'The Animated Quilt'

This is and interesting research project that I found on Johanna Berzowska's website. The paper was titled "Soft Computation Through Conductive Textiles". The pdf can be found at www.berzowska.com.

Soft computation is the comnination of electronic technology and soft material (textiles, threads) constructed using traditional textile construction methods such as sewing and embroidery.

The paper focusses around a project called 'The animated quilt' or AQ.
AQ is a dynamic quilt whose square swatches are indepentently controlled to change colour over time in controlled sequences to create animations or still patterns.

The above image shows how AQ can produce low-resolution animation. Shown here is a stick figure walking. The contents of the display mirror the soft qualities of the contruction. The pixels change in a slow, conteplative way, refrencing the slow processes involve in traditional textile construction such as weaving and knitting.
AQ draws a link between the use of pixel imagery in traditional stitch-square quilt-making and low resolution pixel digital imagery in modern computing. Below is an close up image of the squares.


AQ is made using common textile construction techniques, but uses conductive threads which are woven to incorporate conductive material such as silver or stainless steel strands. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are also commonly used for similar purposes, as well as electroluminescent material or woven optic fibres transmitting the light of high-brightness LEDs. Non-emissive materials such as photochomic or thermochomic pigments were also discussed in the paper, rleating to more subtle possibilities for colour-changing textiles.

This pdf is worth would be valuable to anyone intersted in soft computation. There is some good information on construction, materials and processes. It also touches on future applications for use.