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This presentation gives a brief overview of the research and the different projects that come out of XS Labs, a design research studio with a focus on innovation in the fields of electronic textiles and wearable computing. The field of electronic textiles is quite fashionable right now. On one end of the spectrum, there are pragmatic applications such as military research into interactive camouflage or textiles with nanobots that can heal wounded soldiers. On the other end of the spectrum, there is work being done by artists and designers in the area of reactive clothes: "second skins" that can adapt to the environment and to the wearers, that can express aspects of their personalities, their needs and their desires, and represent aggregate social information. The real strength of our work at XS Labs is that it breaks down the traditional boundaries between disciplines. Many of our electronic textile innovations come from the fact that we look at the technical but also cultural history of how textiles have been made for generation (weaving, stitching, embroidery, knitting, beading, quilting) but use materials with different electro-mechanical properties, which enables us to construct more complex textiles with electronic properties. Cette présentation fournit un bref aperçu de la recherche et des différents projets nés de XS Labs, un studio de recherche en design axé sur l'innovation dans les domaines des textiles électroniques et cybervêtements. Le domaine des textiles électroniques est plutôt à la mode ces temps-ci. D'un côté, il y a les applications pragmatiques comme la recherche militaire en camouflage interactif ou textiles dotés de nanorobots pouvant guérir les soldats blessés. D'un autre côté, des travaux sont effectués par des artistes et concepteurs dans le domaine des vêtements réactifs : une << deuxième peau >> pouvant s'adapter au milieu et aux personnes qui les portent et exprimer des aspects de leur personnalité, leurs besoins et leurs désirs, en plus de représenter des renseignements sociaux. La véritable force de notre travail effectué au studio XS Labs est qu'il brise les barrières traditionnelles entre les disciplines. Bon nombre de nos innovations en termes de textiles électroniques viennent non seulement du fait que nous examinons l'histoire technique et culturelle de la fabrication des textiles depuis plusieurs générations (tissage, piquage, broderie, tricotage, perlage, matelassage), mais également de l'utilisation de matières possédant différentes propriétés électromécaniques, ce qui nous permet de produire des textiles plus complexes dotés de propriétés électroniques. Joanna Berzowska is Assistant Professor of Design and Computation Arts at Concordia University and an active member of the Hexagram Research Institute in Montreal. She is the founder and research director of XS Labs, where her team develops innovative methods and applications in electronic textiles and responsive garments. Her art and design work has been shown in the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in NYC, the V&A in London, the Millenium Museum in Beijing, various SIGGRAPH Art Galleries, ISEA, the Art Directors Club in NYC, the Australian Museum in Sydney, NTT ICC in Tokyo, and Ars Electronica Center in Linz among others. She lectures internationally about the field of electronic textiles and related social, cultural, aesthetic, and political issues. She was recently selected for the Maclean's 2006 Honour Roll as one of 'thirty nine Canadians who make the world a better place to live in.' She received her Masters of Science from MIT for her work titled 'Computational Expressionism' and subsequently worked with the Tangible Media Group of the MIT Media Lab and co-founded International Fashion Machines in Boston. She holds a BA in Pure Math and a BFA in Design Arts. |
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