Sensory Fabric for Ubiquitous Interfaces

Sensory Fabric is a technology that uses electrically conductive textiles to fabricate switches and sensors. In this article we examine how a number of broad device types, or form factors, can be reconfigured or made more ubiquitous by replacing their traditional interface hardware with Sensory Fabric. The implications of using a fabric solution are explored for handheld and personal devices, educational computing, and the personal computer interface. Each case study describes a number of technology demonstrator devices, using them to illustrate how some of the drawbacks of traditionally packaged interfaces can be countered. Sensory Fabric can replace small, cold, hard, heavy, and smooth interfaces with large area, warm, soft, lightweight, and tactile ones.