Sensory perception plays a fundamental role in how we interpret and relate to people and our environment. While verbal communication dominates much of our interaction, nonverbal forms, such as haptics, present alternatives for connection. This pictorial investigates the potential of haptic interaction through an iterative prototyping process, culminating in SYMBIONT—a pair of bioinspired soft robotic objects designed for affective tactile communication across distances or in shared spaces.

“RUR: A Torrent of Light” is an opera combining contemporary stage production with wearable electronic devices to create an immersive experience for the audience. In this paper we share the design and prototyping methods used to create the wearable devices, detail the variety of collaborations required to incorporate wearables into this kind of production, and reflect on the overall process as well as the results. We then share a set of recommendations based on our findings aimed to support future creatives and technologists developing wearable technology projects for a stage environment.

Invested in increasing access to computational literacy, this paper explores the development of a series of free public workshops in partnership with an equity-seeking group. These workshops cover e-textile techniques that lend themselves to making alternative game controllers leading up to a concept-led game jam. We use research creation approaches to prioritize creative exploration within a community group for marginalized makers. The goal of the research is to explore and elucidate the overlap between e-textiles and experimental game making. We discuss our playful use of workshops as research method to iterate on the embodied experience of making on behalf of our participants. Our contribution maps the connections between workshop design and development, learning materials generated, through to application within an online game jam setting.

Monarch is a wearable electronics prototype that enables the wearer to amplify or extend body language through the use of a muscle-activated kinetic textile for the purpose of augmented social interaction. This pictorial details the second prototype stage with a focus on addressing the wearability [5,14], technical, and production challenges resulting from the first prototype [7]. The purpose of these improvements is to enable a small batch production of the prototype for further testing in daily life. Design decisions are brought to the foreground for observation and reflection, including those surrounding material choices and production methods. The result is a detailed visual account of the generative and evaluative discoveries [12] as well as a contribution of several recommendations that can be applied to small batch production of wearable electronic prototypes in a research lab context.

Wearable devices of today help people track and monitor their biometric data such as heart rate. While the tracked data can help inform people of their health, many find that it adds unnecessary anxieties in the way the feedback is provided. In the case of college students, they spend most of their time in a stressful environment, leading them to an increase in the risk of mental health issues. To help with this issue, we present Heart Waves, an experimental ambient feedback system that tracks heart rate and uses water sound to provide feedback in a stressful work environment. Heart Waves uses the sound of falling water to create a relaxing atmosphere to help ease any stress they are going through. As the user's heart rate goes up, the flow of water increases, and as their heart rate goes down, the flow rate of water decreases. The purpose of this project is to automatize the processing of heart rate data so that the user does not have to analyze the data and create an ambient feedback system that adjusts to their heart rate.

This paper introduces initial attempts to bridge the worlds of digital fabrication and do-it-yourself wearable electronics. It introduces a selection of microcontrollers that are anticipated to work well in a wearable context and provides an overview of five prototypes: Folding Felt Photon, Photon Sleepers, Circuit Playground Aurora Hat, Feather Belt, and Feather Shoes. These prototypes use laser cutting and/or 3D printing to produce microcontroller enclosures that can be worn on the body. Rigid and flexible materials are used alone and in combination to achieve qualities such as conformability, comfort, and device protection. Digital fabrication techniques facilitate rapid and repeatable production of prototypes for testing while allowing precise modification of fit, material thickness and machine settings. The intent is to demonstrate this approach and to share initial designs for digitally fabricated encasements that allow researchers, designers, and artists to better integrate small computational systems into clothing or other wearables.

This studio invites participants to explore ways of extending physical expressivity through a combined use of wearable electronics and structural textile design. Participants are introduced to an electronics and material prototyping method developed by Social Body Lab for constructing kinetic textile body extensions intended for use in social interactions.

Monarch is a wearable and muscle-activated kinetic textile. It consists of textile forms attached to the shoulders that expand and contract in response to the movement of the wearer's muscles. By physically extending natural body language, Monarch explores how wearable technologies can be used as a form of personal expression, as well as how and when they can begin to feel like a visceral extension of self.

We present Tweetris, a full-body interactive Tetris game with extended audience participation. Snapshots of players making correct tetrominos are tweeted, and this feed is used by a mobile and web-based Tetris game, which can be played from anywhere in real-time.

"Limber" refers to an interconnected system of wearable, sensor-enabled components and game-like desktop software, designed to reduce repetitive stress injury among knowledge workers. Regular bodily movement/exercise and maintenance of good posture is rewarded with within a game experience during the course of a workday. We present two design and evaluation iterations that illustrate the utility of the system and identify key design challenges.

This studio will introduce the communication and construction techniques necessary to create wireless wearable devices. Participants will learn how to communicate using XBee radios, including digital, analog, input and output modes along with an overview of other useful features. Participants will also learn how to translate circuits onto fabric by making flexible, durable, and attractive connections between components using conductive textiles and threads. Finally, participants will create a finished garment or accessory that includes a soft sensor and embedded actuator and is able to transmit & receive data wirelessly with a neighboring wearable device.