The development of functional fibres, active materials, and flexible electrical components has introduced new ways of embedding interactive capabilities within textiles. However, this seamless integration poses challenges in terms of materials, disassembly, and disposal, revealing an urgent need to address the issue of sustainability when creating new electronic textiles. Authors have proposed eco-design guidelines that emphasise the use of renewable and biodegradable materials. Despite these recommendations, the potential of biomaterials in eTextiles remains largely unexplored. This integrative literature review showcases how biomaterials emerged as catalysts for expanding possibilities within eTextiles and HCI, not only through their environmental sustainability but also through their dynamic and transformative nature, fostering a realm of novel interactive experiences. We suggest the potential of developing fully bio-based eTextile systems, the need for broader sustainability and aesthetic studies, the relevance of DIY methods, and the urgency of textile knowledge integration.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642581
While there has been sustained interest in shape-changing materials and deployable structures, many existing systems require engineering materials, precision fabrication, and computationally modeled kinematics in order to work. Additionally, many rely on external power sources in order to deploy. In light of these factors, we perceive a need for deployable materials that are easy to design, prototype, and deploy, and that can transform themselves in response to environmental stimuli, making them appropriate for ecological applications. In this paper, we present ExCell, a DIY-able system of water-responsive wooden linear actuators for self-actuating deployable structures. We show that ExCell can be used to develop a wide range of geometries, we present a prototyping method that can create accurate models of ExCell structures, and we suggest four possible applications for this system.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642565
Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) afford the seamless integration of shape-changing behaviour into textiles, enabling designers to augment apparel with dynamic shaping and styling. However, existing works fall short of providing versatile methods adaptable to varying scales, materials, and applications, curtailing designers’ capacity to prototype customised solutions. To address this, we introduce Flextiles, parameterised SMA design schema that leverage the traditional craft of smocking to integrate planar shape-change seamlessly into diverse textile projects. The conception of Flextiles stems from material experimentation and consultative dialogues with designers, whose insights inspired strategies for customising scale, elasticity, geometry, and actuation of Flextiles. To support the practical implementation of Flextiles, we provide a design tool and experimentally characterise their material properties. Lastly, through a design case study with practitioners, we explore the multifaceted applications and perspectives surrounding Flextiles, and subsequently realise four scenarios that illustrate the creative potential of these modular, customisable patterns.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642848
With workplace buildings becoming increasingly sensor-rich environments and amidst climate change and global pandemic pressures, there is novel opportunity for utilizing climatic data within buildings for awareness and wellbeing purposes. Interaction design research, including on large, shared-displays, rarely addresses building occupants’ experiences of air quality (AQ); and to-date there are no studies evaluating such interventions in the context of communicating climatic data in the workplace. Responding to these research gaps, three prototype-led studies were conducted with 21 occupants of a smart office building over June-August 2022, evaluating occupants’ experiences of a large shape- and color-changing display responding to AQ data. A thematic analysis resulted in design implications for improving shape- and color-changing displays for communicating AQ data; linking biomimicry to data interpretation. Contributing to Human-Building Interaction (HBI) research in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) field, we provide design directions for future shape-changing and responsive architectures for climate awareness in smart buildings.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642396