to textiles. Not sufficient to focus down on specific uses – textiles are almost too ubiquitous. Whereas a broad brush approach is not sufficient and too general to provide insight. The concept of Utopianism and people’s aspirations not being met. Borders between professional world and everyday world very blurred. Cites worries and dis-illusion in the material world. How we engage with work clothes in a hospital say, and in fashion are very different. Utopianism and the future of the body. Not about temporal models placing the body on a pedestal.
Janis – involved in weave – it’s about ‘electronic communications in cloth’ for her; and look at the links to privacy and surveillance. new ways of knowing and composing relationships and what does that mean in terms of ethics, care and new ways of living? Need also to look at different publics and representations – and who controls that data.
Weaving and textiles analogy is very strong – commenter says she follows what Janis says and feels that it’s important. “Knots and nodes” says Janis. Needs not to be a one-way relationships – must be back and forwards “A shuttle!” Says Janis.
Raymond Oliver – P3i
How do we make things skin-like rather than silicon-like?
Why are textiles so slow to get “smarter”?
Seems to be a big issue over the need for integration across many disciplines.
Digital – physical – sensory fusion will take the next 5-10 years. Lots ‘bridging’ between science/tech and design.
Argument – from audience – say little demand for body-monitoring – no one wants to be told what they already know by a technology that tracks heart rate – we know we should loose weight, be healthier – and what would I do with the heart rate data anyway? Raymond says that how we look at ‘soft responsive’ technologies for rehabilitation – part of health and wellness.
Q re visual anthropologist – looking at how you do things. Yes – they are studying how we are operating and what we are doing.
Janis – soft logic of emerging trends especially in health monitoring.
Raymond is taking a very technologically driven approach – look at the charts – and now talking about hydro gels with embedded pharma and what’s called 4D printing.
Sarah Kettley; the Internet of Soft Things
Work embedding wireless technology in jewellery – and ‘working from the body’ up with dancers and performers using technology.
Using the Aeolia stretch sensing project as an example – and look at the ‘dilemmas’ table – interesting!
Why do things have too be unobtrusive? We might want to make the technology visible in public. “Critical design is part of the lingo in design – doesn’t seem to happen as much in textile education”. Not everyone agrees with this statement.
The difference between expression and function – different levels of scale and construction.
Using the statistics around depression – and Sarah is working with the mental health charity Mind. Lots of people showing up at Mind services without a clinical diagnosis. Complex network of issues.
Now talking about the difference between ‘technical’ and ‘smart’ textiles. And also the example of “person-centred design” vs “user-centred design”.
Three phase of proposed research.
Project outcomes
Janis – q of gender and demographics – and high suicide rates among 18-24 year old men in Ireland (a project Janis has been involved with). Sometimes organisations like Mind are ‘already too official’.
Mat Trivett – Near Now
More interesting than Gartner’s critique of #iot is the hypecycle graph that underwrites it http://t.co/xvXR9s4KU0 pic.twitter.com/cJhPI0df71
— Near Now (@nearnow) August 12, 2014
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