LightCloth

Abstract

This paper introduces an input and output device that enables illumination, bi-directional data communication, and position sensing on a soft cloth. This "LightCloth" is woven from diffusive optical fibers. Since the fibers are arranged in parallel, the cloth has one-dimensional position information. Sensor-emitter pairs attached to bundles of contiguous fibers enable bundle-specific light input and output. We developed a prototype system that allows fullcolor illumination and 8-bit data input by infrared signals. We present as an application a chair with a LightCloth cover whose illumination pattern is specified using an infrared light pen. Here we describe the implementation details of the device and discuss possible interactions using the device.

Visual Methods for the Design of Shape-Changing Interfaces

“…The videos served to inform those taking part about the state-of-the-art in shape-change research, and introduce the concepts of materiality in prototyping. The chosen works were: Physical Telepresence [29] (actuated interface); Protrude, Flow [24] (liquid interface); Lightcloth [21] (paper/cloth interface); Re-Flex [54] (bendable interface); Paddle [43] (foldable interface); Claytric Surface [36] (malleable interface); Obake [4] (elastic/inatable interface).…”

zPatch

“…Clothing provides a convenient location for sensor placement. This has led to the integration of various sensors into fabric, including stretch [37], biometric [25], touch [26,30], pressure [6], and even optical sensors [13]. Most eTextile approaches however are based around either capacitive or resistive sensing.…”

Hover Pad

“…This motion allows for exploring physical attributes of virtual objects (e.g., weight). A display moving along one dimension was used by Hashimoto et al to emphasize movement of a virtual game character moving through a virtual world [9]. With RoCo, Breazeal et al present a robotic computer that features a self-actuated display that can respond to and influence its user's posture [5].…”