Wearable Technologies: Between Fashion, Art, Performance, and Science (Fiction)

Abstract

Our clothes and accessories are our primary interfaces with the world around us. In the 21 st century, the technology that lives in our pockets or in our bags has changed dramatically. Today, the interactive systems that can be found almost constantly in our clothes are so close to our body that they sometimes actually feel like a part of us. Electronic devices are getting tinier and can be bought ready-made for any purpose. Power-supply solutions are smarter and wireless technologies allow communication without cables. Wearable technology is becoming widely used in healthcare, care for the elderly and wellness, in the military, in workwear and sportswear for added security or performance characteristics, in sci-fi and fantasy movies and big-arena entertainment, and in award shows or pop concerts for its spectacular visual eff ects. Through technological advances, the most innovative designers and artists re-evaluate the very basic premises of a dressed body, such as weight, scale and texture or movement. They demonstrate that design is not just about the visual: clothes can also be stimulating to touch, hearing, smell and taste. Wearable technology can turn clothing into a multi-sensorial experience and make it drift between categories. Wearable technology can be perceived as a body architecture, a second skin, nonmaterial clothing, a personal scenography or display, a body extension, an interactive or emotional garment, etc. Some of the most important examples of wearable technology were analysed in this research. They were divided into three diff erent categories according to a garment's principal technological concept or function as it relates to material and external and internal stimuli, such as movement, light, sound, touch, sight, smell, taste, biometrics and emotions. It was concluded that garments act as a bridge between visual, physical and perceptual experience, and provide the wearer and onlooker with a kinaesthetic, proxemic and haptic experience. Since the late 1990s, many projects devised within the fi eld of fashionable technology have a strong performative connotation, as they move, change shape, or emit light, sound or scents. It wasn't until the last decade, however, that Wearable technology designers really began to explore the potential of clothing as social interaction, emotional sensing and biomimetics.

Emolleia – Wearable Kinetic Flower Display for Expressing Emotions

“…According to Susan Elizabeth Ryan, the term 'wearable technology' or WT applies to work that is functional in application and potentially commercial in distribution or experimental and conceptual in nature to aid the awareness of embodiment. [7] There's a long line of research in wearable computing and in human computer interaction fields targeting the recognition, visualization, and evocation of emotions [8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…Flower Design Reflect Emotion into the personal space of the wearer, the dress creates a veil of smoke which can be smell and taste by people around it. [37] [38] Dobbelstein et al present a wearable olfactory display allowing users to receive multiple computer generated scents related to notifications, reminders or other kinds of digital data [39] Iridescence is an interactive collar, equipped with a facial tracking camera which will flip the colors and start to make patterns, in response to the movement of onlookers and their facial expressions. [40] The ability to communicate things experienced through our other senses, such as smell, taste, and touch, has not been developed until recent years.…”

Metallisation of Textiles and Protection of Conductive Layers: An Overview of Application Techniques

“…Strictly speaking, conductive textiles are not “intelligent” or “smart”, because they do not react to outside stimuli (heat, chemicals, magnetism or mechanical stimuli), they are just primary components for enabling the creating of multifunctional electronically integrated textiles, or e-textiles [ 17 ], capable of sensing, heating, lighting or transmitting data, for diverse fields of applications, i.e., healthcare, military, sports and fitness, protective, automotive, entertainment and environmental applications [ 2 , 9 , 18 , 19 ]. They are also used for creating low profile switches in products where manufactured and hard conductive materials cannot be used.…”

“…), wearable pressure sensor (gait analysis and posture), flexible strain sensor for real-time human motion monitoring (detection and/or stimulate of muscle activity), portable power displays and light emitting transmission lines, EMI shielding textiles, textile antenna for wireless communication, tracking e-textiles (detect location and respond), interactive garments (changes in the garment activated by proximity, movement, light, projection, sound, voice, gaze and touch), and wearable electrodes for biopotential monitoring (cardiac, muscular, neural, and ocular biopotentials), etc. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 10 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Textile‐Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Smart Wearable Systems: Comfort, Integration, and Application

“…In this high-speed era, the combination of the internet and artificial intelligence with wearable technology is of revolutionary significance and will greatly improve people's lives by providing increased efficiency and convenience. [1,2] As shown in Figure 1, small wearable electronics have potential applications in many fields, including health monitoring of vital signs such as heart rate, respiration rate, and temperature, collection of motion data, monitoring of various dangers in special occupations, innovative fashion, etc., [3][4][5][6] and micro/nanodevices can even be used as medical implants. [7] Energy devices are critical supports for these wearable products.…”