Changing the fabric of society : an exploration of smart textiles in product design

Jonathon Allen

    Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

    Abstract

    There has been a flurry of activity in the area of smart textiles over the past decade or so [Baurley (Per Ubiquit Comput 8:274-281, 2004); Eves et al. (New nomads: an exploration of wearable electronics. 010 Publishers, 2010); Garcia (ed) (Architextiles. Wiley-Academic, 2006); Lupton (Skin: surface, substance, design. Princeton Architectural Press, 2002)], and we are now beginning to see the transition from protypical items, to commercial applications. Yet the uptake of textiles in product design is relatively poor. Whilst there are some notable exceptions [Baurley (Per Ubiquit Comput 8:274-281, 2004); ElekTex (http://www.elektex.com, 2009); Philips (http://www.lumalive.philips.com, 2011)] the majority of applications remain prototypical. Yet why is this, and what can smart textiles offer the field of product design? This paper interweaves some of the developments and applications of smart textiles, drawing examples from other domains, such as art, architecture, engineering and bio-medical fields, as well as materials science, in the process, exploring future applications of smart textiles in industrial and product design.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationSmart Design : First International Conference Proceedings
    EditorsPhilip Breedon
    Place of PublicationU.K.
    PublisherSpringer-Verlag
    Pages23-29
    Number of pages7
    ISBN (Print)9781447129745
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • smart textiles
    • product design
    • new materials

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