WovenSkin — Hybrid Body Lab

WOvenskin: WEAVING CRAFT TECHNIQUES WITH ON-SKIN TECHNOLOGY 2020

WovenSkin on-skin interfaces (aka ‘smart tattoos’) incorporates circuitry in their textile structure - blending centuries-old fiber art with cutting edge technology to advance the design, research, and fabrication of on-skin interfaces.

Weaving as a craft possesses the structural, textural, aesthetic, and cultural expressiveness for creating a diversity of soft, wearable forms that are capable of technological integration. In this project, we extend the woven practice for crafting on-skin interfaces, exploring the potential to "weave a second skin." Weaving incorporates circuitry in the textile structure, which, when extended to on-skin interface fabrication, allows for electrical connections between layers while maintaining a slim form. Weaving also supports multi-materials integration in the structure itself, offering richer materiality for on-skin devices. We present the results of extensive design experiments that form a design space for adapting weaving for on-skin interface fabrication. We introduce a fabrication approach leveraging the skin-friendly material of PVA, which enables on-skin adherence, and a series of case studies illustrating the functional and design potential of the approach. To understand the feasibility of on-skin wear, we conducted a user study on device wearability. To understand the expressiveness of the design space, we conducted a workshop study in which textiles practitioners created woven on-skin interfaces. We draw insights from this to understand the potential of adapting weaving for crafting on-skin interfaces.

Publication:
Weaving a Second Skin: Exploring Opportunities for Crafting On-Skin Interfaces Through Weaving
Ruojia Sun, Ryosuke Onese, Margaret Dunne, Andrea Ling, Amanda Denham, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao
ACM Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2020 (Acceptance rate 24%) [DOI] [PDF] BEST PAPER HONORABLE MENTION AWARD BEST DEMO AWARD

Project Credits:

Hybrid Body Lab at Cornell University, led by Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao
Research Team: Ruojia Sun, Ryosuke Onose, Margaret Dunne, Andrea Ling, Amanda Denham, Prof. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao. Hybrid Body Lab at Cornell University

Press Inquiries: Press Image Kit: Download Media (License: CC by-NC-SA 4.0) Press Contact: Prof. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, cindykao@cornell.edu

Press Coverage (selected):

Cornell Chronicle (07/14/2020) “Kao weaves craft techniques with on-skin tech”
DesignBoom (07/15/2020) “with hybrid body lab's 'wovenskin,' you can feel alerts directly on your skin”
Communications of the ACM (07/17/2020) “'Second Skin' Interfaces Tap Crafters' Expertise”
Advanced Textile Source (07/27/2020) “WovenSkin pars weaving qwith smart technology”
Interesting Engineering (07/16/2020) “On-Skin Wearable Technology Combined With Traditional Weaving”
Hackster.io (10/01/2020) “Weaving Wearable Interfaces with WovenSkin”
Design Indaba (07//23/2020) “Weaving your next tattoo”
Mode In Textile (07/27/2020) ““wovenskin” ou la possibilité de tisser des interfaces comme une seconde peau”

A textile artist’s woven on-skin interface created with the fabrication process developed by the Hybrid Body Lab: A on-skin touch sensor for "touching one’s own heart" woven with overshot patterns. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

A textile artist’s woven on-skin interface created with the fabrication process developed by the Hybrid Body Lab: A touch sensor on the back woven with tapestry techniques. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

A textile artist’s woven on-skin interface created with the fabrication process developed by the Hybrid Body Lab: An on-skin touch sensor woven with fringes for a soothing tactile experience (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

A WovenSkin multi-functional on-skin interface with haptic feedback through shape-memory alloy, and input through pressure sensing. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

A WovenSkin 7- segment thermochromic on-skin display displaying number "8," which upon press, will increase to number “9.” (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Closeup of WovenSkin color-changing thermochromic on-skin display woven with the monk’s belt pattern. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

WovenSkin color-changing thermochromic on-skin display woven with the monk’s belt pattern. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

WovenSkin touch slider woven with unusual materials (up-cycled plastic bags), demonstrating the material versatility of the woven approach. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

WovenSkin touch slider woven with an open space design that shows the wearer’s underlying skinmarks. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab) (License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

A subtly textured conformable WovenSkin color-changing display. (Image Credit: Hybrid Body Lab)

WovenSkin Presentation at ACM DIS 2020 By Ruojia Sun

WovenSkin Supplementary Video

Acknowledgments:

The Hybrid Body Lab expresses gratitude to the local textile artists who participated in the on-skin interface weaving workshops. This project is supported in part by the Cornell University PCCW Affinito-Stewart Research Grant.