with hybrid body lab's 'wovenskin,' you can feel alerts directly on your skin

the design team at ‘hybrid body lab’ introduces wearable ‘wovenskin,’ an investigation into technologies of on-skin interfaces. the team is part of a cornell research lab, which seeks to invent materials, processes, and tools for crafting technology on the body surface. the team writes: ‘weaving as a craft possesses the structural, textural, aesthetic, and cultural expressiveness for creating a diversity of soft, wearable forms that are capable of technological integration. wovenskin extends the woven practice for crafting on-skin interfaces (aka, “smart tattoos”), exploring the potential to ‘weave a second skin.‘

images courtesy of hybrid body lab

with wovenskin, the hybrid body lab research team explores the functional and aesthetic opportunities of woven materials for on-skin interface. an advantage of the woven surface includes its composite nature, easily able to integrate a broader range of such materials as textiles and circuitry or wiring. this allows for electrical connections between layers while maintaining a slim form. the woven surface carries two- and three-dimensional structural capabilities, and is able to conform to the organic surface of the body. the rich textures and expressiveness of the woven surface lends its aesthetic value.

meanwhile, the use of the skin-friendly material of PVA enables on-skin adherence, and a series of case studies explore the functional and design potentials of the approach. ‘to understand the feasibility of on-skin wear, we conducted a user study on device wearability,’ the team continues. ‘to understand the expressiveness of the design space, we conducted a workshop study in which textiles practitioners created woven on-skin interfaces. we draw insights from this to understand the potential of adapting weaving for crafting on-skin interfaces.’