Who's Got Some Intel from SmartFabrics 2009?

OK -- so I missed it this year. So, fill us in. What was good? What was bad? Same-old-same-old or are we all out of the loop for missing it?

Open-Source Hardware for Interactive-Textiles (OSHIT)

Aside from being a great acronym, I think its an idea that should be considered. Over the next few days I hope to explore this idea in detail. What exactly does "open-source hardware" entail? It is the idea that a design for a technology component is not proprietary and is open for anyone to use -- HOWEVER, any resulting product made from the open-source component is considered open itself. A handful of groups around the world have dabbled in open-source hardware, probably the most popular lately is the Italian group Arduino.

Lest we forget that there are both open-source for electronics, but ALSO for sewing.

The first question that comes to mind is "how will companies make money?" Well, they're going to have to sell products...good products.

The idea is that commoditization of technology will expedite its incorporation into products hitting the marketplace and lower development costs in the meantime. This notion does not decrease the value of quality to the consumer -- so it will reward the companies who make the best products in the eyes of the consumer (not the ones with the biggest legal team).

I know that this discussion can't be completed in one post -- so hopefully some interesting counterpoints will be raised to challenge the OSHIT notion...

Plastic Electronics recap

The conference was not bad (although my mobile-blogging ability was somewhat hampered as you can tell from the half-hearted post below) -- and from an "interactive-textiles" viewpoint it was good to see some new faces that may not have been exposed to Smart-Textiles otherwise. It was good to see these two communities together (I even thought so last year) -- but it felt like the Smart Textiles section was the read-headed step-child of the conference. It would have been nice to have had at least one talk from that section in the plenary, but hey -- it's a start and there'll always be room for improvement (plus, what has really been done in "smart-textiles" to warrant that much attention?).

What was my favorite talk? Probably the one I thought was going to be the worst (just by its title) -- Dermot Diamond's "New Ways to Sense the Molecular World Using Switchable Sensors." He covered a wide range of potentially disruptive technologies that few people are pursuing. If you have the chance, check out what he's working on.

Looks like the next SmartFabrics will be in Rome in March -- stay tuned...

+plastic electronics

Plastic Electronics in Berlin

I'll be there -- hopefully some of you will be there as well. For those who can't make it, I'll try to post some highlights when I get back (or possibly from on-site if the wireless situation is amenable). See you there!

Fibretronic puts a new spin on Interactive Textiles

Let's face it, most of these garments, bags, etc. that have some degree of added capability (whether by electric controls, solar panels, etc) are pretty expensive...and this is a detriment to the market because it seriously limits your consumer base. Aside from that, I'll wager that individual consumer tastes change at a much more rapid pace than this type of technology can keep pace with. Enter Fibretronic's ConnectedWear...

The idea is that the largest cost drivers (control modules, etc) are separated from the soft-goods and can be purchased separately. So we could theoretically buy several cheaper "enabled" garments and only one control module.

Exactly how much this will lower the barriers to entry for other remains to be seen, but hopefully this will catch on. Anyone else think this is a good idea?

Iverson, Watch Out!

It looks like the "Intelligent Knee Sleeve" from several years ago morphed into an elbow sleeve that basketball and "netball" players can use to help develop their shots. The research behind this started at the Austrailian S&T arm known as CSIRO; we've talked about them before.

This sleeve provides audible feedback to the user as it undergoes mechanical stresses -- in other words, each movement provides a sound. For sports that require a precise and repeatable motion (jumpshot anyone?) the sleeve can be used as a training aid. Earlier applications of the technology were used on knee sleeves to assist users on "landing" after jumping -- probably a little more of a stretch in my eyes. If anyone remembers the presentations from CSRIRO back in 2002-2003, they compiled a bunch of gruesome sports injuries which their research would eventually prevent -- I never saw so many people in a room squirm in their seats in unisom.

We'd love to hear from anyone who has actually used these sleeves as training aids -- it is an interesting concept, but how well does it work?