AbstractThis studio invites participants to explore ways of extendingphysical expressivity through a combined use of wearableelectronics and structural textile design. Participants are in-troduced to an electronics and material prototyping methoddeveloped by Social Body Lab for constructing kinetic textilebody extensions intended for use in social interactions.
Participants will learn to use a servo motor in combinationwith folded and pleated paper, textiles, and structural ma-terials to create a kinetic wearable module that can expandand contract in form. These kinetic modules can vary insize, form, complexity, and placement on the body, depend-ing on the intended application. Pressure, flexion, ambientlight, and electromyography (EMG) are sensors that willbe explored as possible triggers for these modules usingbody movements and gestures. Through prototyping, test-ing, wearing, and group discussion, participants will exploreways in which their kinetic body extensions can amplify, ex-tend, or subvert existing body language.
Author Keywordswearables; body language; kinetic textiles; electromyogra-phy sensors; body augmentation
Studios TEI 2018, March 18–21, 2018, Stockholm, Sweden
Studio ProposalAs our engagement with computational devices continuesto expand, we are offered more extensive and diverse waysto connect with each other digitally. However, it is our viewthat few of the wearable computational devices on the con-sumer market focus on enhancing or augmenting how weas humans connect through our in person, "real life", phys-ical interactions. We see body language as an innate andpowerful form of communication.
With this in mind, this studio creates an opportunity to ex-plore the following question: "How can kinetic body exten-sions augment social interaction through the amplification,extension, or subversion of body language?"
The first section of this studio will provide both context anda theoretical framework with which to take a critical look atthe concept of body extensions. An overview will be pro-vided of works that seek to physically expand upon the hu-man form, with references stemming from contemporaryart and design practice, interaction design, human com-puter interaction, sociology, trans-humanism, fashion, textiledesign, architecture, sculpture, and performance art. Par-ticipants will also be asked to source and present their ownexamples.
Figure 1: Breadboard prototype of555 timer servo control circuit.
The second section of the studio will provide a technicalframework in which participants will be introduced to elec-tronic circuit building as well as sheet material manipulationthrough folding and pleating. This framework was devel-oped by Social Body Lab as part of the Monarch project [5].The electronic circuit will trigger a position-sensing servomotor which, in turn, will actuate a sculptural folded-paperform designed and prototyped by the participants.
Rather than using a microcontroller, the servo motor will becontrolled using a 555 timer circuit (Figure 1). Using this
Figure 2: Servo motor, mount, and attachment with rod to controltextile form.
simple pulse generator chip allows for motor control withoutthe need for programming [2]. Circuits will be constructedwith soldered prototyping board to allow for secure, sturdyconnections. There exists a rich history of using electronictextiles in the construction of wearable circuits [1, 3, 4].However, in this case we choose to employ more traditionalcircuit building methods as the focus of this studio is theexpressiveness of the kinetic modules rather than the con-struction of the circuit itself.
Participants will be provided with 3D printed mounts and at-tachments that are custom fit to the supplied servo motors(Figure 2). The servo mount allows the motors to be at-tached to straps or other bases which can then be attachedto the body. This enables the motor to remain in a stableposition when activated. The servo attachment extends themechanical possibilities of the servos movement. Whenoutfitted with a rod, its movement can be used to open and
Studios TEI 2018, March 18–21, 2018, Stockholm, Sweden
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Figure 3: Folding and pleating tests.
close a pleated or folded form. The design of these formswill be inspired by examples from the worlds of paper fold-ing [6] and fabric pleating [7]. Forms that emphasize motionand volume will be prioritized (Figure 3).
Once an initial prototype is assembled, participants will beasked to play with the expressivity of their functional kineticbody extension prototype. Ideas for potential applicationsand methods for wearing will be discussed.
The third section of the studio will provide time for partici-pants to further customize and contextualize their designsbased on their intended application. They will explore arange of body-based sensors such as pressure, flex, ambi-ent light, and electromyography (EMG), that can trigger thekinetic body extension. Participants will further iterate ontheir structural form using either textiles or paper, in addition
to learning strategies for making wearable electronics andmechanical systems more wearable.
Finally, participants will have an opportunity to documenttheir creations as well as their intended use. A simple videoshoot setup will be provided so that a series of video por-traits of these kinetic body extensions can be created asone of the outcomes of the studio.
Previous knowledge of electronics prototyping is helpful butnot required.
Studio Topics To Be CoveredThis studio will cover:
• Folding techniques for creating form-changing struc-tures
• Methods of designing for movement and the body
• Sensors and kinetic actuators
• Physical strategies for making wearable electroniccircuits and mechanical systems
• Body extensions and body augmentation as a meansof expanding body language
Expected OutcomesThe expected outcomes of this studio are as follows:
• Physical Prototypes: By the end of this studio eachparticipant will have prototyped, personalized, worn,and iterated upon a new kinetic body extension thatthey can then bring back to their own communities.
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• Video portraits: The design and functionality of theseprototypes will be captured in a compiled set of videoportraits to be made publicly accessible after thecompletion of the studio.
• Shared Ideas and Learning: It is our hope that throughexploring their own creativity as well as that of theirpeers that participants will leave this studio with aware-ness of the potential impact, challenges, and oppor-tunities for incorporating body-extending technologiesinto our in-person social interactions.
Studio Supporting Web DocumentsThe following supporting web documents are available forthis studio:
• Documentation of previous related Social Bodyproject "Prosthetic Technologies of Being":https://www2.ocadu.ca/research/socialbody/project/prosthetic-technologies-of-being
• Documentation of previous related Social Bodyproject "Monarch V2": https://www2.ocadu.ca/research/socialbody/project/monarch-v2
• An illustrated, do-it-yourself tutorial for howto how to construct Kinetic Body Extensionsfor Social Interactions: http://socialbodylab.com/kinetic-body-extensions-for-social-interactions/
able Computers, Reactive Fashion, and Soft Computa-tion. Textile 3, 1 (2005), 2–19.
[2] Jonathan Best. 2012. Control a Servo Motor With-out Programming. (Dec 2012). Retrieved Jan-uary 13, 2018 from https://makezine.com/projects/control-a-servo-motor-without-programming/
[3] Leah Buechley, Mike Eisenberg, Jaime Catchen,and Ali Crockett. 2008. The LilyPad Arduino: Us-ing Computational Textiles to Investigate Engage-ment, Aesthetics, and Diversity in Computer Sci-ence Education. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Con-ference on Human Factors in Computing Systems(CHI ’08). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 423–432. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1357054.1357123[4] Leah Buechley and Benjamin Mako Hill. 2010. LilyPad
in the Wild: How Hardware’s Long Tail is SupportingNew Engineering and Design Communities. In Pro-ceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on DesigningInteractive Systems (DIS ’10). ACM, New York, NY,USA, 199–207. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1858171.1858206
[5] Kate Hartman, Jackson McConnell, Boris Kourtoukov,Hillary Predko, and Izzie Colpitts-Campbell. 2015.Monarch: Self-Expression Through Wearable KineticTextiles. In Proceedings of the Ninth International Con-ference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Inter-action (TEI ’15). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 413–414.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2677199.2690875
[6] Paul Jackson. 2011. Folding Techniques for Design-ers: From Sheet to Form. Lawrence King Publishing,London, United Kingdom.
[7] Colette Wolff. 1996. The Art of Manipulating Fabric.Krause Publications, Iola, WI, USA.
Studios TEI 2018, March 18–21, 2018, Stockholm, Sweden
