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Smart Textiles pp 233–257Cite as

A Strategy for Material-Specific e-Textile Interaction Design

Part of the Human–Computer Interaction Series book series (HCIS)

Abstract

The interaction design of electronic textile (or e-Textile) products is often characterised by conventions adopted from electronic devices rather than developing interactions that are specific to e-Textiles. We argue that textile materials feature a vast potential for the design of novel digital interactions. In particular, the shape-reformation capabilities of textiles may inform the design of expressive and aesthetically rewarding applications. In this chapter, we propose ways in which the textileness of e-Textiles can be better harnessed. We outline an e-Textile Interaction Design strategy that is based on defining the material specificity of e-Textiles as its ability to deform in ways that match the expectations we have of textile materials. It embraces an open-ended exploration of interactions related to textiles (e.g., stretching, folding, turning inside out) and their potential for electronic recognisability for deriving material-specific concepts and applications for e-Textiles.

Keywords

  • Interaction Design
  • Textile Contact
  • Textile Sensor
  • Textile Interaction
  • Everyday Object

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-50124-6_11
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Acknowledgements

This work is part of ArcInTex ETN research, which is an EU-funded Marie Sklodowska Curie European Training Network Project (more info at http://www.arcintexetn.eu).

A part of the empirical research included in the chapter was undertaken at the Embodied Design Research Group of the Department of Design in Aalto University, Finland.

We thank Berit Greinke (Design Research Lab, UdK Berlin) for corrections that greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK), Berlin, Germany

    Ramyah Gowrishankar & Katharina Bredies

  2. University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Odense, Denmark

    Salu Ylirisku

Authors
  1. Ramyah Gowrishankar
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  2. Katharina Bredies
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  3. Salu Ylirisku
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ramyah Gowrishankar , Katharina Bredies or Salu Ylirisku .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Visualization & Interactive Systems / MC, University of Stuttgart Visualization & Interactive Systems / MC, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

    Stefan Schneegass

  2. Chair of Sensor Technology, University of Passau Chair of Sensor Technology, Passau, Bayern, Germany

    Oliver Amft

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Gowrishankar, R., Bredies, K., Ylirisku, S. (2017). A Strategy for Material-Specific e-Textile Interaction Design. In: Schneegass, S., Amft, O. (eds) Smart Textiles. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50124-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50124-6_11

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