3D Printed Fabrics Turn Body Suit Into a Wearable MP3 Player
According to Dutch fashion designer Borre Akkersdijk there is no such thing as wearable technology. “Wearable technology does not exist at all,” says Akkersdijk. “It’s carry-able technology.” He believes that the current generation of pedometers, augmented glasses, and other gizmos we clip to our clothing mean to solve important problems, but he’s not sure they do so as well as they could.
Akkersdijk is more than a critic, though, and has designed a product that attempts to illustrate his vision for what truly wearable technology should look like. His first attempt, called the BB.Suit, contains Wifi, GPS, NFC, and Bluetooth components and turns wearers into walking access points to the web.
It demonstrated how truly wearable tech could lead to vastly different user experiences.
He tested the suit at SXSW, broadcasting a model’s location on Google Maps and inviting musicians to upload their tracks to a purpose-built website that uses the suit as a walking URL.The prototype was a success and helped curate an eclectic playlist, but more importantly, it demonstrated how truly wearable tech could lead to vastly different user experiences.
New Threads, New Interface Theories
Truly wearable technology opens up new design opportunities–and challenges. Think of the all of the UI innovation spurred by the iPhone with its “pinch to zoom” and “pull to refresh” mechanics. Now crossing your legs, scratching your belly, or dusting dandruff off your shoulder are all potential opportunities for user interface hooks. Spilling a can of Diet Coke on your trousers could cue local dry cleaners to run ads on your Facebook page. Dating sites will be able to gauge your interest in potential mates by measuring your heart beat.
The BB.Suit hints at the possibilities, but will require serious R&D effort to become real. “If we really want to create a wearable platform we would need to over come a lot of problems where tech and textile and clothing meet,” says Akkersdijk. His team managed most of these problems by hiding batteries, processor boards, and UI actuator’s in the BB.Suit’s pockets, but for this technology to mainstream, many manufacturing challenges must be addressed.
Then there is the issue of style. “A really important part maybe the most important part are the graphics that gives the 3D knitting shape,” says Akkersdijk. “Within the graphics we leave the pockets where we have space with in the fabric to store the chips needed for the GPS, WIFI and future options.” While the two layers of cotton hide, protect, and route the delicate copper cables they will make for uncomfortable garments in a Georgia summer.
How Do You 3-D Print Fabrics Anyway?
In 2009 Akkersdijk started experimenting with circular knitting machines, the tools that allow designers to create socks featuring mustaches, mushrooms, and emus and realized that by hacking the software that powered these devices, dimensional fabrics could be produced. He rigged the machines to knit two layers of fine cotton thread so that they would envelope a coarser, synthetic fiber that puffs up when steamed. Over time, he worked out how to essentially print complete garments and by 2011 his designs, which look a bit like wearable quilts, were on the runway at Fashion Week in Paris under the ByBorre label.
The BB.Suit made its debut at SXSW and broadcast its location, encouraging musicians to upload their music to a special website via its Wifi connection. Photo: ByBorre
Not content with simply seeing his designs on the catwalk, Akkersdijk pushed the machines even further adding conductive thread to the mix. As a proof of concept, he printed a pillow with copper threads connecting pressure sensors, a battery pack, and vibrating motors which was intended to allow people suffering from dementia to communicate with loved ones. The pillow’s actual medical benefits weren’t clear, but the experiment emboldened Akkersdijk to pursue a fully wearable design.
“The funny thing is that I personally didn’t have the feeling that it was so innovative,” says Akkersdijk . “We have been working with the 3-D knitting for years now and the technical part was pretty basic.”
Time for a Manufacturing Make Over
Producing these clothes, even in small batches, is difficult due to the difference in traditional fibers and the conductive copper. Ensuring that the conductive yarns and delicate chips can hold up to vigorous use is another challenge to be overcome, as are circuit boards that can withstand a spin cycle.
Today, the ByBorre crew is housed in an old cookie factory in Amsterdam where Akkersdijk and his studio director work with a series of technicians to push these machines to their limits in an attempt to marry garments and Google. Their goal is continue to build out a platform related to the textiles, to become a kind of Maharam for microprocessors, and work with larger tech companies on apps to develop the app layer.
There’s a double challenge of convincing fashionistas and techies to buy in, but Akkersdijk is confident that clothing and connectivity are meant to be together. “In the future it could be as normal as your cell phone and we will talk about the iPhone like we do about the fax machine.”
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