Smart Textiles by danimou

SMART TEXTILES INCLUSIVE DESIGN HUMAN CAPABILITY DANIELLE MOU

CONTENTS

CHAPTER CONTEXT

INTRODUCTION

PERSPECTIVE BRIEF

8 9

CHAPTER INCLUSIVE DESIGN 11 DESIGN EXCLUSION USER DIVERSITY

15 17

SEVEN LEVEL KNOWLEDGE LOOP

19 22 29

SYNTHESIS

CHAPTER SMART TEXTILES SMART v. INTELLIGENT

SENSORS

DESIGN PROCESS

SYNTHESIS

CHAPTER EXISTING INDUSTRIES MEDICAL

COMMERCIAL

CHAPTER SMART DRESSERS INCLUSION PARADOX

SMART DRESSERS

DESIGN FOR ABILITY

CONCLUSION INDEX

73 74

CONTEXT

From the second we were born, we all subconsciously understood the three most basic necessities needed for survival were food, water and shelter. While food and water provides our internal systems with nutrients and strength, shelter shields our bodies from outer bodily dangers. Although many correlate shelter to a protective structure, the type of shelter I am referring to is the one that sits on the human body: clothing. The original function of textiles was to shelter the body from foreign threats. It has since then evolved into flexible forms that contoured the body for comfortability, aesthetics and protection. The integration of textiles into daily life has now become representations of power, wealth, gender, culture and age. However, it is unfortunate that there are those who are excluded from mainstream markets and forced to wear adaptive clothing that are usually associated with a social stigma.

PERSPECTIVE

As an industrial designer, I can approach this research topic through different industry facets to get a sense of how I can utilize existing services or products to my advantage. However, I would not be able to relate to the challenges userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s may face on a day-to-day basis based on pure research alone. Along with analyzing case studies, I will also be meeting with experts in the field throughout this process.

BRIEF Reconciling accessible and inclusive design through the usage of smart textiles for people with disabilities. My goal throughout this research study is to separately break down the terms:

accessibility, inclusive design, smart textiles and disabilities and connect various methods of research to synthesize and embody a collection of relevant information that would help launch my thesis to another level of understanding.

Wheelchair Rugby Players (Matej, 2015)

INCLUSIVE DESIGN

THE UMBRELLA: INCLUSIVE DESIGN Every design decision presents itself with an opportunity to either include or exclude people. “Inclusive Design is the design of products and or services that are accessible to as many people as possible without the need for special adaptation.” (Clarkson, Coleman, Hosking, Waller, 2007)

PREFACE Inclusive design came about through the “growing realization that disability arises not within the individual, due to impaired capability, but is a result of environments, products and services that fail to take into account the needs and capabilities of all potential users.” (Coleman, Kreates, Lebbon, 2003, p. 1) Although the academic terms “disabled” and “elderly” are often used to refer to those in a distinct group outside of the mainstream population, people are starting to recognize that age and disability is something that is a part of the human experience. The changing attitudes formed around this new realization triggered a shift in the design process, moving away from specially designed solutions and assistive devices, towards a increasing accessibility and creating a framework for a more inclusively designed society. The need for a change in framework calls for new approaches to the design process, new strategies for practice, and new research methods to help designers respond more appropriately to the needs of an ever-increasing range of diverse users. As products become increasingly more intelligent, designers began to realize that user-centered interface design needed more development. As a result, the emphasis when designing a product shifted from harder, technical and functional performance factors, towards a softer, more emotional engagement, lifestyle and aspirations. This all prompted a greater shift away from a assistive, problem-solving emphasis on ‘design for disability’, and placed it firmly within the margins of design practice that focused on destigmatising aspects of designs that promote social integration. (Coleman, Kreates, Lebbon, 2003, p. 8)

It should not be possible to ask:

Do you want the universal design or the normal design? UNIVERSAL DESIGN Universal design and design-for-all can be used interchangeably as they refer to the identical philosophy of pragmatically accepting that there is no product that can be made to fit the needs of an entire population, but maintain the approach that all mainstream products should be accessible to as many people as possible. (Preiser and Ostroff, 2001). The term universal design was coined in 1985 by Ron Mace - an architect, designer and educationalist who experienced design exclusions and the stigmas associated with using a wheelchair. Mace pushed the boundaries of accessible design - which was perceived in terms of adaptation - towards usability for everyone. And thus the universal design movement was born through the assertion of access as a right and consumer demands for a barrier-free environment.

An industrial designer by the name of Henry Dreyfus was also a pioneer in the movement. cDreyfus published the book “The Measure of Man” in 1959 which established the .study of anthropometrics as an essential tool for designers, calculated average types and supported the mass production doctrine ‘one size fits all’. Similarly, inclusive design originated with product design and focuses on emphasizing the importance of understanding user diversity - which covers the variation of capabilities, needs, and aspirations of a user - to better inform design decisions. (Clarkson, Coleman, Hosking, Waller, 2007)

Girl With Umbrella (O’Bryan, 2015)

SOCIAL ISSUES Although universal design has been acknowledged and accepted since the 1950’s, much of 20th century design fail those on the margins of society - especially as assumptions of ‘normal’ and ‘average’ have been too often based on the stereotype of the young and fit. Ideas have been formed around the desirability for product, service, or environmental design to focus more on matching the needs of those previously excluded by inappropriate design. However, the design focused on people with disabilities or the elderly tend to focus on the ‘special need’ adaptations, rather than lifestyle aspirations. Consequently, these ideas remain trapped in narrow market niches where turnover and profitability are too low to justify adequate investment for proper design - which, in turn leads to an increase in poor, stigmatising aids and adaptations. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p.3)

The opportunity for a marketable, inclusively designed product or system exists, but requires the perfect balance between widening and narrowing the niche.

Fence Door (Mantri, 2015)

The problem with stereotypes is that they do not change over time. For example, the stereotypes associated with older people do not apply to the senior citizens of today. Today’s older generation are much healthier and more independent than ever before. Therefore, inclusive design plays a crucial role in maintaining their capabilities and minimizing the difficulties encountered by those with impairments. When product and service inclusivity is achieved, stereotypes and stigmas around those who need accommodations would not be as apparent as there would be no clear indicator that anyone is excluded.

DESIGN EXCLUSION It is not a surprising revelation that not many products are accessible to a variety of people within the whole population. On instinct, designers focus on creating products or services that provide the necessary utility and function for users who have similar skill capabilities to their own. This is generally accepted and acknowledged as exclusive design. The concept of design exclusion can be a powerful tool in identifying why and how end-users cannot use a product. By understanding the limitations and restrictions put on by design exclusivity, designers can begin to formulate ways to enable inclusive design. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p104)

In principle, usability techniques should address the needs of the whole population. However, in practice, they still generally assume the same, able-bodied physical capabilities of the users. There are many products and systems that exist which were developed with no thought as to who would be using them and how they would be seen using them. System acceptability is the ultimate goal that designers should be aiming for and can be achieved by meeting social, practical and functional acceptability objectives. Further objectives include usefulness and constituting usability and utility as key to providing practical acceptability. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p.106)

To get a better sense of how to counter design exclusion, it is important to understand both the successes and failures of existing approaches to inclusive design.

INCLUSIVE DESIGN CUBE Due to the vast variance of specific circumstances and approaches, designers greatly benefit from a consistent inclusive methodology model that can be used to develop products appropriate for a given range of capabilities. (Alvarenga, Dedini, 2005)

User-aware design: pushing the boundaries of ‘mainstream’ products to include as many people as possible

Customizable / modular design: design to minimize the difficulties of adaptation to particular users

Special purpose design: design for specific users with very particular needs. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p.92)

Assisted by carer Purpose design Customisable/ modual design User-centered design (Alvarenga, Dedini, 2005)

The IDC is a potent visualization tool that helps the designer select appropriate design approaches and alternatively summarises the inclusivity of design variants. The figure above is the Inclusive Design Cube (IDC) which will be referred throughout this study. The cube represents the whole population and it is broken down into subsections that, when combined, provides complete coverage. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p.451)

Products that are widely accessible to the population and hence good population coverage is denoted as the “User-aware design”, which dominates the cube. (Alvarenga, Dedini, 2005)

“Customizable/modular design” takes a base unit designed using the “User-aware design” principles, but with a changeable interface that is either adaptable or can be swapped for one of a series of modular designs.

For severely impaired users, it may be necessary to adopt rehabilitation design approaches of custom products for specific users, “Special purpose design”

USER DIVERSITY

TARGET FOR SPECIALIZED PRODUCTS TARGET FOR INCLUSIVE DESIGN

EXPAND

25%

Severe difficulties

The pyramid model of diversity represents a continuum of population diversity and can be used to show how inclusive design aims to extend the market.

37%

Mild difficulties

16%

Minimal difficulties

21%

No difficulties

In order to get a firmer grasp on inclusive design, it is important to understand population diversity and challenge the polarised separation between “able-bodied” and “disabled”. Failure to correctly understand users can result in products and services that can cause unnecessary frustration and exclusion. (Blair, T. 2015, March 19)

PRINCIPLES The 7 Principles of Universal Design was developed in 1997 by a group of architects, product designers, and engineers with a set goal: to provide z consistent guide of designing environments, products and communications. According to the Center for Universal Design, the principles “may applied to evaluate existing designs, guide the design process and educate both designers and consumers about the characteristics of more usable products and environments.” (National Disability Authority, 2012)

Equitable use: the design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities

Flexibility in use: the design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences

Simple and intuitive to use: use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skill or current concentration level

Perceptible information: the design communicates necessary information effectively

Tolerance for error: the design minimizes hazards and

Low physical effort: the design can be used efficiently with minimum fatigue

Size and space for approach and use: appropriate size and space provided for

to the user, regardless of ambient conditions for the user’s sensory abilities

the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions

approach, reach, manipulation and use regardless of user’s body size, posture or mobility

LEVEL APPROACH PROBLEM DEFINITION

LEVEL

1 Problem requirements

USER WANTS/ ASPIRATIONS

Identify the complete problem to be solved

Validate problem definition LEVEL

2 Functional specification Specify the functionality to be provided

USER NEEDS

Verify functional definition LEVEL

Output to user USER PERCEPTION

SYSTEM DEFINITION

The 7-Level approach is structured as a high-level model that can act as a framework for development offering designers the freedom to select which design tools best fit appropriately for each level. When paired with the ICD, it can also effectively be used to design the axis on the cube as both share the same inherent emphasis on the interaction consisting of perceptual, cognitive and motor actions.

3 Develop a minimal, but sufficient representation of the system status

Verify user perception LEVEL

4 User mental model

USER COGNITION

Structure the interaction to match the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expectations

Verify user understanding LEVEL

5 Input from user

(Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p.446)

USER MOTOR FUNCTION

Develop quality control and user input

Verify user comfort LEVEL

SYSTEM VALIDATION

Functional Verification USER PRACTICAL ACCEPTABILITY

LEVEL

Evaluate system functionality, usability and accessibiliy

Validate practical acceptability

7 Solution validation

USER SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY

Evaluate social acceptability and match to user wants

Validate social acceptability

(Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p.447)

ADDRESSING EXCLUSION The key to addressing exclusion and ensuring that designs are as genuinely inclusive as possible is to provide metrics for defining the multiple levels of inclusivity. Although there are many important, independent factors when designing inclusively, it is important for the designer to not forget about usability and social acceptability. Often times the time that should have been devoted on improving usability is spent on development and, when the lack of attention towards usability is apparent, users reject the product due to factors such as pricing, aesthetics and stigma.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lose sight of the forest for the trees.

Winter Forest (Mantri, 2015)

COUNTERING DESIGN EXCLUSION To combat design exclusion, there needs to be a ‘responsive designer’ who has the necessary understanding of an end-user’s needs and wants to accommodate them proactively during the design process and obviate the need for retrospective adaptations. Many existing approaches to inclusive design are all too focused on making products more accessible by extending the initial concept to include a wider range of users. Although this process might work in theory, the end result is highly dependent on choices of endusers at the outset. To counter design exclusion, there must be an identifiable capability demand placed upon the user by the features of the product. By redesigning the product to lessen the capability demand, the range of potential users can widen as less people would be excluded. If the end user is very specific, then the needs of that group should be well catered for. However, the overall ability of the final product or service to meet the needs of other end-users may be compromised if the design is tailored too closely to the needs of the specified group. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p. 109)

To support the concept of countering design exclusion, it is first necessary to understand the two principal approaches to inclusive design:

REACTIVE Properties of the product, such as content, function and usability, are already defined and determine which users can access it.

PROACTIVE

VS.

Requires the designer to know the user’s functional capabilities and the range of hardware the uer can interact with.

There needs to be sufficient information given to designers about the end-user’s needs, wants and aspirations to be able to match the user’s capability with complementary inclusive design methods

KNOW THE USER capture and represent end-user information

KNOWLEDGE LOOP The knowledge loop is a robust, yet simple representation of the necessary information flows and activities required to produce genuinely validated inclusive designs. It reflects a wider range of possible end-users and information which helps guide designers translate end-user information into a concept. END-USERS The loop can be entered at any point but should be noted that the knowledge loop does not stop after one rotation. It is intended for iterative applications and processes to test concept development. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p. 441)

VERIFY THE PRODUCT Assess product and service acceptability

DATA REPRESENTATION

THE KNOWLEDGE LOOP

PRODUCTS or SERVICES

VERIFY THE DATA Access information representation acceptability

INFORMATION USERS

INCLUSIVE DESIGN Use the information to provide product/service

DESIGN FOR BROADER AVERAGE Throughout history, there has always been a tendency to associate old age and disability with deficit, decline and incompetence. When designers try to tackle the assumptions, the result is that the product or service is too medical in nature and presents itself to the consumer as stigmatizing. The key factor is to recognise that people with disabilities and the older generation are as much part of the consumer group as anyone else.

I see no reason why a fire extinguisher or a faucet control should not be as usable by a septuagenarian as by a teenager. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p 17)

A key strategy to design for a broader average is to target designs and concepts towards a larger portion of the population in terms of cost and appearance, while simultaniously accommodating those with more restricted capabilities in terms of performance and functionality. This can be done by using the Pyramid of Diversity to gain a better understanding of the range of users and utilizing the Knowledge Loop to iterate and test different concepts. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p 15)

True Leadership Stands The Test of Time (Penny, 2016)

TRANSGENERATIONAL DESIGN James J. Pirkl, a former Syracuse University design department chair, is an Industrial Designer who has won multiple awards for his works regarding transgenerational design. The working definition of transgenerational design is â&#x20AC;&#x153;to create products, services and environments that meet the needs of people from a wide range of age groups and with differing needs and abilities.â&#x20AC;? It is framed as a market-aware response to population ageing and the need for products and environments that can be used by both the young and old. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p 16)

Pirkl argued that product design has persistently ignored the needs of those with a different set of capabilities and, thereby creating an inconsiderate and inappropriate environment for a substantial sector of the population. Pirkl created a set of guidelines and strategies for applying his concept of transgenerational design:

Develop specialized elderly products. Such products will immediately become stigmatised, however, and be rejected by the very market for which they were intended. Design products at the outset for use by a transgenerational population - including the aged as well as the young and able-bodied. (Coleman, Keates, Lebbon, 2003, p.17)

DONALD CARR

Donald Carr is the program coordinator for the graduate Collaborative Design program at Syracuse University. The program focuses on bringing together professionals from a variety of studies to work collaboratively on the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s significant problems for the greater good. The program also works closely with the Syracuse University Aging Studies Institute (ASI) to field challenging design problems with compelling, practical solutions.

Donald Carr (Syracuse University, 2016)

MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESOURCES Because Carr is in collaborative design, he was able to provide valuable, professional multidisciplinary references for me to continue researching on.

PROFESSIONALS Dr. Patrick Mather was the founder of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute and had led its research for eight years before becoming the Dean for the College of Engineering at Bucknell University. His research centered around smart materials which included shape-memory polymers, self-healing materials and biodegradable polymers. (Hughes, M. 2016)

Alex Truesdell “is an entrepreneur who creates low-tech, affordable tools and furniture that enable children with disabilities to participate actively in their homes, schools, and communities. She challenges our assumption that disabilities are fixed and instead suggests that limitations can be minimized, or even eliminated, with effective user-inspired adaptations—the kind she creates as founder and director of the nonprofit Adaptive Design Association (ADA).” (Macarthur Fellows, 2015)

Wanda Miglus founded ILORUM - a company which transforms textiles into extraordinary visual experiences that evoke a sense of illusion. The fabrics are woven in such a way that the physical look of it changes depending on the angle of which the user is viewing it. (Miglus, W., 2016)

INDUSTRIES ELEVEN - SLED HOCKY Eleven is a design consultancy that took on the challenge of transforming sled hocky into a more accessible, liberating, engaging and fun sport for everyone. They teamed up with Olympians to create the best possible sled hocky experience ever. (Eleven, 2016)

E-NABLE is a community made up of individuals from all over who utilize their 3-D printers to create printed hands and arms for those in need of an upper limb assistive device, and “Give The World A Helping Hand.” (Owen, J., 2016)

Before moving forward, I want to give myself a final, working definition of inclusive design:

An inclusively designed product should only exclude the end-users who the product requirements exclude.

Although numerous definitions of inclusive design were presented in this chapter, I found this to be the most straight-forward and memorable. It is apparent that this design approach lacks the necessary resources to be a part of the mainstream culture. The most common problem I found was how much time it takes for development and the increased costs compared to other consumer products or services. However, streamlining existing inclusive design techniques and revamping old methods could help alleviate some of the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reservations about cost and time implications of adopting inclusive design practices.

I will be utilizing the guidelines and methods presented in this chapter to further my research on how I can penetrate and transform a highly exclusive market to something that could benefit a greater part of the population.

SMART TEXTILES

Hung Clothing (Mantri, 2015)

SURFACE AND STRUCTURE

Textile comes from the Latin word texere which means ‘to weave’, but it generally also refers to the many other types of techniques like knitting, crocheting or sewing. From the early 20th century onwards, textiles rapidly developed throughout the machine age to become literally ‘the fabric of our lives’. It serves as a universally known position across societies and cultures being the material form which creates the barrier between the naked body and the potentially hostile environment. In its fabrication, textiles have always been made whole through the intertwining of thin materials like thread. Its structure is made durable, comfortable and flexible through interlacing a variety of materials extracted from animals, plants, minerals, or synthetics. It is no wonder that micro-, nano-, and bio- technology has made itself home within the emergence of smart textiles.

The last ten years have seen the emergence of new multidisciplinary approaches to textile research. As micro-, nano-, bioand new information technologies and biomaterials have continued to evolve to new stages of maturity there is an extraordinary array of new possibilities for enhanced functionalities within textiles, from new fibre structures, composite materials and coatings at the nano and micro levels to the visible integration of wearable electronic assemblies into clothing.

(Langenhove, L. V., 2007, p.3)

SMART TEXTILES INTELLIGENT, ACTIVE, FUNCTIONAL, WEARABLES

Textiles have always occupied a unique and universal position across societies and cultures being the material form which creates the interface between the human body and the potentially hostile, dangerous environment. (Langenhove, L.V., 2007, p.3)

WHAT ARE SMART TEXTILES? As our lives become more dictated by complex technological advances, there is a growing need for ambient intelligence â&#x20AC;&#x201C; defined as intelligent devices that are integrated into everyday environments to provide services. Textile integration is the ideal place for ambient intelligence due to its already unobtrusive nature, making it the perfect material choice for enhancing capabilities without requiring user conscious effort in doing so. (Cho, Lee, Cho, 2010, p. 2)

Think of human skin as an example of a system that smart textiles can mimic. The skin has sensors, which can detect pressure, pain, temperature and other environmental stimuli, and send signals to the brain to react due to outer body conditions. Smart materials have the ability to function similarly in that it can respond to electrical, thermal, mechanical, chemical or magnetic stimuli. (Tao, 2001).

Smart textiles results from a fusion of technology, electronic engineering and design and that requires a combination of several generically different features such as electronic efficiency, electrical safety, physical comfort and aesthetics. Because of the multi-faceted factors in this select topic, designers need to apply a multidisciplinary vision throughout the design process. (Lee, Cho, Lee, Cho, 2010 p.37)

SMART vs. INTELLIGENT The terms ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’ textiles are often used interchangeably but there is a slight difference in how they interact with the environment. There is arguably no such thing as a truly smart material – only materials that exhibit interesting intrinsic characteristics which can be exploited within systems or structures that, in turn, exhibit smart behavior. (Hooper et al. 2003)

SMART

Utilize integrated or applied electronics such as sensors and actuators in textile. Self-heating hats and glow-in-the-dark sweatshirts can be labeled as smart

INTELLIGENT

Produce effects by interacting with the environment and wearer. A shirt that knows when you are free to take or make a call is intelligent

(Langenhove, L.V., 2007, p.3)

SUBDIVISIONS Passive Smart: Material can only sense the environmental conditions or stimuli Active Smart: Material is able to sense and react to conditions or stimuli Very Smart: Material can sense, react and adapt themselves accordingly to stimuli (Tao 2001: 2)

These subdivisions also take into account the user’s subjective expectation, demands for mechanical functionality and comfortable interaction between the user and the system.

TEXTILE-BASED SENSORS In theory, as long as a physical change is observed against any external stimulation, any material can be used as a sensor. However, since the structure and material of textiles are vastly different from inorganic, semi-conductive objects, the end result has to take these following aspects into consideration: Textile is composed of fiber â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which can be woven with a variety of different materials. The fabric goes through various processes such as dyeing, softening, antistatic, embellishing, etc The fabric will be susceptible to different environmental stimulants including water, heat and varying amounts of pressure. (Jeong, Yoo, 2010 p. 97)

With all that in mind, designers need to find the appropriate entryway to incorporate electrical components without hindering the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daily activities and lifestyle.

MATERIALS FOR TEXTILE ELECTRODES Electrodes are conductors in which electricity can pass through to send signals. There are many different types of materials that are able to act as electrodes and by understanding both their advantages and disadvantages, the designer can be better informed on how to appropriately integrate it within textiles. MATERIALS Conductive Fiber

Silver coated polymer foam Metal-coated or sputtered fabric

Woven Metal Fabric

Woven conductive polymer fabric

MERITS High conductivity Easy to shape/clean High conductivity Easy to shape/flexible

DEMERITS Low flexibility Poor air/liquid permeability Poor washability Poor air/liquid permeability

Fabric material

Poor washability

High conductivity

Metal oxidation

Controllable conductivity

Fabric material

Handling difficulties Irritant to skin

Low conductivity

(Jeong, Yoo, 2010 p. 101)

SENSORS AND ACTUATORS An actuator, in terms of engineering, refers to a device that converts energy of electrical signals into mechanical motion. However, when paired with smart clothing, the actuator is a component capable of delivering senses, information or energy through a wearable system. Sensors and actuators are transducers as they are able to change the form of energy. (Jeong, Yoo, 2010 p. 106).

Trigger or stimuli

Stimulations Senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch Information: text, graphics, warnings Energy: heating, cooling, electrical lights

SENSING

CONTROLLING

PROCESSING Services Knowledge: memory aid, information, context Communication: networking and interconnectivity Healthcare: treatment, diagnosis, monitoring Safety: early detection, warnings Emotional: therapeutic environment

ACTUATION

Response or action (adaptation)

Sensors/acutators photo-sensitive materials fibre-optics conductive polymers thermal sensitive materials shape memory materials intelligent coating/membrane chemical responsive polymers mechanical responsive materials microcapsules micro and nanomaterials RFIDs MEMs

(Tao, 2001)

Signal transmission, process, controls neural network / control systems cognition theory and systems For integrated processes and products wearable electronics and photonics adaptive and responsive structures biomimetics bioprocessing tissue engineering chemical/drug releasing (Langenhove, L. V., 2007, p.11)

REVAMPING ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY As stated previously, the process of weaving, fabricating and manipulating textiles have been around since the prehistoric times. The practices used hundreds of thousands of years ago are still being used today. In fact, the act of weaving and sewing by hand is seen as an indicator of quality. Today, consumers define high-quality products based on how they was made. If a product is mass-produced and has kept up with the demands of the everyday consumer, it is seen as being lesser quality than the product that was fabricated by hand. This is especially true in in textile industry. For a textile product to be whole, it has to be composed of thousands of threads, fibers and other small components. For example, the boom in technical textiles has prompted mechanical engineers to arrange high performance fibers together to create a durable and high performance product. Embroidery technology - an unexpected area of traditional textiles which was previously only known for its decorative purposes - has now presented itself with a whole new set of possibilities when incorporating technology. With the aid of embroidery, through fiber orientation, fiber-composite components can be created to withstand complex forces. This process is called Tailored Fiber Placement (TFP) and it refers to the application of embroidery technology to fit the needs of specific technical requirements.

Woven Fabric (Dovuj, 2014)

DESIGN NEEDS Effective development of smart textiles can only be achieved through a combination of several areas of expertise and research: one which connects medical knowledge with those of material scientists, textile technologists, information and communication technology experts, software developers and clothing designers and manufacturers. In all fields of industrial design, designing is a process which starts from an analysis of design needs and ends at the synthesis of future development. In the field of smart textiles, researchers have analyzed design needs according to their varying definitions.

Defining smart clothing as “wearable motherboard” in her analysis on “GTWM”, Tao (2001) has categorized the requirements into functionality, connectability, durability, maintainability, usability in combat, manufacturability, wearability and affordability. Viewing smart clothing as a garment system of wearable technology, Dunne, Ashdown, and McDonald (2002) have analyzed the needs into matters of thermal management, moisture management, mobility, flexibility, sizing and fit, durability and garment care. Cho (2004) has defined smart clothing as digital clothing and categorized the requirements into durability, easy in care, comfort, safety and aesthetic satisfaction.

(Lee, Cho, Lee, Cho, 2010 p.38)

DESIGN PROCESS

Defining the concept of smart textiles

While the traditional design process enters the implementing stage as soon as a design concept is established, the smart clothing design process first composes an experimental prototype and finds product architecture subsystem and interface, and modifies the design. Only then, it enters the design implementing stage just as in the industrial product design process. In addition to this difference, the smart clothing design process must include a testing step for reliability and performance, prior to estimating the step about the final prototype, unlike the traditional clothing design process. (Lee, Cho, Lee, Cho, 2010 p.40)

This model has brought about a new concept that attempts to integrate traditional industrial design process with that of smart textiles. It provides designers with a consistent template and makes sure that no step is skipped during the process.

Analyzing component technology of smart textiles

Analyzing Basic Data

Analyzing clothing and product design process

Analyzing design needs for developing

Applicability assessment of system integration theory and technique

Producing demonstrable work flow chart of smart textile design based on primary case studies

Comparative analysis of general design process

Deriving reasonable design process

Verifying smart textile design process derived from secondary case studies

Suggesting design work templates for each stage

Production of design prototype following the newly developed process and modification of the design process that accompanies the production of prototype (third case studies)

Presenting a tentative model of smart textiles design process

Revising work templates for each stage of the process

(Lee, Y. 2006)

Although there was a plethora of information regarding the technical advances associated with smart clothing and fabric, only a select few mentioned how it would affect actual users. The conclusion I came up will set the scene of what needs to be addressed further:

Most specialists worldwide still focus on only the technological aspect and neglect human capabilities, notably due to their excessive focus on the dominant vision of ubiquity.

There are inevitably a number of barriers to be overcome before electronic smart textiles become universally usable and acceptable, one of which is the lack of global standards due to divergent strategies and cultures of research and development. To fully realize and utilze smart textiles to the best of its ability, there needs to be more interdisciplinary collaboration.

EXISTING INDUSTRIES

EXISTING TECHNOLOGY With the advancement of technology, it is no surprise that innovators have tackled the smart textile industry. There are two main industries that saturate the smart textile industry today: medical and commercial. This chapter will be split into the two industries respectively and provide analysis on how their design methods are applied.

Google Jacquard (Ekstein, 2016)

MARKET It is an interesting time in smart textiles development. As the industry matures and develops there is an increasing drive to turn research results into commercial opportunities. The surge in wearable technology is acting as a spur to the smart textile industry and smart garments are being perceived as a niche market within the fast growing wearable technology industry. A new study by Grand View Research, January 2014, confirms that the global market for smart textiles is continuing to see strong growth in a number of key markets. The overall size of the global smart textile market was estimated to be around 289 million in 2012 and is expected to exceed 1.5 billion by 2020. The main growth sector in the last three years has been in the protection and military clothing sector and it is estimated to remain the largest market segment in the next six years. The sport and medical industry are not far behind. (Dalsgaard, Sterrett, 2014)

REFERENCE GUIDE Smart Textiles SFIT

Textiles with the ability to react to different physical stimuli; mechanical, electrical, thermal and chemical Smart Fabrics and Interactive Textiles

Wearables

Any electronic device small enough to be worn on body

Interactive Textiles

Wearable technology that is integrated into a garment of controlled by an integrated panel or button

E-textiles

Textile with electronic properties included in the fibers

These terms will be mentioned throughout the chapter so this chart will act as a reference guide.

MEDICAL INDUSTRY Health monitoring is a general concern for patients requiring continuous medical assistance and treatment. In order to increase mobility for such patients a huge effort has been pursued for the development of wearable systems for the monitoring of physiological parameters such as respiration, cardiac activity or temperature of the body. Smart textiles play a growing role in these developments since they are well suited for wearability and washability that ensures the comfort for the user. (Berglin, L. 2013)

While taking note on the process the designers took on when tackling the problems, I will also be making an on-going comprehensive list throughout of the existing technology and how it was implemented into both the user and the design system.

OFSETH “While most of the projects, except from Biotex, have been focused on electrical sensors, the Ofseth project took advantage of pure optical sensing technologies for extending the capabilities of medical textiles in health monitoring. In this project the researchers investigated how measurements of various vital parameters such as cardiac, respiratory rate, pulse oxymetry can be performed using pure optical techniques such as Fibre Bragg Gratings sensors and near infrared spectroscopy. In the projects suitable techniques for processing optical fibers together with textile yarns, for the realization of medical textiles with embedded optical sensors were investigated.” (Berglin, 2013, p 10)

STELLA “The objective of the Stella project is the development of stretchable electronics for large area application for use in health care, wellness and functional clothes and for integrated electronics in stretchable parts and products. Stretchable electronics includes the integration of electronic components, energy supply, sensors and actuators or display and switches on a stretchable substrate with stretchable conductors. The main technologies that were developed in the project as new stretchable substrate with stretchable conductors, assembly technologies in stretchable substrates and finally integration methods for electronics products.” (Berglin, 2013, p 13)

BIOTEX “The Biotex project can be seen as an extension of the Wealthy and My Heart project with an overall goal to create a garment that monitors biochemical parameters of the wearer. Instead of using conductive materials constructed as sensors a new type of sensors, such as chemical and biosensors were integrated in textile structures. The sensing system consists of patches including textile sensors targeted to measure different body fluids such as blood and sweat was developed and finally integrated in a garment.” (Berglin, 2013, p 10)

WEALTHY “The Wealthy project was one of the first EU-projects aiming to set up comfortable health monitoring system based on textile sensors, advanced signal processing techniques and modern telecommunication systems. The focus areas were cardiac patients during rehabilitation but also to assist professional workers to consider physical and physiological stress and environmental and professional health risks. In this project two types of sensors were developed for the integration in garments. The first sensor was a lycra based fabric coated with carbon black and rubber for the recording of breathing rate. The other sensor was made of metal-based yarns for the monitoring of heart rate. All sensors were integrated in a fully garment knitting process. Together with the textile development a miniaturized short-range wireless system was developed in order to transfer biophysiological signals from garment to a computer or mobile phone.” (Berglin, 2013, p 10)

Strain fabric sensors based on piezoresistive yarns, and fabric electrodes realized with metal based yarns, enable the realization of wearable and wireless instrumented garments capable of recording physiological signals and to be used by the patient during everyday activity. Breathing pattern, electrocardiogram, electromyogram, activity pattern or behaviour, temperature, can be listed as physiological variables to be monitored through the proposed system. A miniaturized short-range wireless system can be integrated in the sensitive garment and used to transfer the signals to the WEALTHY box/PCs, PDA and mobile phones. An “intelligent” system for the alert functions, able to create an “intelligent environment” by delivering the appropriate information for the target professional is the complementary function to be implemented. The system is targeting the monitoring of patients suffering from heart diseases during and after their rehabilitation. The garment interface is connected with the portable WEALTHY device where the local processing as well as the communication with the network is performed. A knitted fabric platform containing insulated conductive tracks connected with sensors and electrodes has been implemented to make the cloth. Most signals are transmitted unprocessed to the monitoring system where they can be analyzed offline. In order to reduce the needed data capacity of the wireless link to the central monitoring system, some sensor signals are processed by the portable patient unit (PPU) to extract essential parameters. Local preprocessing of signals has to be decided in a trade-off between the gain in term of wireless link occupancy and the increase of needed local processing power.

The central monitoring system performs the following tasks: Coordinates and controls the data flow between the different actors; Collects and stores the data transmitted by the sensors integrated in the WEALTHY garment through the portable patient unit; Continuously monitors vital health parameters of the patients; Generates alerts to inform doctors for critical health situations; Gives access to the central database to doctors and other health professionals; Presents to the qualified users the health situation of the patients using different user-friendly interfaces.

The innovative approach of this work is based on the use of standard textile industrial processes to realize the sensing elements. Transduction functions are implemented in the same knitted system, where movements and vital signs are converted into readable signals, which can be acquired and teletransmitted. In our fabric sensors, electrodes and bus structure are all integrated in textile material, making possible to perform normal daily activity while the clinical status is monitored by a specialist, with a comfortable wearable cloth which has no counterpart in any existing monitoring system. WEALTHY system benefits from the performance of the textile sensing interface to guarantee a continuously remote monitoring of user vital signs, the signals are acquired and elaborated on body and a set of signals and parameters are teletransmitted and managed by a remote control system. The philosophy of this approach is focused on the realization of a friendly, human oriented textile based system, where the choose of sensing material is a compromise between comfort for the users and signal quality for the specialists.

(Paradiso, Taccini, Loriga, Gemignani, Ghelarducci, 2015).

PLAYSKIN LIFT The purpose of this report is to describe a novel exoskeletal garment, the Playskin Lift, which assists and facilitates antigravity movement and has the potential to serve as an effective, high-dose rehabilitation tool for individuals with arm movement impairments. An exoskeleton is a structure that is worn external to the body that mimics the human endoskeleton by assisting and supporting movement. The Playskin Lift was developed as a tool to improve function in young populations with weakness and poor motor control. A 23-month-old with amyoplasia, the most common type of arthrogryposis, and his family participated in this study. His parents provided informed consent. As is common for children with amyoplasia, the toddler had a history of muscle fibrosis, decreased muscle mass, and shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, and ankle joint contractures, with the limbs affected in a symmetrical manner. Specifically, he was born with limited shoulder flexion and elbow flexion in both of his upper extremities. The toddler had typical trunk musculature and normal or above average cognition, as is common for children with amyoplasia. He was able to roll, sit independently, walk using a rolling walker, and transition independently from sitting to supine in a controlled manner without using his arms using controlled trunk extension. Cognitively, the toddler demonstrated age-appropriate interactions with his siblings and adults, such as following multiple step requests, demonstrating sustained attention for play activities, speaking using phrases with several words, and actively engaging with toys.

METHOD Our interdisciplinary team created a new exoskeletal garment, the Playskin Lift, to assist arm lifting. The Playskin Lift is a onesie or shirt made of 4-way stretch blended fabric (87% polyester, 13% spandex). The fabric was selected for comfort and close fit to support and properly align the mechanical compo nents. Narrow strips of vinyl casings were stitched vertically along the garmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seams on either side of the trunk and under each arm, which created tunnels where we could place mechanical inserts to assist in lifting the arms. Vinyl was used because its thickness offers padding between the mechanical inserts and the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skin. For ease of donning and doffing, the garment was designed with a medial zipper closure on the front. A knit fabric backing was constructed to shield the skin from getting caught in the zipper.

ASSESSMENT To assess fabric performance, experiments were conducted to assess variables related to comfort and durability. The tests included measurement of thermal resistance, evaporative resistance, and stiffness or softness. These tests were performed to better inform us about the properties of fabrics that could function to support mechanical components and to provide information related to a key user need: temperature regulation. We performed these tests on 2 fabrics. The first fabric was used to make the initial prototype. We selected a performance stretch knit for the first fabric because we wanted a blend of stretch and tensile strength to provide a close fit to maintain alignment of the mechanical inserts while being comfortable for the user. We selected a second fabric for testing for 2 reasons. First, the first fabric was acquired from a commercially available athletic shirt that was discontinued after the season, which is typical for commercial clothing products. Second, the first fabric had 2 layers, a synthetic knit with fleece back, and, therefore, had the potential to be uncomfortable in warmer climates. We selected the second fabric to have a similar percentage of strength and elasticity while being thinner, a single layer, and readily available by the yard at a popular commercial establishment. The second fabric functioned and has been used for subsequent prototypes and testing. The Playskin Lift and similar therapeutic garments have the potential to affect the function of individuals with a variety of diagnoses by serving as assistive or rehabilitative devices. For example, they may be useful as assistive devices, with the goal of supporting movement or postural control in order to increase independence for individuals with significant weakness due to diagnoses such as spinal muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophy, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In addition, exoskeletons may serve as rehabilitative devices, with the goal of improving motor control, coordination, strength, and function for individuals after nervous system injury, such as stroke, hemiplegia, or brachial plexus palsy, or for individuals with diagnoses associated with significant weaknesses.

Playskin Lift (Mccoy, 2015)

COMMERCIAL Despite an extensive research effort in several projects for over 10 years there are only few smart textile clothing products on the market and the volume of business, if declared, seems to be modest in the context of fashion and clothing. However, there are some new established companies focused in the development and commercialization of smart textile clothing. An interesting aspect in these efforts to commercialize smart textiles is the interdisciplinary collaboration between companies in fashion and electronics respectively. Besides pure fashion companies there are some companies established that sells know how in how to integrate electronics into textiles and clothing. The products and concepts are more playful within the commercial industry due to the wider market range and competition. How can the medical industry adopt these approaches that are applied in the commercial industry to create less stigmatized products for those with disabilities?

CUTE CIRCUIT Smart textile applications in the commercial industry have strong ties within recent fashion innovations. Rather than basing design decisions on functionality, smart textiles in this aspect are more emotionally and aesthetically driven. Cute Circuit is a fashion company based in London specializing in design of interactive fashion, figure 7. The CuteCircuit product line includes PrĂŠt-Ă -Porter Collection, Haut Couture Collection and Special projects for unique performances. Most of the garment design focus on the clothing using LED Technology and reflective materials, for example the Twinkle Dress Line. But there are also other approaches for example the Hug Shirt that enables people to send hugs over distance. The shirt is embedded with sensors that feel the touch, the skin warmth and the heartbeat rate of the sender and actuators the sensation of touch, warmth and emotions of the hug to a shirt of another shirt. (Berglin, 2013, p 17)

Cute Circuit (Solomon, 2015)

PROJECT JACQUARD

Google partnered up with Leviâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to make an example of how designers can soon connect even more with technology through textiles. Jacquard makes it possible to weave touch and gesture interactivity into any textile using standard, industrial looms - turning everyday objects into interactive surfaces. Jacquard yarn structures combine thin, metallic alloys with natural and synthetic yarns like cotton, polyester, or silk, making the yarn strong enough to be woven on any industrial loom. Using conductive yarns, bespoke touch and gesture-sensitive areas can be woven at precise locations, anywhere on the textile. Connected clothes offer new possibilities for interacting with services, devices, and environments. These interactions can be reconfigured at any time.

Leviâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jacquard (Google, 2016)

Project Jacquard (Google, 2016)

Jacquard is a blank canvas for the fashion industry. Designers can use it as they would any fabric, adding new layers of functionality to their designs, without having to learn about electronics.

CONTEXT The objective of the Context project is to create a system where different types of sensors are incorporated into textiles to be used in continuous monitoring of individuals. Contactless sensors were developed for the purpose of measuring muscle activity as well as heart rate signals. The sensors were integrated into textile to realize a prototype of a wearable vest where the combination of measurements was used to detect stress for the users. (Berglin, 2013, p 12)

PROETEX The Proetex project aims to rescue firefighters and civil protection workers using the wireless monitoring of heart rate and temperature measurement. In this project, the heart rate was measured using integrated textile sensors while temperature was measures via integrated conventional temperature sensors. The concept consists of a belt and a tight-fitting t-shirt and a wearable interface for monitoring the operatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health status and potential risk in the environment. (Berglin, 2013, p 12)

SAFE@SEA The objective of the Safe@Sea project is to develop a new generation of advanced personal protective clothing for the fishing industry that will lead to an increase of safety for professional based on the sea. This project develops a new generation of garments with improved buoyancy, tear strength, impact protection and integrated sensors that alert the emergency system if a crew member falls overboard. (Berglin, 2013, p 12)

DEPHOTEX The goal of Dephotex project [Dephotex] was to explore and develop photovoltaic cells in order to get flexible photovoltaic textiles based on novel fibers allowing to take benefit from the solar radiation so as to turn it into energy. Since the development of first photovoltaic cells, solar energy is being an object of continuous research focused on improving the energy efficiency as well as the structure of photovoltaic cells. The research is based on novel fibers with conductive properties as substrate of the structure of flexible photovoltaic cells and materials and techniques in order to get flexible photovoltaic textiles. (Berglin, 2013, p 16)

HOVDING Hövding [Hövding] is a Swedish company selling their patented product Hövding, a bike helmet integrated in a collar. Hövding is a collar worn around the neck and the collar contains an airbag that the user will only see when there is an accident. The airbag is shaped like a hood, surrounding and protecting the bicyclist’s head. The trigger mechanism is controlled by sensors, accelerometers and gyros that pick up and reacts on abnormal movements. When an accident occurs and the airbag inflates and surrounds the head thanks to an integrated gas inflator using helium, the inflator is similar to those used in motorcycle helmets with an airbag system. (Berglin, 2013, p 16)

STEALTHWEAR Steatlhwear is a collection of “Anti-Drone” garments design by Adam Harvey in collaboration with fashion designer Johanna Bloomfield. The “Anti-Drone” garments are designed with a metalized fabric that protects against thermal imaging and thereby masking the wearer’s thermal signature. The concepts also include an anti-phone accessory, a mobile pocket that blocks any incoming and outgoing phone signals enabling total privacy. (Berglin, 2013, p 21)

CLOTHING + Clothing + is a developer and producer of textile integrated sensors for several brands in the sports and medical area. The company does not develop the whole system, they develop and produce tailor-made textile structures and products that can measure anything on the human body to customer who develop required hardware and software in order to construct the final measurement system. The company created the first heart rate sensing shirt already in 1998 and in 2002 Clothing plus started mass-producing their heart rate sensor strap in their factory in china. Today clothing plus produces millions of sensor products every year to brands like Suunto, Adidas, Garmin, Philips and Timex. Clothing plus is focused on both sports and health care. (Berglin, 2013, p 13)

NO - CONTACT “No contact is a research and development company focused on wearable technologies synthesizing advanced textile with electronics and computation for personal protection and safety. The mission is to help protect security personnel, law enforcement officers, military and civilians using the latest in wearable technologies. The company has developed a technology, Conducted Energy Clothing (CEC), to assist security personnel and law enforcement officers. The CEC clothing is a jacket that sends electric shocks to avoid any type of physical assault. While a rubber lining in the jacket protects the wearer, the assailant will feel ac shock such as one that would come from an electrical socket.” (Berglin, 2013, p 19)

TEXTRONICS Textronics is specialized in wearable electronics and textile sensors with a certain focus on sports performance. The company is incorporated in the Adidas group as Adidas Wearable sports. Their main product is the nuMetrex, a sportsbra with integrated textile sensor for the recording of heart rate. The core technologies are fibres, films and coatings that react to electrical, optical or magnetic signals embedded in knitting, woven or non-woven textile structures. The sensor portfolio consists of four groups of components. The first is the textile sensors used to monitor heart or breathing rate. The second is a family of conductive elastic yarns, which are building blocks in for example sensors and interconnects. These sensors consist of conductive nano-composite elastomeric polymers that exhibit changes in electrical conductivity as the material is stretched. The last group of components is conductive ribbon that attach to standard electronic connectors. (Berglin, 2013, p 20)

UTOPE Utope is a Austrian company creating smart clothing products by integrating wearable electronic systems into urban wear. Their only launched product so far is The Keep Safe Backpack including an alarm system based on stretchable electronic system developed by Fraunhofer IZM and a lightning jacket. The alarm system monitors all pockets and if they are opened unwanted there an alarm tone and a visual signal of red light will warn the user.â&#x20AC;? (Berglin, 2013, p 21)

WARMx WarmX is a manufacturer and distributor of heated knitted underwear system. The company has an own worldwide-patented technology for heating textiles called warmX-technology and â&#x20AC;&#x153;know howâ&#x20AC;? and partners in both textiles and electronics. The underwear is knitted with silver coated fibres in the trunk and neck areas and a battery mounted on the waist supplies the power. (Berglin, 2013, p 21)

SMART DRESSERS

INCLUSION PARADOX

Side Mirror (Wire, 2015)

HELEN TURNBULL TEDxDelrayBeach: Inclusion, Exclusion, Illusion and Collusion Helen gave a very compelling TED talk about the inclusion paradox. The paradox is that we are all alike in that we are human beings and share the same human experience. Paradoxically, however, we are all uniquely different. We all have different DNA, stories and experiences. The issue with inclusion is that we are more like some people more than others and we have a propensity with affinity bias, which is that we prefer to surround ourselves with people are just like us. Turnbell explained that this reasoning is because it is a natural part of the human experience to have a deep need to feel included. So the challenge becomes: Why is the road to inclusion full of so many visible and invisable obstacles if everyone shares the same need to be included? In recent years, there have been successful neuropsychology studies that demonstrated the use of our neuro-pathways. When we think about ourselves and others who fit in our “in” group, we tend to use the same neuro-pathways causing us to feel sympathy. However, the neuro-pathways our brain uses when we interact with those in our “out” group cause us to be indifferent to their successes or failures. This is our blind spot. Turnbull gave the analogy of how a car’s blind spot can be potentially dangerous to the driver and compared it to what our blindspots can do to us.

SMART DRESSER - Rebecca Rebecca is a profoundly disabled 18-year-old woman, and her principal carers are her parents, Paul and Emma, and Eva, a 24 - year old support worker. Rebecca has nine diagnoses and her daily routine includes ten medications administered at regular intervals throughout the day. Rebecca requires 1:1 supervision at all times and has little to no sense of danger. Although she can walk unassisted she uses a wheelchair when travelling any distance. She needs to go out at least once a day for two hours or more to provide her with stimulation, although it is important to avoid noisy or busy areas in which Rebecca will find overwhelming. She has reduced sensation in her hands and feet, and seeks sensory simulation, particularly vibro-tactile sensations such as those produced by vibrating toothbrushes and massagers. She is subject to extreme mood changes, manifesting themselves in hyperactivity or depression. For Eva, dependency is ‘support with understanding.’ For example, Rebecca needs help to understand what is too hot for her to get close to because she has no sense of danger. She is dependent on Eva to cook for her but she knows when she’s hungry and can communicate that. But she is not totally dependent. If she’s tired she will take herself to bed. Despite constant need for supervision, Rebecca is capable of acting on her own: she can make decisions, act on them and realize her intentions without any need for assistance. (Vorhaus, 2016, p.42)

SMART DRESSER - Habibah Habibah is the 5-year old daughter of Adiva, who has a second daughter, Basimah. Habibah was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction during Adiva’s second pregnancy. Habibah now exhibits global developmental delay, and she is visually and aurally impaird. Under some taxonomies, Habibah would be classified as having ‘sever’ rather than ‘profound’ cognitive impairments. This is not to diminish the extent of her impairments, but to emphasize that her capabilities far exceed those of some other people whose learning difficulties are multiple and profound. Habibah’s got that ‘sixth sense’ as she understands the difference between a safe and hostile environment. Whilst encouraging Habibah’s development, Adiva emphasizes that Habibah remains ‘entirely dependent as she needs 24/7 care. She can hold a toothbrush, but Adiva has to hold her hand over Habibah’s to guide her. For Habibah, independence is confined to the little things that she can do and enjoys doing exploring the floor, bottom crawling and playing with a toy. (Vorhaus, 2016, p.44)

DIANE WIENER In October, I had attended a VA Hospital disabilities event and had met Diane Wiener, who is the director of Syracuse Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Disability Cultural Center (DCC). I really wanted to start an open dialogue with Diane to gain a better understand of both my thesis and about proper disability language. My conversation with Dr. Wiener reshaped some aspects of my thesis. I realized that I was too focused on the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;disabilityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; portion of people with disabilities and I was not looking at the entire picture. My thesis previously involved a sense of giving a sense of more independence due to the fact that I assumed people with less mobility required a higher level of dependence. But we, as a whole, are an interdependent species. A person that is 100% independent does not exist. When I first walked into the office, I examined the room filled with varying sized chairs, tables and furniture but thought nothing of it. I later learned that the tables were able to extend higher or lower when a button was pressed under the table. The entrance doors were wide enough to fit a wheelchair and the door switch was perfectly timed to take into account the amount of seconds it took for a person to reach the door. The cabinets had unnoticeable nobs on the bottom to accommodate those with limited upper mobility. These small hints of inclusive design was spread all around the room and was totally unobtrusive to the overall office environment. One of my initial hopes was to aquire a list from Dr. Wiener of people who would be willing to talk to me about their disability to help further my research. However, after learning about the appropriate disability language, I felt as if I sounded like I only wanted to talk to them if they had a disability. Instead, Dr. Wiener suggested that I come up with a prompt and she would send out a mass e-mail to those who are a part of the DCC to see who would like to volunteer. I am excited to do that next semester and potentially collaborate with someone from the community.

CAPABILITIES Human capabilities comprise all the capabilities that we either have or might develop: this includes not only what we can actually do now, but also what we could do if we had a choice, or if we were provided with a suitable opportunity. The emphasis is on our potential as human beings: on what we are capable of, or would be capable of if we are well cared for and actively encouraged, and if we, and those who care for us, are given the resources that allow us to develop to the best of our ability. (Vorhaus, J. 2016).

DESIGN FOR ABILITY

NOT DISABILITY

An important concept is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;design for abilityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and the key is to recognize people with disabilities as important consumer groups that are currently under-provided for, due to the inappropriate capability demands of mainstream products and services. As the major groups suffering the consequents of design exclusion, it is important to gain a better understanding of their lifestyle needs and aspirations, as part of any business or design strategy aimed at countering design exclusion.

POSSIBILITY

DISABILITY

There is no need to â&#x20AC;&#x153;fixâ&#x20AC;? anyone because no one is broken, but opportunities and possibilities do exist to change how people interact with their environment to provide an unobtrusive soluation. The next couple pages will be summarized case studies of people with disabilities and how they go about their everyday lives. My goal is to better inform my design decisions by carefully observing the daily routines and behaviors or possible Smart Dressers.

There needs to be a realization that changes people’s perspective from “us” and “them”, to one of inclusion and positivity.

Throughout this process, I have learned that there are no clear right or wrong ways to go about inclusive design. However, through research and guidance from experts in the field I feel that I am one step closer to realizing my goal:

to shift inclusive design from an afterthought to the forefront of the design process.

CITATIONS Clarkson, J., Coleman, R., Keates, S., & Lebbon, C. (2003). Inclusive design: Design for the whole population. London: Springer. Clarkson, J., Coleman, R., Hosking, I., & Waller, S. (Eds.). (2007). Inclusive Design Toolkit. Cambridge: Engineering Design Centre University of Cambridge. Alvarenga, F. B., & Dedini, F. G. (2005). The Principles of Inclusive Design. Congress of Mechanical Engineering. Macarthur Fellows. (n.d.). Alex Truesdell. Retrieved December 15, 2016, from https://www.macfound.org/fellows/948/ Cho, J., Lee, S., & Cho, G. (2010). Review and Reappraisal of Smart Clothing. In Smart Clothing: Technology and Applications (pp. 1-36). Boca Raton, FL: CRC. Langenhove, L. V. (Ed.). (2007). Smart Textiles for Medicine and Healthcare: materials, systems and applications. Cambridge: Woodhead. Designing Technology for Smart Clothing. In Smart Clothing: Technology and Applications (pp. 37-58). Boca Raton, FL: CRC. Jeong, K. S., & Yoo, S. K. (2010). Electro-Textile Interfaces. In Smart Clothing: Technology and Applications (pp. 89-113). Boca Raton, FL: CRC. Dalsgaard, C., & Sterrett, R. (2014). Market Opportunity for Smart Textiles 2014. White paper on smart textile garments and devices: a market overview of smart textile wearable technologies., 1-11. Miglus, W. (n.d.). About ILORUM. Retrieved December 15, 2016, from http://www. ilorom.com/about/ Eleven. (n.d.). Sled Hocky. Retrieved December 15, 2016, from http://www.eleven. net/sled-hockey/ Vorhaus, J. (2016). Giving Voice to Profound Disability. New York, NY: Routledge.

Blair, T. (2015, March 19). Understanding User Diversity. Retrieved December 14, 2016, from http://www.inclusivedesigntoolkit.com/betterdesign2/whatis/whatis.html Hughes, M. (2016, May 4). Patrick Mather is the College of Engineering’s New Dean. Retrieved December 15, 2016, from http://bucknell.edu/news-and-media/2016/may/ patrick-mather-is-the-college-of-engineering%E2%80%99s-new-dean.html Owen, J. (n.d.). ENABLING THE FUTURE. Retrieved December 15, 2016, from http://enablingthefuture.org/about/ Berglin, L. (2013). Smart Textiles and Wearable Technology. A Study of Smart Textiles in Fashion and Clothing, 5-27. Paradiso, R., Taccini, N., Loriga, G., Gemignani, A., & Ghelarducci, B. (2015). WEALTHY – a wearable healthcare system: new frontier on e-textile. Journal of Telecommunication and Information Technology. Matej, M. (n.d.). Wheelchair Rugby Players [Digital image]. Retrieved December 12, 2016, from https://www.stocksy.com/489618 O’Bryan, E. (n.d.). Girl With Umbrella [Digital image]. Retrieved December 12, 2016, from http://www.iainclaridge.co.uk/blog/3027 Mantri, J. (n.d.). [Winter Forest]. Retrieved December 13, 2016, from http://jaymantri. com/post/104956029908 Mantri, J. (n.d.). [Wooden Fence Door]. Retrieved December 13, 2016, from http:// jaymantri.com/post/100773487548 Penny, D. (n.d.). True Leadership Stands The Test of Time [Digital image]. Retrieved December 14, 2016, from http://proteusleadership.com/look-what-we-have-done/ Wire, P. (n.d.). [Car mirror]. Retrieved December 14, 2016, from https://pavewire.files. wordpress.com/2015/08/4473487776_0a34db88f3_o.jpg