Fashionable Technology Research Consortium

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT June 2009

TV DOCUMENTARY ::: ORF NEWTON (in German)
Sabine Seymour was interviewed for ORF Newton on June 6, 2009. The headline: "WLAN-Hüte und Zeitungs-T-Shirts: Wie wir uns in Zukunft kleiden". Während den großen Modeschöpfern offenbar seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr einfällt als die Geschichte in regelmäßigen Abständen zu wiederholen, arbeiten Designer an der Schnittstelle zwischen Modeindustrie und Wissenschaft an gänzlich neuen Modekonzepten. Pullis, die bei Bedarf das Handy laden, gehören da fast schon wieder zu alten Hüten. Diese werden in Zukunft übrigens anzeigen, wo WLAN-Spots zu finden sind, auf denen wir unsere T-Shirts mit den neuesten Zeitungsinfos updaten können.
http://tv.orf.at/program/orf1/20090606/462576701/264862/

EXIBITION ::: OPEN SOURCE EMBROIDERY
June 6 - September 6, 2009
Bildmuseet, Umea University, Sweden
The Open Source Embroidery exhibition presents artworks that use embroidery and code as a tool for participatory production and distribution. The Open Source Embroidery project includes workshops and exhibitions which investigate how the open source software development model has been incorporated into the language of cultural participation. This major exhibition at BildMuseet brings together individual and collectively made artworks by artists, makers, computer programmers and html users that explore the relationship between craft and code through social and digital networks. The works experiment with interdisciplinary approaches to modifying patterns, the DIY culture of hacking and sampling in sound, GPS and mobile technologies.
http://www.open-source-embroidery.org.uk

CONFERENCE ::: NANOMATERIALS 2009
June 16 - 18, 2009
Bonn, Germany
NanoMaterials09 will focus on the commercialisation of nanomaterials, rather than theoretical benefits; practical solutions for practical challenges.
Two plenary's and five parallel sessions focus on:
   * Printed Electronics
   * Nanocomposites
   * Nanobiotech & Consumer Products
   * Coatings, Inks & Pigments
   * Clean Technology
http://www.nanomaterials09.com

WORKSHOP ::: MAKE ELECTRO - CLOTHING
June 13, 16, 17, 2009
Mediamatic BANK
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Make your shirt beep when people touch you, or yell back at you when you scream. Make your pants light up in the dark or your sleeves blink when you wave your arms. Make self-heating touch screen-friendly gloves or a hat that vibrates when someone is coming up behind you. We provide electronics-kits with the necessities to create your electro-clothing. Bring your own garment(s)! Not just for experienced technicians, everyone can participate. MIT Media Lab researcher Nadya Peek guides the workshops.
http://www.mediamatic.net/page/83908/en

CONFERENCE ::: MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT MARKET 2009
June 23 - 24, 2009
London, UK
The Mobile Entertainment Forum is the global trade association of the mobile media industry, working on behalf of its diverse membership to drive mobile entertainment adoption, shape regulation and deliver competitive advantage to its members. MEF anticipates, defines and addresses issues and opportunities for the industry that monetises mobile media, by identifying sustainable business solutions, promoting best practice and influencing policy to accelerate the business. With global headquarters in London, a Hollywood-based Americas secretariat, an Asia chapter and a newly expanded EMEA branch, MEF’s network of members represents a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ of mobile entertainment businesses and entrepreneurs.
http://www.mem09.com/

CONFERENCE ::: 3rd EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE
AmI-09: ROOTS FOR THE FUTURE OF AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE
SUBMISSION DUE: June 8 and June 22, 2009
November 18 - 21, 2009
Salzburg, Austria
Ambient Intelligence represents a vision of the future where we shall be surrounded by technological means, sensitive and responsive to people and their behaviors, deliver advanced functions, services and experiences. Ambient intelligence is expected to combine concepts of ubiquitous technology, intelligent systems and advanced user interfaces putting the humans in the centre of technological developments. Future contextual solutions are envisaged exploiting the power of Ambient Intelligence. The conference aims to bring together researchers from academia and industry from various disciplines that constitute the field of Ambient Intelligence to present the latest results, discuss the state of art and think about the future. AmI-09 will bring keynotes, technical papers, workshops, industrial case studies, posters & demos, panels and landscapes. In addition to these categories we will feature ambient visions to look into the next decade of Ambient Intelligence.
http://www.ami-09.org

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT April 2009

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY NEWS
CONFERENCE ::: TEST_LAB: FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY*
*The term Fashionable Technology is coined by Sabine Seymour.
May 20, 2009, 8pm
V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Test_Lab is a bi-monthly public event organized by V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media that provides an informal setting for the presentation, demonstration, testing, and discussion of artistic Research and Development (aRt&D). Featuring: Sabine Seymour (AT/US), Mark Coeckelbergh (NL), Aram Bartholl (DE), Cutecircuit: Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz (UK), and KOBAKANT: Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson (JP/AT). Clothing is an aspect of the human physical appearance with considerable social significance. Styles, logos and prints mediate our self-expression and publicly communicate our personal tastes and preferences. Popular ways of doing so reflectwhat is in fashion, which is under constant change due to new developments in fabrics, construction methods,ancillary objects, and their (re-)combination by fashion designers. Recent advances in wearable technology have resulted in a variety of technologies that seamlessly connect to the human body, or are integrated into clothing (such as shape memory alloys, soft circuits, and embedded displays). As a result, more and more fashion designers are turning to the field of wearable technology fornew developments. While these progressive fashion designers are currently setting the trend in fashionable technology with,what can broadly be considered, innocent implementations (such as embedded iPods, integrated LEDs, and adaptive contours), many artists and designers prophesize more provocative scenarios for the future of such technology. These artists foresee that this trend will eventually have an unprecedented social impact, due to the wide-ranging possibilities for self-expression, connectivity, and public communication of innovative fashionable technologies. The scenarios for fashionable technology sketched by these artists provoke philosophical discussionas to the social impact that such developments may have.
This edition of Test_Lab is organized in collaboration with Rotterdam's acclaimed philosophy cafe Arminius Denkcafe.
This event will be streamed live at http://live.v2.nl
http://www.v2.nl

EXHIBITION ::: WEARABLE EXPRESSIONS
April 17 - May 30, 2009
Greylock Arts, Adams, MA, USA
A group exhibition of wearable art, accessories, and technology apparel exploring fashion as a means for individuals to dynamically express themselves. In this exhibition of wearable art, accessories, and technology apparel, we explore fashion as a means for individuals to dynamically express themselves. From Lynda Meyer’s collection of 19th century hoops and bustles to Alexander Reeder’s “Butterfly Dress” which engages those close without words by displaying the heartbeat of the wearer, “Wearable Expressions” is both historical and contemporary in its scope and examines the impact of material and technology in wearable design.
http://greylockarts.net/wearable-expressions

EXHIBITION ::: TOKYOFIBER 09 SENSEWARE
April 22 - 27, 2009
Milan, Italy
Talent meets technology at the second Tokyo Fiber exhibition since 2007. Senseware, a title that refers to materials that inspire creativity, features the stunning possibilities of Japanese artificial fiber technology. A mix of architects, designers, manufactures and artists make use of new fibers in inventive and unexpected ways, giving us all a glimpse into what the future of fiber holds. (Text by by Kori Schulman, www.CoolHunting.com)
http://tokyofiber.com/en/

CONFERENCE ::: ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAICS 2009
April 27 - 29, 2009
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Now in its third year, Organic Photovoltaics 2009 is the industry’s only conference dedicated exclusively to the applications, technological developments and markets for organic photovoltaics (OPV). Attendees will meet and network with important players, key innovators and decision makers from the technical and business sides of the PV, OPV and organic and printed electronics industries.
http://www.organicphotovoltaics2009.com/

WORKSHOP CALL FOR PARTICIPATION ::: DIY WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
DEADLINE: May 3, 2009
May 16-17, 2009, 10am - 6pm
V2_, Eendrachtsstraat 10, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
I am very pleased to announce that my former student Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson (aka KOBAKANT) will give a two-day workshop on DIY wearable technology. V2_Lab will organize a wearable technology workshop with an emphasis on DIY techniques and performing arts. The aim of the workshop is to provide participants with hands-on experience on DIY wearable technology. The outcome of the workshop will be workingprototypes, which will be demonstrated by means of a short performance during Test_Lab.The participants will partake inhands-on sessions that involve both conceptual as well astechnical development. Developers from both V2_Lab and KOBAKANT are available for assistance throughout the workshop. The workshop is open to students and professionals in the fields of art, design, and engineering. Although anyone with an interest in wearable technology and basic knowledge of electronics or of sewing is welcome to join, we especially encourage people with an expertise in fashion design, technology in performance arts, and/or wearable technology engineering to sign up. Participants are invited to demonstrate the workshop outcome during Test_Lab: Fashionable Technology on May 20. The number of participants to the workshop is limited. The fee for participation is €50,- (to be paid before the workshop).
For more information about the workshop, please contact Piem Wirtz, piem@v2.nl
http://www.v2.nl
http://www.kobakant.at

CONFERENCE ::: NANOMATERIALS
June 16 - 18, 2009
Bonn, Germany
In order to offer the breadth of information and at the level of detail required for Europe’s leading event on nanomaterials, the conference begin on the 16 June with an afternoon forum on Proactive Nanotechnology Risk Management. The next two days will be structured into two plenary's and five parallel sessions: Printed Electronics, Nanocomposites, Nanobiotech & Consumer Products, Coatings, Inks & Pigments, Clean Technology. Remaining loyal to its conceptual origins, NanoMaterials09 will focus on the commercialisation of nanomaterials, rather than theoretical benefits. This is what sets it apart from other events and was the key to our success last year – practical solutions for practical challenges.
http://www.nanomaterials09.com/

WORKSHOP ::: MME'09 - MEASURING MOBILE EMOTIONS: MEASURING THE IMPOSSIBLE?
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: May 4, 2009
September 15, 2009
Bonn, Germany
Emotions are a key element in the analysis of user experience. Observational analysis, interviews and questionnaires can be supported by various physiological measurement methods (e.g. GSR or EMG) to investigate such emotions. This workshop addresses approaches to mobile emotion measurement. The workshop addresses particularly the state-of-the–art in the emotion research and investigates the possibilities to apply and adopt these methods in the field of mobile HCI and user experience research. We will select participants with diverse backgrounds based upon the relevance, insightfulness, and originality of their submissions. Particularly important is the challenge of portability of the available solutions and their applicability in the field.
http://mme.cure.at/

CONFERENCE ::: 2nd INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON FLEXIBLE ORGANIC ELECTRONICS
July 8 - 10, 2009
Porto Carras, Halkidiki, Greece
The field of Flexible Organic Electronics is one of the most rapidly growing sector of the modern science and technology. Today, many resources and investments from government agencies, research institutes and local industries are devoted to the developments of materials, processes, instrumentation, equipment for flexible organic electronics. The IS-FOE is the Premier Scientific & Research Event in Organic Electronics devoted to gather scientists, engineers and industrials from all around the world and to exchange information and provide access to the latest developments of several topics covering organic electronic printable materials, device structures, system integrations, manufacturing processes, characterization and monitoring, product applications and business opportunities.
http://isfoe.physics.auth.gr/

EXHIBITION ::: SMART TEXTILE SALON
DEADLINE FOR CALL: May 15, 2009
September 25, 2009
Ghent, Belgium
The programme is organised together with 80th Anniversary of the Department of Textiles at Ghent University (http://www.textileconferences.be) and 6th International Conference on Textile and Polymer Biotechnology (http://www.intb.org). The exhibition introduces the latest demonstrator and prototype developments in the field of smart textiles and intelligent wearable systems. The displayed items will be explained and demonstrated by the developers. Tool Time gives you the opportunity to create your own smart textile. Two workshops will be offered: elucidating textiles, temperature changing textiles. The award ceremony will be held to honor a student for outstanding work with the SysTex award. The work will be shown in the exhibition area.
http://www.systex.org
http://www.smarttextilessalon.com

CONFERENCE ::: TEXTURES
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: August 16, 2009
June 15 - 20, 2010
Riga, Latvia
The SLSA-EU 2010 conference is dedicated to exploring fabrics, structures, surfaces, and interfaces in a world that has been transformed to a large extent through technoscience and networked media. This transformed world is highly textured, partly through verbal and non-verbal 'texts' but also by mixtures of human-made and given environments whose complexity offers resistance to symbolic readings. Through the term, 'textures,' we aim to bring together transitional figures of thought in many fields.
http://www.e-text-textiles.lv/SLSAeu2010/home.htm

WORKSHOP ::: WEARABLE ART AND INTERACTIVE PERFORMANCE
May 25 - June 5, 2009
Lunar Outpost
Tempe, Arizona, USA
Herberger College Dance and the School of Art at Arizona State University are offering a two-week workshop on Wearable Art and Interactive Performance. In response to initiatives to create a fully occupied operational base on the moon by 2024, the theme for this year's workshop is: Lunar Outpost. As artists how do we respond to extreme environments that are so unlike our home environment? At the Lunar Outpost people will experience micro gravity, a different atmospheric propagation of sound, an essentially black-and-white environment, and a profound sense of loneliness. Workshop participants will explore emergent electronic technologies for performance and installation framed by the theme Lunar Outpost. Interactive technologies offer the means to extend, manipulate and add color to our environments in a new manner.
Workshop leaders from Herberger College Dance and the School of Art include:
John D. Mitchell, mediated performance designer,
Galina Mihaleva costume and fashion designer,
Hilary Harp, media artist and sculptor,
joined by a special guest, Keiko Courdy, French artist and director of KI transdisciplinary performance structure.
http://wearableart-interactiveperformance.com/

CALL ::: TRANSMEDIALE AWARD 2010
DEADLINE: July 31, 2009
February 2010
Berlin, Germany
As leading international festivals for art and digital culture as well as adventurous music and related visual arts, respectively, transmedialeand CTM (club transmediale) are inviting submissions to the transmediale Award Competition 2010 and the Vilem Flusser Theory Award 2010. Invited are art works, projects and positions that respond to the challenges of our rapidly changing digital, technological and networked cultures. The transmediale Award seeks innovative, experimental and visionary works across a wide scope of form, process and practice that embrace, question and enrich our understanding and relationship to our immersed media and technologically driven society. Entries that exemplify new and critical forms of digital expression and interaction are encouraged, as are works from countries and regions in which digital art and culture are emergent. Submissions of art works for both festivals participate in the transmediale Award 2010 while theoretical abstracts, papers and research oriented positions are invited for the Vilem Flusser Theory Award, with prizes totaling 10.000 EURO.
http://www.transmediale.de/en/call2010-main

FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT November 2008

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY REPORT
Visionary Insights on Epidermis & Technology
by Sabine Seymour
November 2008

MOONDIAL FASHIONABLE TECHNOLOGY NEWS ::: LECTURE AT DESIGNFORUM VORARLBERG
Sabine Seymour's lecture "Fashionable Technology, Ein Chip zum Anziehen" highlighted the opening of the Designforum Vorarlberg in Dornbirn, Austria on October 23, 2008.
http://www.prisma-zentrum.com/start.php4?m1id=3&m2id=87&m3id=0&m4id=0
http://www.designforum.at

LECTURE ::: LUCY ORTA, BODY ARCHITECTURE
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 @ 6pm
School of Constructed Environments
Glass Corner, 2nd Floor
25 East 14th Street, New York, USA
Trained as a fashion designer but working as an artist since the beginning of the 90’s, Ms. Orta has realized what she called “architectures with soul.” They are objects that respond to a critical and constructive gaze on the most sensitive areas of society, evoking the need for change, poetically prefiguring reality and suggesting alternative life styles. She has produced numerous interventions and actions, putting on stage crucial themes of the contemporary world: community, social exclusion, dwelling, mobility, sustainable development and recycling.
http://www.studio-orta.com/

CALL FOR SPEAKERS ::: AVANTEX SYMPOSIUM: FASHION
Applications are open for Fashion curated by Sharon Baurley. Please refer to the Fashionable Technology Report when applying.
June 16 - 17, 2008
Frankfurt, Germany
The latest developments and trends in new and innovative apparel textiles not only enhance their properties and, in turn, the application areas for the apparel but also facilitate new kinds of apparel. This is associated with an increased demand for information and communication. The Avantex Symposium is not only an opportunity for this but also a chance to engage in cross-sector discussions.
This year, four main themes are planned:
1. Fashion: modern materials and technologies in fashion
2. Material + Technology in apparel: advances in the areas of fibres, textiles, technology and processing
3. Sports + Outdoor: performance and lifestyle
4. Portable technologies / E-textiles: textile-based, portable electronic systems, sensors and controllers
The lectures will be taking place on 16 - 17 June 2009 (afternoons only) at the Messe Frankfurt Congress Center.
Anyone wishing to take part as a symposium speaker, is now cordially invited to apply.
http://techtextil.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en/symposium_coc_symposien.html

EXHIBITION ::: SPECIMEN: RESPRESENTING THE NATURAL WORLD
November 6, 2008 - January 29, 2009
Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
350 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Newark, New Jersey, USA
In the 19th century a thirst for information about the natural world was rampant among the general populace, from dedicated scientists to avid amateurs. This exhibition addresses the pervasive influence of ‘natural history’ inspired aesthetics and methodologies on contemporary artists. In this exhibition, contemporary artworks will be displayed alongside historic works, on loan from the Newark Public Library and private collections.
Artists: Catherine Chalmers, Keith Cottingham, Dorothy Cross, Julie Dermansky, Jordan Eagles, Seth Goodwin, Damien Hirst, Mike Libby, Laura McClanahan, Julia Randall, Christopher Russell, Laura Splan, Kimberly Witham, Dustin Yellin
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/artgallery/current/index.html

CALL FOR ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY PROPOSALS ::: V2_LAB SOFT TECHNOLOGY
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: December 7, 2008
V2_Lab, the artistic Research & Development (aRt&D) department of V2_ Institute for Unstable Media in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has a vacancy for a three-month artist’s residency from January 15 to April 15, 2009.
V2_Lab has an extensive history in the field of wearable technology. In recent years, we have carried out various aRt&D projects in collaboration with various artists and universities. For example, we developed soft, wearable interactive objects with Thecla Schiphorst during Soft(n). We recently took these developments further in the direction of fashion and wearable technology with Di Mainstone’s Sharewear. In these projects, we combine knowledge from various domains to produce surprising or critical artistic statements. V2_ is seeking to further investigate the combination of fashion and technology by means of an experimental residency. The goal of the residency is the research and development part of the residency will focus on the development of flexible, textile-integrated circuit boards and electronic components, manufactured from easily accessible materials. We wish to involve the artist in this research at the earliest possible stage, so that the accumulated knowledge will remain easily transferable. This residency is also geared toward achieving a satisfying end result in the form of a visually attractive working prototype.
To download your application form please follow this link: http://files.v2.nl/portal/Applicationform_AIR.rtf
http://www.v2.nl

WORKSHOP ::: WIRELESS WEARABLES
Sunday, December 14, 2008 @ 2 - 6pm
Location: NYCResistor (www.nycresistor.com), Brooklyn, NY, USA
Instructors: Kate Hartman and Rob Faludi
Cost: $150
Get ready to explore the delights of mutual connectivity with the soon-to-be released XBee LilyPad! This class will introduce the communication and construction techniques necessary to create wireless wearables. We'll start by learning how to communicate using XBee radios, including digital, analog, input and output modes along with an overview of other useful features. Once we've made contact, we'll translate our circuits onto fabric, learning how to make flexible, durable, and attractive connections between components using conductive textiles and threads. By the end of the class, we'll have our soft circuits conversing wirelessly and you'll be ready to create your own clothing, toy or tapestry that talks!The price of this class includes a $50 materials fee, which covers a LilyPad XBee board, XBee radio, battery pack, conductive fabric & thread, and various sewing supplies. When the class is over, the circuit you've created will be yours to keep!
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/202648126

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: CHI 2009 WORKSHOPS ::: PROGRAMMING REALITY: From Transitive Materials to Organic User Interfaces
Submission is still open. Please refer to the Fashionable Technology Report when applying.
Workshop date: April 4 - 5, 2009
Boston, MA, USA
Over the past few years, a quiet revolution has been redefining our fundamental computing technologies. Flexible E-Ink and OLEDs displays, shape-changing and light-emitting materials, parametric design, e- textiles, sensor networks, and intelligent interfaces promise to spawn entirely new user experiences that will redefine our relation with technology. In one example, future flexible displays will allow us to design devices that are completely flexible, and that can curve around everyday objects or our bodies. These and other developments are opening up unprecedented opportunities for innovation and require us to re-examine and re- evaluate some of the most basic user interface design principles. This workshop invites researchers and practitioners to imagine and debate this future, as well as prototype next-generation interfaces. We will explore two converging themes. Transitive Materials will focus on how emerging materials and computationally-driven behaviors can operate in unison blurring the boundaries between form and function, human body  andenvironment, structures and membranes, while supporting the design of computational systems that are intrinsically capable of  interactivity and personalization. Organic User Interfaces (OUI) will explore future interactive designs and applications as these materials become   commonplace. The OUI vision is based on an understanding that in the future the  physical shape of display devices will become non-flat, potentially arbitrary and even fluid or computationally controlled. This allows display devices and entire environments to take on shapes that are 3D, flexible, dynamic, modifiable by users or self-actuated.
Submissions and enquiries: programmingreality@media.mit.edu
http://www.chi2009.org/Authors/CallForPapers/Workshops/cfp121.pdf

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS ::: CODED CULTURES - Exploring Creative Emergences
Binational Festival / Austria - Japan 2009
Festival Austria (Vienna): May 27 - 31, 2009
Festival Japan (Yokohama): October 14 - 18, 2009
The team of 5uper.net (www.5uper.net) is happy to announce the CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for the binational festival »CODED CULTURES - Exploring Creative Emergences«, which is taking place in Austria and Japan in the year 2009 (Austria - Japan Year 2009). The second edition of CODED CULTURES (first edition online at: http://codedcultures.5uper.net) is exploring new artistic practices and creative ability profiles within media integrated project-cultures and digital media related art, focusing on Japan and Europe. The festival »CODED CULTURES – Exploring Creative Emergences« addresses questions regarding the codes of creative cultures and artistic practices, which are based on new transdisciplinary and hybrid developments of culture and art under the conditions of a post-contemporary digital media-age and transformations of related artistic developments. Therefore, the festival creates a surrounding in which new ways of emerging arts, creativity, theories, projects and ideas can be explored in the field of digital media related forms of creative delineation and arts. The particular aim is to present, discuss and criticize topics, which are situated on the intersection of disciplines and activities in order to enforce new potentials of artistic practices and positions. By these means, persons from the field of digital media related art and culture, who derive joy from discovering ways to circumvent limitations are welcome to submit their works, projects, theories and ideas. Regarding this, CODED CULTURES is mainly searching for projects, which shape new vectors of creation and art, situated between: e.g. Science & Art, Technology & Art, Design & Art, Fashion & Art, Economy & Art, a.s.o.
http://www.codedcultures.net

NEWSLETTER ::: LUMINAPOLIS
Luminapolis is the portal of Light for all working with lighting: architects, designers, artists. We publish your lighting-news. Luminapolis prepares the Luminale 2010 - Lighting Culture Biennale.
http://www.luminapolis.com/?langswitch_lang=en

DISCUSSION ::: NANOART: MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE
The Australian Network for Art & Technology (ANAT) is pleased to announce the  November discussion on the Synapse elist which, throughout 2008, is investigating the  leading-edge of art and science research collaboration. This month's discussion explores artists' engagement with nanotechnologies. As well as an exploration of artistic projects, the list will investigate some of the pressing issues arising from the proliferation of nanoscale technologies - for example, implications of the inability to control affect at the nano level and the peculiar challenges facing artists working with these technologies, not least the 'invisibility' of their practice both literally and figuratively.
To join the discussion visit:
http://www.synapse.net.au select 'Discuss' and follow the prompts.

CONFERENCE ::: IFAI ADVANCED TEXTILES '09
A European-US Entrepreneur Networking Conference
Brussel, Belgium
April 2 - 3, 2009
Attend the second IFAI Advanced Textiles Conference 2009, where market-ready innovations and new technologies in the technical textiles field with be unveiled. This high-level gathering of industry experts and government officials is designed to provide a valuable educational and networking opportunity for participants, creating new business opportunities between U.S. and European companies.
Conference sessions and discussions will focus on key advanced textile application areas such as:
Architecture, Sports apparel, Protective fabrics, Medical textiles
http://www.ifai.com

CALL FOR PROPOSALS ::: O'REILLY EMERGING TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
March 9 - 12, 2009
The Fairmont San Jose
San Jose, CA, USA
The spirit of ETech is fueled by honing in on the ideas, projects, and technologies that the alpha geeks are thinking about, hacking on, and inventing right now, creating a space for all participants to connect and be inspired. ETech 2009 promises to be another rich and cutting edge event, looking this time at technology is reinventing the way we live. The constrained world has to make do with what's available. Why scrimp and sacrifice for a computer when most people have mobile phones with an SMS server that can do the job just fine? With limited food, water, fuel, medicine, it's the people and their ideas that are often the cheapest part of the equation. Their technology looks to collaboration and connection with fewer resources—almost the opposite of the industrialized world which seeks to make each individual as effective as possible.What technologies cross the divide? How do the two interact and cross-pollinate? On the surface, they wouldn't seem to overlap, but on deeper examination, inhabitants of both worlds learn from each other constantly. Here are some areas at the intersection of abundance and constraint we'll be exploring at the 2009 edition of ETech, the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference:
City Tech
Materials & Mechanics
Personalized Healthcare
Mobile & The Web
Geek Family
Synthetic Biology
Nomadism & Shedworking
Sustainable Life
Life Hacking & Information Overload
http://conferences.oreilly.com/etech

IFAI Advanced Textiles 2008 Conference

IFAI Advanced Textiles 2008
Berlin, Germany
June 12 - 13, 2008

Program: Download 08AT_ebrochure-FINAL250408.pdf

IFAI Advanced Textiles 2008, taking place in the cultural hub of Berlin from June 12.-13 is  conceived as a European-US Networking Conference, highlighting major trends and new  technologies in the field of technical textiles. The overall goal is to create new business  opportunities between US and European companies that deliver or process technical textiles  for various application fields. The unique forum for bilateral talks and meetings shall point the  way for prosperous initiatives towards innovation and cross-section activities in both  continents by fostering co-operations, strategic partnerships and common projects.    

The conference is being supported by major European and US institutions like the US  Commercial Service, the major German association IVGT, ESF, the European Safety  Association as well as ETT, the European Entrepreneur Club of Technical Textiles, to name  only a few. Key note speaker Luis Filipe Girão, Head of Unit, Directorate General Enterprise  & Industry, European Commission is opening the conference. The program is clearly  application-oriented and will bring together industry leaders from all over Europe and the US  to speak about their issues and requirements. Global players like Lenzing and TenCate,  Hollingsworth & Vose as well as small and medium-sized businesses offering special product  solutions and technologies are sharing their innovation processes with the audience. This  concept will foster prosperous bilateral discussions during the 1,5 day event in Berlin.

The conference topics are:
Sustainable product developments for major fabric applications
Nanotechnologies and embedded systems
High-performance textiles for architecture and lightweight structures
Innovative textile applications for advancing protective clothing

Thanks to Isa Hofmann!

Smart Fabrics 2008 Conference

Smart Fabrics 2008
Double Tree Guest Suites Charleston - Historic District
Charleston, SC, USA
May 5 - 7, 2008

Unfortunately I cannot make it this year but I can only recommend you attend this great industry gathering. The conference chairs Stacey Burr from Textronics and Martijn Krans from the Photonic Textiles unit at Philips are doing a wonderful job in initiating the event every year.

In its 4th year running, Smart Fabrics 2008 will bring together innovators and enthusiasts of e-textiles to discuss these challenges and much   more. The event will provide an opportunity for leading developers, manufacturers   and end users of smart fabric technologies to discover and discuss the growth   potential of this burgeoning industry. The conference will focus on the latest   business issues facing the industry, including market size, commercialization   and business challenges, potential for growth, technological advances and hurdles,   application trends, design considerations, and production economics. Special   attention will be paid to the current status of innovative smart fabrics technologies   in the marketplace as well as the potential for future applications and consumer  acceptance.

Who should attend
Smart Fabrics 2008 is designed for CEOs, CTOs, business development   managers, sales and marketing executives, R&D specialists, technology planners,   engineers and those from the finance community who are involved in the development,   design or manufacture of interactive textiles.

 

Second Skin: Imaginative Designs in Digital & Analog Clothing

Second Skin: Imaginative Designs in Digital & Analog Clothing
Exploratorium
San Francisco, USA
April 29 - September 7, 2008 

The Exploratorium projects the human imagination into the 21st century of fashion. San Francisco's popular, museum of science, art, technology and human perception hosts a quirky evening event where science/technology and art/fashion converge at a runway fashion show on Friday, April 25, from 7–11pm. The artists' stellar works, to be highlighted around the spaces of the museum, will be up for five months, as will "the clothesline project," which will show off the creative works of visitors, from April 29-September 7, 2008. Artworks include Hannah Perner-Wilson and Mika Satomi's Massage me, an interactive, wearable computer that allows users to play a video game and massage a friend at the same time, developed in Linz, Austria; and Takehito Etani's Masticator, headgear that gives audio-visual feedback of chewing during meals.  Scott Tallenger's Tribute to Norma Desmond dress features still and moving images from the film Sunset Boulevard. Matthew Gale's clothing allows the wearer to "rest" anywhere with its built-in, portable neck rest. In addition, local artist Sha Sha Higby will perform within her exquisite and ephemeral body sculpture of layered wood, silk, paper, urushi, ceramic, and gold leaf. Refreshments available for purchase.

Voice Prints

Voiceprints is an experiment in audio visual software. A person speaks into a microphone, their voice is analysed for frequency content, looped, and then a number of small similar textile patterns are re-arranged in an abstract representation of the person's vocal frequency print. These patterns eventually fade, and with them the sound of the person's looped voice.

Via Transmaterial

How to Go Au Naturel

From the boutonniere you pinned on your prom date, to the lovely lei that pegged you as a tourist in Hawaii, people have worn flowers and plants throughout history. Ingeo fibers take this idea to the next level. The wearable textiles are made by fermenting, distilling, and polymerizing corn dextrose, a sugar taken from plants. This week, check out the materials made from these 100 percent renewable fibers at Live the Dream: The Future of Sustainable Living, a showcase of various consumer products created with sustainability in mind.

Time: Daily 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Place: Material ConneXion, 127 W. 25th St. between Sixth & Seventh Ave., second floor, New York
Price: Free

Via Science & the City

Fabcell

A textile version of pixels in a computer display. Fabcell enables expression of visual images in real space because it displays images on the curves of flexible textiles.

Read more about Fabcell at Siggraph 2006, Emerging Technologies Sketch

Via TRN Reader

Tactile Sensor as Sensitive as Human Skin

This nanoparticle film could guide surgeons' tools and help robots grip.
By Katherine Bourzac

Researchers have created a thin-film tactile sensor that, in some ways, is as sensitive as the human finger. When pressed against a textured object, the film creates a topographical map of the surface, by sending out both an electrical signal and a visual signal that can be read with a small camera. The spatial resolution of these "maps" is as good as that achieved by human touch.

Via MIT Technology Review