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9. WEARABLES

RESEARCH

Wearable technology bridges fashion, art, performance, and science, transforming clothing from passive layers into interactive interfaces that connect us to the world. Through miniaturized sensors, lights, and wireless capabilities, garments now serve functional roles in healthcare, safety, entertainment, and personal expression. Through these developments, designers and artists are challenging traditional notions of dress, infusing garments with multi-sensorial experiences that respond to touch, sight, sound, and even biometrics. Wearable technology allows clothing to morph into dynamic displays or emotional responses, serving as "second skins" or personal scenography. This fusion redefines clothing as dynamic, expressive architecture that interacts with our environment, expanding our perception of both body and space (Hrga, 2019).

ARTISTS INSPO

AUDREY BRIOT: STYMPHALIAN BIRDS

The Stymphalian Birds project draws inspiration from Greek mythology’s fierce, metallic-feathered birds, reimagining feathers as environmental and bodily sensors. Blending traditional featherwork and Lunéville embroidery with advanced digital techniques, the project creates conductive hybrid feathers that respond to touch by emitting sound. Using methods like in situ polymerization, these feathers become flexible, interactive sensors that bridge handcraft, electronics, and materials science. More information can be found on MIT Media Lab.

YIHYUN LIM: FELTED TERRAIN, AN INTERACTIVE WOOL LANDSCAPE

Felted Terrain is an interactive textile project that transforms wool into a 3D, sensory experience, inspired by Iceland’s mossy, rolling landscapes. Moving beyond its traditional use in clothing, the wool textile is crafted to mimic Iceland’s natural terrain, inviting users to engage with it as an immersive environment. Lim, an MIT M.Arch graduate, combined handcraft techniques with computational design, using a Rhino3D-generated circle-packing pattern to knit wool with conductive thread. Each circle forms a capacitive sensor tip linked to a LilyPad Arduino, creating a soft circuit that generates sound and visuals upon touch. Loaded with modified Capsense code, each touch produces a musical note and sine wave, translating tactile interaction into an auditory and visual experience. Constructed on a vintage knitting machine, the fabric was wet-felted to create a tightly textured, smaller-scale textile that emphasizes the “bumps” reminiscent of Iceland’s landscape.

FABRICADEMY INSPO

𖡎 OLIVIA CUEVA: Thermochromatic Ink

𖡎 ANNA CAIN: Thermochromic Mood Ring

INITIAL PROTOTYPING AND EXPERIMENTS

At the beginning of the week I started experimenting and researching SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) smocking, thermochromatic ink, and we learned how to use neopixels.

𖡎 SMA Smocking: Although I researched extensively the approach, the project was limited by material availability (only ~10 cm of SMA wire at our FabLab).

Here is my experiment with the super short SMA wire.

𖡎 Thermochromatic Ink: While researching this topic, I came across this incredible thermo-sensitive knitwear designed by Stone Iceland (who also created these thermosensitive jackets).

Unfortunately, the ink available at the FabLab was limited. I decided to postpone creating my sweater until the end of the month when I can collect thermochromatic ink from SFXC in the UK.

After experimenting with another light-activated ink, I realized it was likely ineffective due to being mixed with another product. I believe that the sweater would fail. Additionally, I found it to be unsustainable, as it contains many chemicals—this is not the direction I want to pursue in future projects.

Here is the sample with light-activated ink.

𖡎 Neopixels: We also experimented with neopixels, we learned how to control the LEDs by changing colors, brightness, and creating a fade effect. Using the Adafruit NeoPixel library, we set up a strip of four LEDs and an onboard LED.

Here is the Arduino code for the 'Patriotic Polish LED Light':

#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

#define ONBOARD_NEOPIXEL 8

#define STRIP_LENGTH 4
#define STRIP_PIN 9

int brightness = 0;  // how bright the LED is
int fadeAmount = 5;  // how many points to fade the LED by

Adafruit_NeoPixel strip = Adafruit_NeoPixel(STRIP_LENGTH, STRIP_PIN, NEO_GRB);
Adafruit_NeoPixel onboard = Adafruit_NeoPixel (1, ONBOARD_NEOPIXEL, NEO_GRB);

void setup() {
  onboard.begin();
  onboard.setBrightness(30);
  onboard.show();

  strip.begin();
  strip.show();

}

void loop() {
  onboard.setPixelColor(0, onboard.Color(128, 0, 128)); // Purple
  onboard.show();

  strip.setPixelColor(0, strip.Color(brightness, brightness, brightness));      // White
  strip.setPixelColor(1, strip.Color(brightness, brightness, brightness));      // White
  strip.setPixelColor(2, strip.Color(brightness, 0, 0));                        // Red
  strip.setPixelColor(3, strip.Color(brightness, 0, 0));                        // Red

  strip.show();

  brightness += fadeAmount;

  // Reverse the direction at brightness limits
  if (brightness <= 0 || brightness >= 255) {
    fadeAmount = -fadeAmount;
  }

  delay(30); // Wait to see the dimming effect
}

SOUNDWAVE GUARDIAN: REACTIVE PERSONAL SPACE SHIELD

INSPIRATION

The design inspiration draws from the surreal, futuristic aesthetic of 1960s experimental fashion, where function and form often intertwined to make bold social statements. The exposed mechanics and oversized components emphasize a raw, industrial look, playing with the concept of body augmentation through tech.

CONCEPT

This project features an interactive 3D-printed star bra* equipped with proximity-activated speakers to create a humorous yet impactful reminder of personal space. The speakers play "Hamurabi," a song by a Polish rapper Bonus**, in which a forceful voice shouts the opening lyrics as someone gets too close.

Lyrics and translation:

Zrobił ci ktoś kiedyś krzywdę?
Has someone ever hurt you?

Rewanż się należy, zemsty nadejdzie czas.
Revenge is due, the time for vengeance will come.

Oko za oko, ząb za ząb, Hammurabi
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, Hammurabi.

Jeśli moje serce krwawi, twoje będzie krwawić
If my heart bleeds, yours will bleed too.

Oko za oko, ząb za ząb, Hammurabi
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, Hammurabi.

Jeśli moje serce krwawi, twoje będzie krwawić.
If my heart bleeds, yours will bleed too.

The song adds an ironic, assertive twist to the personal space warning. Initially I wanted to chose Rammstein or Marilyn Manson song and have them scream at approaching people, however after consideration, I decided to add a Polish taste to this weeks' project as on the 11/11 we celebrate our Independence Day. The project's purpose is to bring humor to the concept by featuring an unexpected, loud response to those who get too close (and I guess add a note of patriotism).

DESIGN AND FABRICATION

  1. 3D Printing: I started by looking at designs at Cluts3D, where I found this star bra design. I decided to choose ready .stl file as I didn't feel confident with Rhino, and wanted to save time to focus more on the more important part of the project - electronics.
  2. I customised the bra design by cutting out holes in order to fit the speakers.

  1. Material + 3D Printer: The bra is printed with PLA on the Bambu Lab A1.

  1. Speaker Integration: The holes were slightly too small, so I needed to use a tool to polish them and expand them.

Here's the final .stl file.

Star Bra by aleksandra.pio on Sketchfab

ELECTRONICS AND COMPONENTS

    𖡎 Proximity Sensor (HC-SR04): While the bra was printing, I started to learn about the proximity sensor and how to connect it with Arduino Flora.
    𖡎 Arduino Flora: I needed to learn how to connect the speakers and make Arduino Flora to control the sensor-speaker interaction, playing the song whenever someone gets too close.
    𖡎 Speakers: Set up to play "Bonus: Hamurabi".
    𖡎 DFPlayer Mini: Connected to a microSD card to store and play the song.
    𖡎 Crocodile clips: To connect everything together. ![](../images/toolswear.jpg){ width=800 align=center}

    PROGRAMMING ARDUINO

    LIBRARIES

      𖡎 DFRobotDFPlayerMini for audio playback control.
      𖡎 SoftwareSerial for communication between the DFPlayer Mini and Arduino Flora.

    ARDUINO CODE

    #include <DFRobotDFPlayerMini.h>
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>

#define TRIG_PIN 6
#define ECHO_PIN 10

SoftwareSerial mySerial(5, 6);  
DFRobotDFPlayerMini myDFPlayer;

void setup() {
  pinMode(TRIG_PIN, OUTPUT);  // Proximity sensor trigger
  pinMode(ECHO_PIN, INPUT);   // Proximity sensor echo

  // Initialize Serial and DFPlayer Mini
  mySerial.begin(9600);
  if (myDFPlayer.begin(mySerial)) {
    myDFPlayer.volume(30);  // Set to desired volume level
  } else {
    Serial.println("DFPlayer Mini initialization failed!");
  }
}

void loop() {
  long duration, distance;

  // Trigger the ultrasonic sensor
  digitalWrite(TRIG_PIN, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(TRIG_PIN, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(10);
  digitalWrite(TRIG_PIN, LOW);

  duration = pulseIn(ECHO_PIN, HIGH);
  distance = duration * 0.034 / 2;

  // Check if proximity is within range and play audio
  if (distance < 30) {
    myDFPlayer.play(1);  // Play the selected track
    delay(2000);         // Delay to prevent repetitive triggering
  }
}

    TESTING

      𖡎 Testing Distance: I adjusted the proximity detection range to about 50 cm to ensure a comfortable, responsive warning for close approach.
      𖡎 Volume Settings: Set to 30 for audible output, providing clear audio even in moderate ambient noise conditions.

    DEMONSTRATION

    The Sonic Space Shield effectively uses sound as a boundary marker through an integrated proximity sensor and DFPlayer Mini. During testing, the project successfully triggered audio cues to assert personal space and create a statement on the importance of spatial awareness in social interactions.

    CONCLUSION

    This project highlights the integration of audio with wearable technology for alternative fashion, using humor and cultural references to convey individuality and assertiveness. Future versions could explore improved sound quality or the addition of adjustable proximity ranges for varied environments.

    REFERENCES

    Hrga, I. (2019) ‘Wearable Technologies: Between Fashion, Art, Performance, and Science (Fiction)’, TEKSTILEC, 62(2), pp. 124–136. Available at: https://doi.org/10.14502/tekstilec2019.62.124-136. --- [^1]: File: xxx [^2]: File: xxx