Embodying Soft Wearables Research

Abstract

The value of engaging sensory motor skills in the design and use of smart systems is increasingly recognized. Yet robust and reliable methods for development, reporting and transfer are not fully understood. This workshop investigates the role of embodied design research techniques in the context of soft wearables. Throughout, we will experiment with how embodied design research techniques might be shared, developed, and used as direct and unmediated vehicles for their own reporting. Rather than engage in oral presentations, participants will lead each other through a proven embodied method or approach. Then small groups will create mash-ups of techniques, exploring ways that the new approaches might be coherently reported. By applying such methods to the problem of their reporting, we hope to deepen understanding of how to move towards nuanced and repeatable methods for embodied design and knowledge transfer in the context of soft wearables.