Close Up collection

Future Travel project sponsored by Samsonite 2008

Project Description

Heavy backpacks, bags or luggage can NOWADAYS compromise our travels.

6 out of 10 STUDENTS reported chronic back pain related to backpack. To avoid this problem, doctors and physical therapists recommend that children carry no more than 15% of their body weight and that all the books and items should be placed close to the child's body and his centre of gravity, preventing them from sliding.

Otherwhere ORDINARY TRAVELLER might need a smaller bag when the luggage doesn't fit somewhere (like the hand luggage in the airport...) or a bigger one when he needs to put more stuff inside!

How to control load and shape of the luggage and make it smart in order to answer treveller's need?

Intended Outcome

Create a textile smart textile collection able to answer traveller needs for immediate future.

* weave with SHAPE MEMORY WIRES who could be acted by weight sensors

* play with this technology and show changing patterns on the surface of the fabric

* use other techniques like folding, pleating, tessellation and origami to enhance the effect of geometrical pattern able to chenge on the surface of the fabric.

Images

• inspiration.jpg:
  

• moving_fabric_2.wmv: moving_fabric_2.wmv

* moving_fabric_1.wmv: moving_fabric_1.wmv

testing memory shape wires

http://textilefutures.co.uk/exchange/bin/viewfile/Internal/ScenarioOne?rev=1;filename=SMA_try_straight.avi

http://textilefutures.co.uk/exchange/bin/viewfile/Internal/ScenarioOne?rev=1;filename=SMA_try_coil.avi

Links

http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~database/MEMS/sma_mems/sma.htmlList of relevant links

Contact