Project

FabricKeyboard

Irmandy Wicaksono, Joe Paradiso

Multimodal textile sensate media as an expressive and deformable musical interface

In the area of intelligent textiles, we are exploring a multi-modal, fabric-based, stretchable sensate surface for physical interaction media, specifically as deformable musical interface. 

The fabric keyboard consists of multi-layer textile sensors machine-sewn in a keyboard pattern, and it detects different stimuli such as touch, pressure, stretch, proximity, and electric field. This allows users to explore physical and non-contact gestures for expressive on-body and on-surface musical performance. We've also developed additional textile-based inputs such as ribbon controller, trackpad, and fur for more expressive control. This soft sensate surface contributes toward developing seamless, self-aware, and washable media.