Friday, June 23, 2006

1st Draft of description (1 June 2006)

Trends in wearable technology

Recent developments in scientific fields such as DNA research, tissue culture, wearable computing, and ‘smart’ materials have brought about dramatic changes in the perception of materials and garments in design. In the past, the integration of technology in the design of materials and garments moreover existed of the mere augmentation of garments with computational devices that were sewn-in or attached, such as jackets with sewn-in iPods or GPS gloves. However, since ‘people are reluctant to have wires and hard plastic cases against their bodies [1], contemporary merging of technology and the design of materials and garments has lead to more exciting outcomes. Whereas the stereotype cyborg of the future is a human with machinery attached to it, recent developments in the above mentioned scientific fields indicate a future in which humans are augmented with technology that seamlessly connects to the human body, e.g., as second skin.

Today’s newest materials and garments are produced in unconventional ways; they are produced in scientific laboratories and can, ultimately, even be grown. Characteristic for such materials and garments is their ability to change (such as fabrics that adapt their density to changing temperature), embed high-tech features (such as solar panels woven into fabric), or grow in certain shapes or forms (such as leather grown independent of a creature in the shape of a jacket). How such materials and garments adapt, process information, or grow over time is pre-determined by their creator or designer. This brings forward new opportunities and challenges in the design of materials and garments that require strong interdisciplinary collaboration between artists, designers, and scientists. To facilitate this strong interdisciplinary collaboration, V2_ and Virtual Platform organize a two-day symposium on the subject.

The proposed symposium’s aim is twofold. First, it will critically reflect upon the impact of the above mentioned scientific developments unto art and design practice. Second, it will thoroughly discuss how artists, designers, and scientists can and should collaborate to realize the potential that these developments bring. These two aims will be treated separately in a seminar (day 1) and a scenario workshop (day 2), respectively. During the seminar on day 1, the invited speakers will present their recent developments to a broad audience of artists, designers, scientists, and students in wearable technology and related fields. The scenario workshop on day 2 will provide an intimate setting, without an audience, for the invited speakers of the previous day’s seminar (and several invited experts) to discuss examples of good practice in the interdisciplinary field of wearable technology.

Day 1: Seminar (hosted by V2_, Rotterdam)

The seminar will open with an overview of works that illustrate the impact of recent scientific developments on the perception of materials and garments in textile and fashion. This opening lecture will be given by Susan Lee, author of ‘Fashioning the Future: tomorrow’s wardrobe’. Furthermore, eight to ten international practitioners will be invited by the program committee to present and demonstrate their projects. The invitees’ projects will represent the various streams of development in the integration of technology in the design of materials and garments, with a strong focus on recent trends. Furthermore, the invitees will be encouraged to add hands-on elements to their presentations, such as feeling adaptive fabrics, trying on biojewellery, or acting as mannequins for ‘smart’ garments.

During the presentations and closing debate of the seminar, the following questions will be central:

- What are the opportunities for these new developments in textile and fashion?

- What are the advantages of these new materials and garments?

- How can these new materials be employed in garments?

- What are the prospects and aims for tissue culture, smart fabrics, etc. in the near future?

- What are the challenges and open issues for these new developments in textile and fashion?

o What are the problems faced by tissue culture and smart fabrics in creating garments?

o What are possible solutions to those challenges?

o What is the socio-cultural impact of the above mentioned developments?

o Which ethical issues arise from these developments?

o How do they affect the individual wearing such garments?

- Individual design and co-creation are current trends in internet, fashion and design. How do these trends relate to emerging fields such as tissue culture and smart fabrics?

o What does the demand for products from tissue culture and smart fabrics look like?

o Are individual design and co-creation the way to go in these fields?

o Is regular production of products in these fields even feasible?

Day 2: Scenario workshop (hosted by Virtual Platform, Amsterdam)

Virtueel Platform (VP) will host an intensive one day scenario workshop for experts from different backgrounds that conduct research in the fields of smart materials, integration of electronics into clothing, interaction through and with all the senses and the body. The goal of this event is to create cross disciplinary connections between research in art, design, academia, and industry. During this event Dutch efforts in the fields of wearables will be put in an international context, by showing international good practice of new alliances in research projects.

The integration of digital technology in clothing and the body is a field that has been explored from different disciplines, perspectives, and angles over the past decades (computation, engineering, interaction design, fashion, textiles, artists, and performers). We can see a new field emerging where not the technical possibilities are crucial, but the forming of new ways of expressing and communicating that evolve around the intimate relation between clothing and the body. This is a new playing field where smart textiles, fashion, games, and connectivity meet in urban environments. However, research is conducted mostly from one perspective only. VP is convinced that by reflecting on the central issues regarding the research and design processes and the methodology possibilities for connections will appear.

It is not our aim to represent or give an overview of all these different disciplines and angles, but to concentrate on the space where they meet and fertilize a new ground. This requires an interdisciplinary approach bringing together professionals from different backgrounds, and let them work extensively on themes that are crucial for the current practice.

The workshop will follow the following format. In the morning, best practice regarding interdisciplinary collaborative research projects will be presented and discussed. In the afternoon, working sessions will be held in which social and cultural potential of research and projects will be discussed and explored from both user and designer perspectives.

During the scenario workshop, the following questions will be central:

- What do the design processes in these emerging fields look like?

o Who manages the design process?

o Who makes the design decisions?

o How are decisions reached?

o Where does the actual work take place?

- What social or cultural applications are envisioned and designed in the different fields?

-What are the implications for either the designer or the user?

- What role can and should users play within the research and design process?

- What are underlying philosophical and ethical questions?

- How does scientific material research relate to artistic material exploration?

o Are their aims and approaches similar?

o How does the dialog between the two take place?

o How can the two be successfully integrated?

- What are the required skills for artists, designers, and scientists, and technicians to participate in one of these emerging fields?

o Which kinds of expertise are needed for successful collaboration in these fields?

o Which combinations of people and expertise work and which don’t?

[1] Post and Orth (1997) Smart Fabric, or Washable Computing. First IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers, October 13-14, 1997, Massachusetts.

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