(BA) Design for Interactive Media

This presentation was based on “Wearable Technology” , which includes clothing and accessories that have used or incorporated either computer technology or advanced electronic and digital technology into the clothing itself. Although these contextual studies go back to the earlier ages, as far back as 5000 BCE with Flax Production, these designs often incorperate practical functions and features as well as making a statement or establishing a technological look.

Clothing itself is considered a technology, something as simple as a shirt is designed to make a statement, keep us warm and concealed.

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Flax Production – 5000 BC

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. This is called as Agasi/Akshi in Kannada, Jawas/Javas  or Alashi  in Marathi. Flax was extensively cultivated in ancient Ethiopia and ancient Egypt.

There appear to be many origins for the process of weaving.  Some dating back as far as 5000 BC, but to take one for example, the Egyptians. Flax was the predominant fibre in Egypt at this time and continued popularity in the Nile Valley, even after wool became the primary fibre used in other cultures around 2000 BCE

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Wearable Digital & Computer Technology

We then discussed wearable computer technology such as the wrist calculator watch above, and the concept and practical nature of its design, more importantly though we discussed the idea of what this technology means to those that don’t specialize in this specific knowledge, as an example:

My Dentists understanding of Wearable Technology

Another example of this would be the ZYPAD wrist wearable computer from Arcom Control Systems

The commercialization of general-purpose wearable computers, as led by companies such as Xybernaut, CDI and ViA Inc, has thus far met with limited success. Publicly-traded Xybernaut tried forging alliances with companies such as IBM and Sony in order to make wearable computing widely available, but in 2005 their stock was delisted and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid financial scandal and federal investigation. Xybernaut emerged from bankruptcy protection in January, 2007. In 1998 Seiko marketed the Ruputer, a computer in a (fairly large) wristwatch, to mediocre returns. In 2001 IBM developed and publicly displayed two prototypes for a wristwatch computer running Linux. The last message about them dates to 2004, saying the device would cost about $250 but it is still under development. In 2002 Fossil, Inc. announced the Fossil Wrist PDA, which ran the Palm OS. Its release date was set for summer of 2003, but was delayed several times and was finally made available on January 5, 2005. Timex Datalink is another example of a practical wearable computer. Hitachi launched a wearable computer called Poma in 2002. Eurotech offers the ZYPAD, a wrist wearable touch screen computer with GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and which can run a number of custom applications.

The Evolution of Steve Mann’s WearComp wearable computer from backpack based systems of the late 1970s and early 1980s to his current covert systems.

Steven Mann, is a tenured professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto.

Many of Mann’s inventions pertain to the field of computational photography.

• Chirplet transform, 1991: Mann was the first to propose and reduce to practice a signal representation based on a family of chirp signals, each associated with a coefficient, in a generalization of the wavelet transform that is now referred to as the chirplet transform.
• Video Orbits, 1993: Mann was the first to produce an algorithm for automatically combining multiple pictures of the same subject matter, using algebraic projective geometry, to “stitch together” images using automatically estimated perspective correction. This is called the “Video Orbits” algorithm. See also US Patent 5,828,793, Method and apparatus for producing digital images having extended dynamic ranges.
• Comparametric Equations, 1993: Mann was the first to propose and implement an algorithm to estimate a camera’s response function from a plurality of differently exposed images of the same subject matter. He was also the first to propose and implement an algorithm to automatically extend dynamic range in an image by combining multiple differently exposed pictures of the same subject matter.^[7] See also US Patent 5,706,416, Method and apparatus for relating and combining multiple images of the same scene or object(s).
• Hydraulophone: Mann invented an experimental musical instrument that uses pressurized hydraulic fluid, such as water, to make sound. The instrument is played by placing the fingers in direct contact with the sound-producing hydraulic fluid, thus giving the musician a high degree of control over the musical expression in the sound.
• SixthSense, a wearable computer based on a pendant that contains a webcam and laser-based infinite depth-of-focus projector.
• Sousveillance and cyborg-logging

Mann also works in the fields of computer-mediated reality. He is a strong advocate of privacy rights, for which work he was an award recipient of the Chalmers Foundation in the fine arts. His work also extends to the area of sousveillance (a term he coined for “inverse surveillance”). Mann and one of his PhD students, James Fung, together with some of his other students, have been building a cyborg community around the cyborg-logging concept.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann

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Technology & Fashion

During the presentation we also discussed possibilities and a wide range of examples with fashion, and how technology has improved to the point where designers are now looking at ways to incorporate modern technology into basic clothing…

The lightweight and energy-efficient credentials of LEDs have made designers think of countless application areas. Dutch Designer Stijn Ossevoort has come up with a dress dubbed Flare, which is embroidered with LEDs that are powered by wind energy. As the wearer walks down the street, the dress glows in different patterns.

The Bubelle Dress designed by electronic giants Philips does just that. The emotion sensitive dress has an inner layer that consists of biometric sensors that pick up a person’s emotions and projects them in colours onto the outer layer. Stress, anger and fear makes the dress go red, while calmness is displayed in a green colour.

Dandelion Portable Windmill Costume