Keywords

Human Computer Interaction; Programmable Matter; Active Materials; Textile User Interfaces; Tangible User Interfaces; Textiles

Abstract

Self-moving fabric interfaces have massive potential for applications in fields ranging from art to haptic feedback to deployable space structures. However, current systems of implementation face the impracticalities of bulkiness, burnout, and energy consumption on top of limiting designs that can only contract uniformly or create one pre-programmed shape. For this technology to bring the change that it promises, we must break the barriers of usability and sustainability to make it a practical choice. This thesis aims to develop a scalable model of fabric that designers, programmers, and anyone else can acquire or create with accessible materials, integrate into design flows with traditional machinery, and reprogram into any shape they need as many times as the textile can be reused. To do this, we develop a universal hinge system based on the concept of pixels that can be used with input data to replicate a myriad of different textures via smocking. Increasingly complex prototypes are theorized, implemented, and discussed.

Thesis Completion Year

2026

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

LaViola, Joseph

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Computer Science

Thesis Discipline

Human Computer Interaction

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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