1 Wellbeing and Smart Textiles: Reflecting on Collaborative Practices and the Design Process Dr Amanda Briggs-Goode, Dr Martha Glazzard, Sarah Walker, Dr Sarah Kettley, Dr Tincuta Heinzel, Rachel Lucas College of the Architecture, Art, Design and the Built Environment Nottingham Trent University Burton Street Nottingham NG1 4BU +44 (0)115 9418418 Amanda Briggs-Goode is head of department of fashion, textiles, knitwear at Nottingham Trent University and is co-investigator on the EPSRC Internet of Soft Things project. She has authored Printed Textile Design with Laurence King and co-edited Lace:here:now with Black Dog publishing and Textile Design with Woodhead Publishing. [email protected] Martha Glazzard is a Research Fellow on the EPSRC An Internet of Soft Things project and Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University and completed her PhD in 2014 ‘Re-Addressing the Role of Knitted Textile Design Knowledge: Auxetic Textiles From a Practice Led, Designer Maker Perspective’ [email protected] Sarah Walker is a PhD student at Nottingham Trent University and holds a Vice Chancellors Bursary. Sarah works with smart textiles and participatory design. [email protected] Sarah Kettley is the Principal Investigator on the EPSRC An Internet of Soft Things project and is a Reader in Relational Design at Nottingham Trent University. Sarah has published extensively with her first book being launched in July 2016 ‘Designing with Smart Textiles’ with Bloomsbury. [email protected] Tincuta Heinzel is a Research Fellow on the EPSRC An Internet of Soft Things project. Tincuta completed her PhD in 2012 and has published extensively in the field of electronic textiles.
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WellbeingandSmartTextiles:ReflectingonCollaborativePracticesandtheDesignProcess
DrAmandaBriggs-Goode,DrMarthaGlazzard,SarahWalker,DrSarahKettley,DrTincutaHeinzel,
RachelLucas
CollegeoftheArchitecture,Art,DesignandtheBuiltEnvironment
NottinghamTrentUniversity
BurtonStreet
Nottingham
NG14BU
+44(0)1159418418
AmandaBriggs-Goodeisheadofdepartmentoffashion,textiles,knitwearatNottinghamTrent
Universityandisco-investigatorontheEPSRCInternetofSoftThingsproject.Shehasauthored
PrintedTextileDesignwithLaurenceKingandco-editedLace:here:nowwithBlackDogpublishing
andTextileDesignwithWoodheadPublishing.
MarthaGlazzardisaResearchFellowontheEPSRCAnInternetofSoftThingsprojectandLecturerat
NottinghamTrentUniversityandcompletedherPhDin2014‘Re-AddressingtheRoleofKnitted
TextileDesignKnowledge:AuxeticTextilesFromaPracticeLed,DesignerMakerPerspective’
SarahWalkerisaPhDstudentatNottinghamTrentUniversityandholdsaViceChancellorsBursary.
Sarahworkswithsmarttextilesandparticipatorydesign.
SarahKettleyisthePrincipalInvestigatorontheEPSRCAnInternetofSoftThingsprojectandisa
ReaderinRelationalDesignatNottinghamTrentUniversity.Sarahhaspublishedextensivelywith
herfirstbookbeinglaunchedinJuly2016‘DesigningwithSmartTextiles’withBloomsbury.
TincutaHeinzelisaResearchFellowontheEPSRCAnInternetofSoftThingsproject.Tincuta
completedherPhDin2012andhaspublishedextensivelyinthefieldofelectronictextiles.
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RachelLucasisaResearchFellowontheEPSRCAnInternetofSoftThingsprojectandafterhaving
trainedasatextiledesignermadeacareerchangeintopersoncentredpsychotherapywhichshe
nowpractices.
Acknowledgements:
TheworkwassupportedbyaResearch-In-The-WildgrantfromtheEPSRC(EP/L023601/1)andwas
alsosupportedbytheNottinghamshireMindNetwork.Theauthorswishtothankthemembersof
BassetlawMind,UKfortheirenthusiasmandengagementwiththeproject.
Abstract
Thispaperreportsonaninter-disciplinary,EPSRCfundedresearchproject,‘AnInternetofSoft
Things’(IoSofT)whichseekstobringsoftsurfaces,smarttextilesandwearabletechnologiestojoin
theInternetofThingsdebate.Theprojectinvolvesresearchersfromacademicdisciplines:design,
computingandmentalhealthincollaborationwithaprojectpartner,theNottinghamshirenetwork
ofthementalhealthcharity,Mind.Thispaperwillreflectupontheresearchprojectandspecifically
theapproachtheauthorshavetakentocollaborativetextilepracticeandhowthishasimpacted
uponthedesignprocess.Thisprojectwasconductedthroughanumberofpracticalworkshop
activitieswithMindserviceusergroups.Theworkshopsfocuseduponthecraftingofpersonalized
textileobjectswithsoftswitchesandvariousoutputandalsorecordedtheclients’descriptionsof
theirsenseofownership,awarenessoftheirownandothers’emotionsandbehaviours.The
workshopsincludedtheresearchers’reflectionsandobservationstoenablefurtherunderstanding
ofhowthiscommunityinvestsmeaninginmaterialthingsandmodesofexpressiveoutput.Theaim
oftheresearchprojectistousetextilecraftpracticeandsmartmaterialsalongsidetherapeutic
approachestocontributetothedevelopmentofawellbeingandmentalhealthtoolkittosupport
futureclientworkforMind.
Keywords:wellbeing,mentalhealth,IoSofT,smarttextiles,wearabletechnologies
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Theproject
Theproject‘AnInternetofSoftThings’(IoSofT),basedatNottinghamTrentUniversitywasfunded
bytheEPSRCandbroughttogetherauniquecombinationofpersoncentredpsychotherapists,
textiledesignersandcomputerscientists(AnInternetofSoftThings2016a).Itsaimwastodevelop
aco-designmethodologythroughpractice-ledcriticalreflectiononthePersonCentredApproach
(PCA)inordertobenefitnon-medicalizedcarepracticesusingcraft,electronictextilesand
interactivecomputing,todevelopnetworkedtextileobjects.TheuseofthePCAwasavitalpartof
theprojecttoensureparticipantsunderstoodthattheywerevaluedandappreciatedfortheir
contributiontotheprojectthroughparticipationinworkshopsandthecreativeprocess(Rogers
1957).Craftpracticewasanimportantpartoftheapproachasitofferednumerousopportunitiesto
developunderstanding,confidence,relationshipsandtrust.Althoughtheapproachwasnot
explicitlyarttherapy,theteamfoundthatwhatwasexperiencedascreative,wasinmostcasesalso
experiencedastherapeutic(Rogers1993).BurtandAtkinson(2012:56)intheirstudyontheimpact
ofcraftonwellbeing(specificallyquilting)notedthat
“themajorityofparticipantsreportedthatthecreativeprocesscaptivatedthem,distracted
them and they described an experience analogous to ‘flow’. There was loss of self-
consciousness and lack of awareness of things going on around them, which displaced
anxietiesandfacilitatedrelaxation.”
Duringourworkshops,theMindstaffwhohadestablishedrelationshipswiththeparticipantsmade
similarcomparisons,notinghowmuchlongerpeoplewereabletoconcentrateandincreasedlevels
ofengagementwiththemaking-basedactivities.Yair(2011:4)alsonotesthat
“distraction, mood enhancement and relaxation has other benefits for well-being,
quieteningchronicstressandanxiety…andatthesametime,bothasenseofachievement
gainedfromcraftandthesocialinteractionitencouragescanhelpcombattheisolationof
depression.”
ThetheoreticalframeworkfortheprojectaskshowdesigncanengagewiththePCAtoinformanew
methodologyfordesignandmaking.ThePCAoriginatedwithCarlRogers’theoryandpractice,and
informscontemporarypsychotherapypractice,nursing,pedagogyandconciliationapproaches
(Embleton-Tudoretal.2004).Oneofthekeydriversofthistheoryisthatthoseparticipatingshould
beabletodosowithinanon-judgementalenvironmentorwithunconditionalpositiveregard(UPR)
(Rogers1957).ThePCAisthereforebothnon-directiveandnon-judgemental(Levitt2005)andtakes
aholisticviewofexperiencing,incontrasttothedeficitmodelofmedicalapproachestomental
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healthandwellbeing(includingbehaviouralandclinicalpsychology).Themedicalmodeltendstoact
onclustersofsymptoms(pathology)ratherthanviewingthewholeperson,whilethebehavioural
approachisdirectiveinnature,seekingtochangeindividuals’behaviourtofitasocietalnorm.
However,thePCAemphasisestheperson’smovementtowardsgrowth,shownbyopen,flexible
responsesinthehere-and-now(Rogers1961).IntheIoSofTprojecttheresearchisnotconcerned
withparticipants’medicaldiagnoses,rather,we(ashumansaswellasresearchers)strivetovalue
thewholeperson.Workshopsareframedascollaborativeresearch,nottherapy,andweaspireto
provideco-researchers(not‘clients’or‘patients’)withaframeworktosupporttheirownjourneyof
therapeuticchange.
Ifco-designmethodologiesareprimarilyusedtoimprovethedesignofobjectsand
products,ourfocuswastouseco-designasawaytohelpbuilddesigners-facilitatedpracticein
relationtowell-being.Inthissenseourapproachwastouseco-designasamethodtodevelopa
craft-practiceservice.Thepurposeofthisserviceisdoublelayered,asitaimstofacilitatethemaking
ofelectronictextilesandalsoallowsforbetterunderstandingofthetechnicalcomplexityof
electronictextilesforpotentialusers.Asaserviceofferedbyadesignorcraftperson,itisnottobe
confoundedwitharttherapy,whichisamentalhealthpractice(Jaatinen2015).
Thustheresearchenablespeoplewithlivedexperienceofmentalhealthissues,toparticipatein
workshops,usingaco-designmethodologytocreatepersonalisedtextileobjects.Theinvolvement
oftherapeuticcommunitiesiscentraltotheresearchprocessandthisincludesco-researchersfrom
theNottinghamshireMindNetwork,workingwithserviceuserswithexistingmentalhealthneeds.
Toenableustocreateaperson-centredworkingenvironmentandco-designmethodology,some
commonframingactivitieswereborrowedfrompsychotherapeuticpractice,suchasthecreationof
agroupagreementandtheuseof‘check-ins’and‘check-outs’atthebeginningandendofeach
session;dialogicalevaluationtoolswerealsodeveloped,includingonebasedontheRecoveryStar
(MacKeithetal.2013).Thesetoolsencouragedopennessandreflexivityandgaveeachparticipant
diverseopportunitiestodescribetheirexperienceofparticipationandtheirhopesandfearsforthe
nextsession.Italsogavetheco-researchersfeedbackonskillslevelsfordynamicplanningand
timings,aswellasenablingreflectionontheexperienceofthetimespentmakingwithinthegroup
context.
Theprojectlastedtwoyearsandwasstructuredinthreephases:1)e-textileworkshops,2)Service
Designworkshops,and3)FutureWorkshopsformentalhealthserviceredesign.Thiswasintended
toscaffoldparticipantexperiencewithtextileandelectronictechnologies,posittheconceptofbeing
abletodesignwithdatatosupportmentalwellbeing,andfinallyvisualisehowafuturisticvenue,
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enabledbya‘smart’systemofnetworkedpersonaltextileartefactsandinteriorfittings,might
enablenewmodelsofmentalhealthandsocialcareintegration.Thispaperfocusesonthe
experiencesoftheteamthroughoutphases1)and2),astheysoughttofacilitateengagementwith
e-textilecraftprocesses,andtocreatemeaningfulnetworkedtextileobjectsfordatacollection.
Thekeydriverfortheproject,andtherationalefortakinge-textilestomentalhealthserviceusers,
wastherecognitionthatubiquitousembeddedtechnologiesareincreasinglybeingadoptedinthe
healthsectoraccordingtocognitive-behaviouralmodelsofthepersonand‘need’,whenother
approachesmayalsobevaluable(TyrerandSteinberg2013,Kettleyetal.forthcoming).This
researchrespondedtoacallfromtheInternetofThingsdevelopmentcommunityforwaystoput
peopleattheheartofthedesignprocess,ratherthantechnology(InnovateUKNetwork2013).
Furthermore,theprojectstressesthedifferencebetweendesigningwithspecialneedsandmental
healthparticipants.Veryoftenindesign,thesecommunitiesarementionedinthesamebreath,but
mentalhealthhappenstousall,andveryoftenhasnoimpactoncognitiveabilityorintelligence.As
anexample,theMindmemberswhotookpartinthisprojectincludedanemployedanthropologist,
aretiredengineer,someonewithyearsofexperienceworkingwithatextilemanufacturing
company,anotherwhohadworkedinthetelecommunicationsmanufacturingindustry,anda
retiredbedandbreakfast(B&B)ownerwithstrongideasoninteriordecoration.Conversely,
managersinthehealthsectorareoftenproudtoowntheir‘livedexperience’,andsomemembersof
theacademicteamcouldalsocountthemselvesinthiscategory.Someoftheresearchteamhad
decadesofexperienceworkingwithpeoplewithcomplexspecialneeds(Brownetal.2011,Wallis
andJones2013),butthisprojectwasacompletelynewexperienceforthem.
Methodsusedincollaboration
Methodsusedinworkshops
Theworkshops,whichwerefirstpilotedincentralNottinghamandthencontinuedwith
MindmembersandvolunteersinNorthNottinghamshire,employedsimilarstrategiesfor
collaborativeworkingandco-design.Simplemethodswereprioritisedandpresentedinformationin
small,manageablechunks.Theaimwastocreateanenvironmentforcreativeandeducational
activitiesthatfacilitatesbothcraftpracticeandelectronicunderstanding,withoutlosingsightofthe
well-beingofparticipantsinthemoment.MakingtaskswithMindmemberswereoftenundertaken
inpairs,withamemberofthefacilitationteam.Thispairingenabledfacilitatorstoassistasmuchor
aslittleasnecessary,andinsomecasestocarryoutphysicalactsofsewingonbehalfofthe
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participant,whenaspectssuchasaggravatedphysicalormentalhealthconditionsmade
concentrationorco-ordinationdifficult.
Aspartoftheone-to-oneassistance,theworkshopfacilitators,severalofwhomcamefromdesign
backgrounds,wereabletoassisttheparticipantsinthedesigndecision-makingprocess.For
example,byaskingquestionsregardingswitchselectionandfabriccolourchoice.Bybreakingupthe
designprocessintodiscretedecisionswithbinaryanswers,theprospectof‘designing’becameless
daunting(oneofthecommentsaddedtothepilotgroupagreementbyamemberoftheacademic
teamwasthatitshouldbe‘OKnottobecreative’).Thisenabledthesignificantaestheticand
functionalaspectsofeachtextileobjecttobedeterminedbytheparticipants.Theworkshops
offeredthepossibilityfordirectobservationinsituconditionsofthedesignedset-upand
framework.Aseriesofsoundandvideorecordingswerealsotakenandtheyareabouttobe
analyzedinapost-experienceresearchphase.
Methodsusedwithintheresearchteam
Inadditiontothewiderscopeoftheproject,severallargerelectronictextileobjectswere
madebytheresearchersontheteam.Theseprototypesexploredtheuseofelectronictextile
objectsbypeoplewithmentalhealthissuesandwereusedtoillustratedifferentconcepts,suchas
inputsandoutputsinphysicalcomputing.Sinceelectronictextilesdemanddiversecompetencies,
belongingtodifferentdisciplines,wehavesoughtwaystosupportthedifferentmembersofthe
researchteamtoworkcollaborativelyandtocreatesmarttextileobjects.Theteaminvolvedin
developingtheelectronictextilesdiscussedbelowconsistedoftextiledesigners,apatterncutting
expert,anelectronictextiledesignerandacomputerscienceexpert.
Thedesignteamadoptedseveralmethodstotacklethedesigningandmakingofthesmarttextile
networkedobjects,similartothatofGrayandMalins(2004:31)‘triangulationofmethods’,
proposedforundertakingartanddesignresearch.Eachdesignteammemberbroughtforward
personalandtaughtmethodsfromtheirdisciplinaryfieldstoassistindesigndevelopmentandteam
communication.Basicaspectsliketextileformsandmaterials,circuitdesign,interactionforms,
programming,InternetofThingsandBigDatawereinvestigated.Inadditiontothefirstpilot
workshopsincentralNottingham,theelectronictextilesdesignerandthecomputerscientistalso
providedthetextiledesignersandpsychotherapistsontheteamwithworkshoptraininginArduino
andprogramming.
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Oneofthemostusefulmethodsforvisualisingthecircuits(designedbythecomputerscience
expert)wastheuseoftheprogramFritzing(2016).Thisallowedforrealistic,diagrammatic
representationsofthecircuits,whichcouldbeusedastoolsfordiscussionandadaptation.Froma
designer’sperspective,theFritzingtoolwasveryvaluableingeneratingtangiblevisuals,butitwas
limitedinreflectinghowthereal-worldtextileoutcomewouldlook,duetotheuseofstraightlines
andschematic,idealisedvisualrepresentations.Anotherproblemoccuredduetothenatureofthe
program,whichcrosses,mergesandoverlayswiresinwaysthatconductivethreadcannot,without
causingashortcircuit.Forexample,Figure1showsthewirecrossingthePhotonboard(Particle
2016),whichwouldnotbepossiblewiththreads.Whenmakingtheelectronictextilespractically,
theFritzingdiagramactedasareferencepointfromwhichtheelementscouldbemovedaroundto
betterreflectthefinalstitchedcircuit.Wherethiswasnotpossible,thesalientinformationwasused
torecreatethecircuitonthetextilee.g.thattheYfromtheaccelerometerisconnectedtoAnalogue
pin3(asinFigure1).
Figure1.Fritzingdiagramshowingschematicforhandheldelectronictextileobject.
InadditiontotheuseofFritzing,roughpapersketchesandphotographswereusedtodevelopthe
electronictextilesandcommunicatethedetailsbetweencollaborators.Byusingacombinationof
specialistandthesemorereadilyaccessible,low-techmethods,collaboratorswereabletodevelop
mutualunderstanding.Eachcollaboratorremainedtheexpertintheirrespectivefield,butwas
expectedtobeawareofenoughoftheirfellowcollaborators’areasinordertocommunicate
successfully.Communicationwaskeptjargon-freeandaccessibletoallwhereverpossible.
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Participant-ledtextileobjects
DuringthetwosetsofMindworkshops,participantsweresupportedtomaketheirown
electronictextileobjects.Theoutlineofeachobject-makingactivitywasdesignedasasimple
introductiontothefieldofelectronictextiles,whichwouldbeachievableinanafternoonsession
andwithouttheneedforanycomputerprogramming.Forfurtherdetailsonthecontentofthe
workshopsseeGlazzardetal.(2015:4)andBriggs-Goodeetal.(2015).
Theworkshopactivitiesweredividedasfollows(seeFigure2forexamples)andthoseconsideredto
beparticipant-ledtextileobjectswerecreatedinActivities3,4and5.
Activity1.Simpletextilecircuit
Activity2.Simplecircuitwithpressstudswitch(2variations)
Activity3.Garmentssuchasgloves,socks,hats,etc.withcircuitsadded
Activity4.Agroupcircuit,whichisasmallobjectwithanindividualcircuit,whichcanbe
attachedtootherobjectstomakealargercircuit
Activity5.Aself-directedtextileobjectusingtheskillsfromthepreviousactivities
Figure2.ImagesoftheoutcomesofthefivemakingactivitieswiththeMindparticipantgroup.
Participantsmadetheirowndecisionsonshape,colour,designandfunctionsusedinthemakingof
theobjects,duringtheworkshops.Althoughtheseelectronictextileobjectsweresimpleintheir
constructionandfunction,theparticipantswereengagingwithlargelyunfamiliarprocessesand
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synthesisingtheseoutcomeswiththeirowninterestsfromtheirpersonalexperiences.Allobjects
usedlightemittingdiodes(LEDs)asoutput,asthisisarelativelysimplecircuittoachieve;the
qualitiesandusesoflightsforcommunicationwerediscussedearlyoninthesix-weekprocessto
helppeoplethinkthroughdesignideas.Participantswereabletomakebothin-seriesandin-parallel
circuits;thefirstoftheseislimitedinthenumberofLEDsthatcanbepowered,whileacircuit
arrangedinparallelcanpoweralargernumberoflightsfromasinglebattery.Parallelcircuitswere
usedbysomeparticipantstomakewristbandswithmultiplelights.TheobjectsshowninFigure2:
Activity5werecompletelyself-directedobjectsdevelopedfromthepreviousactivities.Theimage
showsarepresentationof‘ravioliandbrownsauce’,whichwasdesignedaroundtheactionofa
magneticswitchfromKitronik.The‘brownsauce’containsasmallmagnet,whichcompletesthe
circuittoactivateanLEDwhenattachedtothe‘ravioli’.Thesunimageshowsanobjectwith
personalconnectionstoaparticipant’sspiritualbeliefs.Thesunobjecthadasimpleon/offswitch
controllingtwoLEDsinthe‘cheeks’andwaslargelymadebyaworkshopfacilitatorunderinstruction
fromtheparticipant.
Designer-ledtextileobjects
Aftertheinitialworkshopstages(phase1),theresearchteamdevelopedelectronictextile
objectsinspiredandinformedbytheirexperiences.Theseobjectsaresplitintotwoareas,hand-held
andlarger(physical)scales.Thesetextileobjectshaveonesensingform(capacitive,pushbutton,
etc.)ratherthanmultipleformsofsensing(multimodal)sothattheroleofphysicalinputsand
outputs,anddesignwithdata,couldbemadeexplicit.
Thehand-heldobjects’initialfunctionsweredeterminedinpartbythedatacollectionapproach
withintheproject,andwereusedaspropstopromptdiscussionaboutwhatdatashouldbeshared,
withwhom,andwhatexperiencesofthatmightbelike.Theobjectsweredesignedtocapturedata
inresponsetowalks‘inthewild’withMindparticipants,whiletheysharedtheirexperiencesduring
conversationswiththeresearchersaboutenvironmentaltriggers,moment-to-momentobservations
andhowthosecouldbecommunicatedthroughortotheobjects.Thelarger-scaleobjectswere
designedtoactasdemonstratorsofthepossibilitiesofe-textilesinhome-likeenvironments.These
wereusedinworkshopswithMindserviceusersandothergroupsfordiscussiononusageand
interaction,aswellasthefuturepossibilitiesfortheconnectivityoftextileobjects.
Hand-heldobjects
Variousunsuccessfulhand-heldobjects
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Theprojectteamdesignedandmadeseveralvariationsofsofttactileobjectstobe
networkedbutfoundthatwhenitcametoapplyingelectroniccomponents,compatibilitybecame
anissue.Forexample,ahand-feltingprocesswasusedtodevelopaseriesofthree-dimensionalsoft
objects.Althoughthesofttextureoftheobjectwaseasytoaddadditionalfeaturestobystitching,it
wasnoteasytoapplyallofthehardelectroniccomponentsneededtomakethecircuit.Thiswas
duetotheobjectbeingintegrallythree-dimensional,meaningthatitcouldnotbetakenapartin
ordertoaddthecircuit,aswellasthesurfaceareabeingtoosmalltoaddcomplexcircuits.
Therefore,thisissueledtothehandmadefeltobjectbeingabandoned.
Anothersetofobjectsthatwerediscardedaspartofthelearning-through-makingprocessincluded
asoftwristbandandasmallhandheldcushion.Eachitemwasconstructedusingmaterialsthatwere
feasiblefortheelectroniccircuittobeapplied,howeverwhenitcametobeingusedwithinthe
workshopsfordatacollectionwithparticipants,theobjectsfailedtowork.Asaresult,partsofthe
circuitweredismantledandre-usedforotherdevelopingideas.Acontinuingchallengeforthe
projectmemberswasrealisingthatoncethecircuitwasappliedusinge-textilematerialsthecircuit
mightnolongerwork,despitebeingfunctionalinprinciple.Suchissuesthatledtheobjecttonot
beingfunctionalincludedthestrengthandconductivityofthee-textilethread(discussedlaterinthis
paper).
Partofthechallengeofthemakingwasdowntothelargenumberofresearchteammembers.
Successfuloutcomesmostoftencamefrompairsorindividuals,withotherteammembersneeded
forfeedbackorspecificexpertise,ratherthanallgivingequally-weightedinput.Insomecases,
prioritizingamainlytherapeuticortextiledesignperspectivedidnotallowfortimetodiscuss
aspectsrelatedtointeractivitywithelectronictextiles,ortheuseofdatageneratedbydifferent
textilesdevices.
LEDandaccelerometerobject
TheobjectthatwasprimarilyusedtocapturedataduringthesecondphaseofMind
workshopswasasmallcushion,createdusingcopperwiringtoconnectthecomponentsandboard,
simplycontainedwithinasmall,padded,fabriccushion.Thisobjectwasmadebyoneofthe
researcherswithcomputerscienceexpertisetothespecificationsrequiredforthedatacapture.The
objecthadnoparticularaestheticconsiderationandhadtheappearanceofaplainblack,square
cushionwiththeLEDandaccelerometerstitchedtotheoutside.Lateracoverwasmadebyoneof
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thetextilepractitionersforthecushiontogiveaneaterappearance.Thiscoverincorporateda
reverseappliqueholefilledwithorganzatoallowtheLEDtoshinethrough.
Figure3.Imagesofoneofthehand-heldobjectsusinganaccelerometer,on/offswitch,pushbutton
andathreecolourLEDsLilypadboardwithaPhotonboardforwirelesscommunication.Preparatory
circuitsketchandintermediaryobject.
Largerscaleobjects
Capacitiveballrug
Thedevelopmentofthecapacitiveballrugcamefromtheneedtodesignlarger-scaletextile
objectsaspartoftheproject.Thebrieffortheprojectteamwasveryopen,butarecentworkshop
withsomeparticipantshadshownthattheyhadenjoyedinteractingwithroundshapes.Martha
Glazzard,whodevelopedtheballrug,usedherbackgroundinknittedtextilestoworkwithjersey
fabricintheaimofcreatingasoft,stretchytextilepiecethatcouldbetouchedandsquashedto
createelectronicinteractions.Theballrugissplitintofive‘zones’(distinguishablebydifferent
coloursoffabric)eachofwhichhasacapacitiveareaconsistingofsixconnectedpiecesofappliqued
conductivefabric.Madeflatinapatchworkstyle(asshowninFigure4),therugwasthenhand-
manipulatedtotransformtheflatsurfaceintoadense,three-dimensionalrugofwadding-stuffed
‘balls’(showninFigure5).Thefivecapacitiveareascanbeactivatedbylightskincontactaswellas
bymorevigoroushandlingsotheuser’sinteractionscanbesuitabletotheirparticularinteraction
preferences.
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Figure4.Capacitiveballrugindevelopment,showingthefivepanelspiecestogetherwiththe
appliquedconductivefabric.
Figure5.Capacitiveballrugshowinginteractionwiththecapacitiveareas.
TheballrugwasconnectedtoalaptopforademonstrationatMentalHealthAwarenessWeekin
Nottingham.Theprovisionalcomputersetupshowedthatthevariouscapacitivezonescouldbe
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usedtoactivatedifferentsymbolsonscreen.Withwirelesscapabilitytherugisabletoopen
different,pre-programmeduniformresourcelocators(URLs)onatablet,phoneorcomputer,orto
connecttoanothertextileinterfacewithoutputmodalities,suchastheLEDsfeaturedearlierinthis
article.Thisfunctionwasdesignedwiththepotentialtobepartofongoingtherapeuticdiscussions
withMindstaffandcouldbetailoredtoaccessfavouritesongs,images,contactsorotherpreferred
internetorcomputercontent;itcouldalsobeusedtocommunicateemotionalexperienceinmore
ambiguous,poeticandevenbeautifulways(WallaceandPress2004),orbecomeacontrollerfor
immersiveexperiences.
Cushions
Twocushionswerealsodevelopedtorespondtotheneedforlarge-scaletextileobjects
(Figures6and7).Commoninteriorproducts,suchascushions,haveoftenbeenthefocusof
electronicdevelopments,asafamiliarandtactileobjectinwhichtodemonstratethepotentialof
thepoeticpossibilitiesofelectronictextiles(Worbin2010).Forourproject,thecushionswere
designedtoillustratedifferentelectronictextilestechnicalpossibilities:adigitalinputandan
analogueinput,andtoactaswirelessoutputdevicesincommunicationwithotherobjects
developedintheframeoftheproject.
TriangleLEDcushion
Thefirstcushionismadeoffeltwithtriangletransparentinsertionstoillustratedigitalinput.
Basedontwoparallelcircuits,thecushionusesaPhotonboardallowingwirelesscommunication
withtheotherobjectsorwiththedatageneratedbythecomputersciencedepartment.Tomakea
cleardemarcationforthetwocircuits,theteamusedvisualindicatorssuchasthedirectionofthe
triangles(verticalandhorizontal)anddifferentcolours(blueandwhite)fortheLEDsused.In
collaborationwiththecomputerscienceresearcher,thetextiledesignersdevelopeddifferent
patternsofactivation(sametimeblinking,alternativeblinking,differentrhythmofblinking).
Scenariosforusecannowbedevelopedbytheparticipantsthemselvesinresponsetodirect
experiencewiththecushionsandLEDsassituatedpoeticinformation.
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Figure6.LEDcushionshowingtwoconfigurationsoflightoutput.
Figure7.CushionwithLEDsandpushbuttonsinsilverinsert.
Thesecondcushionmixeddifferenttextilematerials(feltandsilveredfabric)toillustratean
analogueinput.Ifthefeltedpartofthecushionwasneutralfromanelectronicpointofview,the
silveredpartincorporatedthreepushbuttonsensorsandthreeparallelLEDcircuits.Semi-
transparent,thesilveredfabricallowedthelightoftheLEDstoglowthroughitssurface.Whenone
ofthepushbuttonswaspressed,therelatedLEDcircuitswouldflash.
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Designpractice–lossesandgainsthroughco-designandcollaboration
Changesindesignprocess
Theprocessesforthedesignersduringthedesigner-ledobjectdevelopmentinIoSofT
featuredsomekeydifferencesfromtypicaldesigntasksandfamiliardesignprocesses.Inaccordance
withtheexperientialPCA,thedesignbriefwasnotdefinedbyuser‘need’ordeficit,andwasthus
experiencedbythedesignersasextremelyopen,andashavingveryfewdesignconstraints.The
constraintsgivenwererelatedtoscale,suchas‘hand-held’or‘roomscale’;‘input’or‘output’
textile;orthatitmightcontainparticularcomponentssuchasanaccelerometeroraphotonboard.
Thisopenbriefmeantthatitwasoftendifficulttofindastartingpointfortheobjects’development,
sothetextiledesignerslookedforinspirationsfromtheirexperienceswithintheparticipatory
workshops.Onesuchexperiencewasthedecisiontokeeptheinterfaceseasytouse.Manyofthe
participantshadexpressedunfamiliaritywithelectronicsorsoftwaresothisgaveanopportunityfor
thetextilestoprovidesimpleinterfacesformorecomplicated‘behindthescenes’technology.Inthis
case,itwasimportantthatthebuttonsorotheractuatorscouldbeeasilydistinguishedfromtherest
oftheobjectandthattheinterfaceswereasintuitiveaspossible.Sincethepurposesofthe
electronictextileswerenotpre-determined,itwaslefttothedesignerstodeveloptheirown
outcomesbasedonfeedbackfromtheworkshopsatMind.Becauseofthisopenness,manymajor
decisionsrelatingtothepreferredtechnologyfornetworkingcouldbeledbythedesigners,in
collaborationwithacomputerscientist.
Aestheticcontrolandcredibility
Theparticipant-ledtextileobjectscreatedintheMindworkshopsduringphase1presented
specificchallengestoexperienceddesignpractitioners.Astheteamwereassistingandnotleading
thedevelopmentofthetextiles,itwasinappropriatetobeinvolvedindecision-makingabout
shapes,colourorevenneatnessoftheobjects.Ourrolesweretohelpparticipantstomaketheir
owndesigndecisionsandassistwheninvited.Assuch,itfeltdifficultforthepractitionersto‘letgo’
ofthefinedetailsandresisttheurgeto‘tidyup’or‘correct’anyoftheparticipants’making.The
onlyinstanceinwhichcriticalfeedbackmightbegivenduringtheparticipantworkshopswasin
ordertomakesurethatanyelectricalcircuitswouldfunction.
Positiveexperiencesincollaborativerelationships
16
Thecollaborativeapproachprovidedcertainmeaningfulandrewardingengagementswith
individualMindparticipants.Theparticipantsandfacilitatorsintheworkshopsoftendevelopedone-
to-onerelationships.Forexample,onefacilitator-participantpairdevelopedtheirownunique
sewingtechniquewherebothpeoplewereinvolvedintheproductionofeachstitch.
Thecollaborationswithintheresearchteamsalsoprovidedopportunitiesforworthwhilegainsfor
theresearchers.Thechancetoworkcollaborativelybetweentextiledesigners,computerscientists
andperson-centredtherapistsprovidedopportunitiestoreframetextilepracticeasahybrid
practice.Eachdisciplinaryconsiderationneededtoberepresentedandtheself-negotiatedbriefs
neededtotakeintoaccounttherequirementsofusers(whoarevariouslyfamiliarwithdifferent
formsoftechnology,includingtextiles)andincludecomplextechnologicalcomponents.
Person-centredapproach
ThePCAguidedthestructureandcontentoftheMindworkshops(Glazzardetal.2015).It
alsoframedthedesignandpotentialuseoftheelectronictextileobjectsinthatthedesignapproach
triedtobeexperientialandnon-directive(Levitt2005).Theresearchtookanon-medicalized
approachtoparticipants’mentalhealthandsotheteamdidnotseektocreateobjectsinreactionto
particularsymptomsordiagnoses.Theteamwerenotworkingtodiagnosticcriteriaoraddressing
theideaofamentalhealthdeficit,butusingamoreholisticpictureofmentalhealthonthe
understandingthateveryonehasmentalhealth(MentalHealthTaskforceStrategy2016).
Difficultieswiththesmarttextiles
Thedesignteamcameacrossseveralchallengestoorganisingcollaborativemakingsessions
together.Eachteammemberhadindividualcommitmentsoutsideoftheprojectwhichoften
dictatedwhenandwheremakingsessionswouldtakeplace.Also,forthoseinvolvedinthemaking
sessions,eachcamefromadifferentlocationwithintheUniversity,withonemembermaking
fortnightlytravelarrangementsfromabroad.Thecomputerscientistintheteamalsofound
problemsaccessingthenecessaryequipmentandtechnologyfromdifferentlocations.
Aparticulargainfortheprojectteammemberswasthatinspiteoflimitedequipment,thedesign
workoftentookplaceinastudio-likelocationwhereconversationscouldtakeplacefreely.This
becamecrucialtowardsbuildingameaningfulandrewardingrelationshipthatwouldimpactonthe
designwork.Aconstantchallengewastheamountoftime,iterationsandattemptsrequiredto
makefunctioningnetworked,textileobjects.Eachmemberneededtobeefficientwithtimespent
17
ondevelopingthetextileobjectsandsetregularachievablegoals.Duetothedistinctiveseparate
natureofthetextilesandelectronicmaterials,thedesignteamrealisedthattheyhadtobepatient
andmethodicalintheirapproachasateamandtoeachotherinordertotacklethechallenges
encounteredinthemaking.
Technologicalproblems
Themainproblemwithintegratingthetechnologywastheissueofpoweringthephoton
board.AvailableconductivethreadsallowedenoughcurrentflowtopowerLEDsfrombatteriesand
topowercomponentsrunningfromtheboard,buttheydidnotallowenoughcurrentflowbetween
thebatteryandtheboard,duetothehighpowerrequirementsneededtoruntheWIFI.The
problemwiththecurrentflowcausedfrequentproblemswiththeearlydevicesusingPhoton
boards,buttheissuewasnotidentifieduntillateron,causingsignificantlossofdevelopmenttime.
Afterconductingsometestsontheconductivethreadsavailabletous,itwasdiscoveredthatthe
minimumamountofthreadneededwouldbefourtosixendsofthethickerthreeorfourplythreads
(Figure8).Duetothebulkcausedbyhavingsomanyendsofeachyarn,itwasproblematicwhen
sewingthephotonboardtothetextiles.Possiblesolutionstothisissuewereto‘breakout’the
boardsothatthepinswouldbespreadfurtherapartontheboard,toavoidshortcircuitingthrough
fibrecontact,ortousecopperwiringtoconnectthebatterytothephotonboard.Ultimately,dueto
timeconstraints,copperwirewasusedtoconnectthephotonboardtothebattery,butattempted
tobesensitivetotextileconsiderationsbyusingsoft,flexiblecopperwireandtwistingtheouter
endsintoloopswhichcouldbestitcheddown.Asaresponsetotheissuesdescribedtheteamhave
beguntodevelopasoftcircuitrykittofacilitatethedevelopmentoflarge-scaleobjects(Figure9).
Usingthesetextile-basedboardsmayfillthegapbetweenthealreadyexistingboards(Lilypadand
Photon)andtheinputandoutputelementsofelectronictextileobjects,astheycanbeeasily
attachedanddetachedbyusingthepressstuds.
18
Figure8.Imageshowingresultsoftestingonconductivethreadandfabricwhenusedtopower
Photonboard.
19
Figure9.Examplesofsoftcircuitryfora)aflexsensorandb)fivecapacitivesensors.
Developmentofthetoolkit
Onemajoroutcomeoftheproject,atoolkit,wasproducedtosharethecontentoftheMind
workshopswithfutureserviceusers(AnInternetofSoftThings2016b).50kitsmadeavailableto
Mind,wereproduced,eachcontainingabookletwitheducationalresources,therapeuticfeedback
sheetsbasedontheRecoveryStar(MacKeithetal.2013),andtheequipmentnecessarytomakethe
electronictextilesfromthesix-weekMindworkshops.Thetoolkithasbeendesignedtobeusedin
groupsettingswithassistancefromaworkshopleader(s)andvolunteers.Ithasalsobeendesigned
toaccompanyan‘in-house’kitatMind,containingsharedtoolsandequipmentsuchasscissors,
needles,etc.
Thetoolkitwasdesignedtoofferasmuchclarityaspossibletoeachtask.Theeducationalmaterial
intheformofhandoutsandinstructionsincludedinthebookletwereoriginallydesignedforusein
theworkshopsandthenfrequentlyrevisedandeditedbasedonfeedbackfromparticipantsinthe
workshopsandonfacilitators’observations.Wherepossiblediagrammaticandphotographic
versionsofvisualinformationwereusedtohelpvisualisetaskstodifferentparticipantswhohave
varyingneedsorpreferences.Similarly,theelectroniccomponentswereincludedinbothliteraland
diagrammaticrepresentations,toencouragetheideathatthecomponentsmaychange,butthe
principlesandmethodscanbetransferredtousewithothercomponents.TheMindparticipants
seemedtorespondbesttoinformationthatwasbrokenintosmallchunksandthatfocusedonone
activityatatime,sothetoolkitaimstoreflecttheserequirements,particularlyinthe‘howto’guides
writtenforeachofthefiveactivities(Figure10).
Languageusedtodescribethepracticalactivitieswasaccessibletoawideaudiencewithvarying
educationlevelsandwhoareassumedtobenon-specialistsintextilesorelectronics.Withthese
considerationsinmind,thebookletcontainsintroductoryinstructionstosewing,includinghowto
threadaneedleandtieaknot,andalsobasicelectronicinformationsuchasaglossaryoftermsand
explanationsofseriesandparallelcircuits.Aestheticallythetoolkitisdesignedtobeanengaging
resourceratherthananacademicdocumentorNationalHealthServicepublication.Brightcolours
(takenfromtheprojectlogo)andadashedline/stitchingmotifonplaintextpageswereusedtoadd
playfulelements.Thetoolkitbookletisopenaccessandcanbefreelydownloadedfrom
http://aninternetofsoftthings.com/toolkit.Becauseofitslanguageandappearance,itishopedthat
20
thetoolkitbookletwillbesharedwithotherinterestedpartiesandbeusedtospreadelectronic
textileknowledgetowider,non-specialisedaudiences.
Figure10.Examplespreadfromthetoolkitbookletshowingaphotographofexampleoutcomesand
a‘howto’sheetfortheactivity.
ConcludingRemarks
Thispaperhasshownhowamultidisciplinaryteamcametogether,todevelopanewmethodology
thatutilisesco-designandcraftmakingwithelectronictextileswithinaperson-centred
framework.Reflectionontheworkshopsandthemakingprocessesshowshowtheteamused
reflexivetoolstobuildandrespondtoco-researchers’feedback,whichenabledchangestobemade
totimingsandplanning.Thus,theteamwereabletoresponddynamicallytosupportthe
therapeuticgrowthoftheindividualwithinthecontextoftheworkshopsthemselves.
Thepaperalsodiscussedchallengesthrownupbytheprojectforthetextiledesignersintheformof
a-typicaldesignscenarios.Therewerechallengesintheopennessofthebriefaswellasthelackof
aestheticcontrolinvolvedinthemakingprocess.Toensuretheauthenticityandcredibilityofthe
makingexperiencefortheco-researchersitwasparamountthatany‘expert’viewsonwhatthe
objectshoulddo,howitshouldlook,oronimprovingtheappearanceshouldbelimitedtoasupport
21
roleandnotdirectingordoing.However,thesechallengesalsorevealednewdirectionsand
meaningsfortextilepractice,whichwereexperiencedasbothfulfillingandvaluable.
Therewerealsoanumberoftechnicaldesignchallengesinrelationtothetextileobjects,whichthe
textiledesignresearchteamexperiencedasfrustrating,suchasprotractedtimelinesandthe
numerousiterationsofanobjectthatwererequiredforultimatesuccess.Someofthesefrustrations
illustratethatthetextilecraftmakerordesigneroftenstrugglesincollaborationwithothersduring
themakingprocess.However,theresearchersalsogainedfromcollaborationwithsuchadiverse
teamandwereenrichedbydialogueandnewinsightsintootheracademicdisciplines.Thisenabled
are-framingoftextiledesignpractice,fromanindividualpursuitwithspecifiedmarket-driven
ambitions,intoamorehybridactivityandamulti-layeredexperiencewithindividualusersatits
centre.
Theresearchprojecthasdeliveredoutcomes,whichhavedemonstratedthatadiverseteamof
academicsandpractitionerscanprovidealternativeapproachestodesignwithandformental
health,throughbringingthevoicesofpeoplewithlivedexperienceintotheconversationabouthow
weasasocietywishtoengagewithelectronictextilesaspartofanInternetofThings.
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ListofFigures
Figure1.Fritzingdiagramshowingschematicforhandheldelectronictextileobject.
24
Figure2.ImagesoftheoutcomesofthefivemakingactivitieswiththeMindparticipantgroup.
Figure3.Imagesofoneofthehand-heldobjectsusinganaccelerometer,on/offswitch,pushbutton
andathreecolourLEDsLilypadboardwithaPhotonboardforwirelesscommunication.Preparatory
circuitsketchandintermediaryobject.
Figure4.Capacitiveballrugindevelopmentshowingthe5panelspiecestogetherwiththe
appliquedconductivefabric.
Figure5.Capacitiveballrugshowinginteractionwiththecapacitiveareas.
Figure6.LEDcushionshowingtwoconfigurationsoflightoutput.
Figure7.CushionwithLEDsandpushbuttonsinsilverinsert.
Figure8.Imageshowingresultsoftestingonconductivethreadandfabricwhenusedtopower
Photonboard.
Figure9.Examplesofsoftcircuitryfora)aflexsensorandb)fivecapacitivesensors.
Figure10.Examplespreadfromthetoolkitbookletshowingaphotographofexampleoutcomesand
a‘howto’sheetfortheactivity.
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