Building Soft Computers: Materials, Techniques, and Tools

Abstract
Information about designing and building “soft computers” or “electronic textiles”–information on construction techniques and the washability of conductive fabrics, for example–is scattered throughout a variety of publications and, in many cases, incomplete or preliminary. This tutorial will present an organized survey of this knowledge, drawing from literature and personal experience. It will focus on three areas: materials, techniques, and tools, with one segment of the session devoted to each topic. The materials segment will detail the range of materials that are currently available for e- textiles, including conductive yarns, conductive fabrics, and flexible electronics, describing the electrical, physical, and washability/durability characteristics of each material. It will also take a look to the future of e-textile materials, discussing exciting recent developments in printable electronics and other areas. The techniques segment will cover techniques for building computational devices out of soft materials and traditional electronics. This section will include a detailed description of the presenter's technique for building “fabric PCBs” or “iron-on circuits” as well as descriptions of techniques pioneered by other researchers. A final tools segment will detail the range of computerized output devices– including computer controlled looms, knitting machines, embroidery machines and textile printers–that can be used to build soft computers. Tangible examples of most of the materials and techniques will be made available and attendees will be given handouts detailing where and how to purchase materials and tools.

Bio
Leah Buechley is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder where she works with the Craft Technology Group, exploring the intersection of computational and physical media. Her research focuses on e-textile design and engineering, and her innovations in these areas include developing a method for building cloth printed circuit boards and creating novel wearable displays. She also developed the e-textile construction kit–a complete system that allows novices to design, build and program their own soft wearables–and has published a number of do-it- yourself guides for e-textiles. Her work was the recipient of the best paper award at ISWC 2006 and has been featured in Architectural Design, CRAFT Magazine, the Denver Post, the Taipei Times, La Liberte de l'Est and the University of Colorado Engineering Magazine. She holds an MS in Computer Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a BA in Physics from Skidmore College.

Introduction to Designing Mobile Applications with On-body Sensing: Why desktop emulators will let you down

Abstract
This tutorial teaches design principles and implementation techniques for the development of applications involving on-body sensors and mobile platforms. Participants will be introduced to Python development on mobile phones via interactive exercises. The purpose of the exercises is not to teach Python development, but rather to demonstrate the tradeoffs between developing on a mobile device and developing on a desktop emulator or environment. Participants will be exposed to a variety of on-body sensors including ones common to mobile devices such as GPS, cameras, 3-axis accelerometers, capacitive sensors. In addition participants will be exposed to rapid prototyping of mobile games to illustrate design and implementation considerations such as: power consumption, sensor placement, display real-estate, and mobile interaction techniques. Our primary example will be a mobile version of the popular game Dance Dance Revolution which will use wearable, wireless accelerometers in place of the traditional floor mat and the display of a mobile platform to dictate the dance steps. Other examples will include real-time photo sharing in a co-located groups and emulating multi-touch on existing mobile displays. Upon completing the tutorial participants will have a better understanding of design considerations, development methods, and evaluation techniques for the development of mobile and on-body sensing based applications.

Participants can bring a Python capable phone with a touch screen, however several phones will be available for group work.

Bios
Nirmal Patel is a Ph.D. student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His primary research area is rapid prototyping and the subsequent evaluation of mobile interfaces. Currently, he is exploring wrist based interfaces and assisting in a course focused on mobile, ubiquitous computing. Since 2005 he has worked in conjunction with Motorola Labs to develop multiple frameworks supporting distributed computation for mobile games and real-time media sharing. His past work includes the development of an introductory programming course for undergraduates using mobile phones. He also developed a hand-held, mobile device which employs computer vision to assist in long-term wound management.

Tracy Westeyn is a Ph.D. student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her primary research areas are on-body sensing, wearable computing, and machine learning. Currently, she is researching the use of wireless sensors to support the early diagnosis of children with autism and other developmental delays. At past ISWC conferences she has published papers, co-organized a workshop and tutorial pertaining to on-body sensing. Her previous research involves eye-based gesture recognition as an interface for persons with severe disabilities. She is also a primary author of the Georgia Tech Gesture Toolkit (GT2K), which supports gesture-based research applications. Outside of the lab, Westeyn is an active member of the Women@CC organization which helps support women in computer science at Georgia Tech. She has a black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu and has served as both president and goalie for the Georgia Tech Women's Lacrosse club.

Valerie Henderson-Summet is currently a Ph.D. student in the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her areas of specialty are Human Computer Interaction and Assistive Technology. Her research deals primarily with mobile applications for the Deaf community.

Wearable Technologies for Persons with Autism Spectrum Conditions

Abstract
Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) represent the fastest growing neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood, affecting approximately 1 out of 150 children in the United States. This tutorial will review the core features of ASC; highlight opportunities to develop wearable technologies for early diagnosis, behavioral and physiological assessment, and just-in-time intervention; and underscore ways that researchers and designers can draw on and learn from individuals with ASC, their teachers, and caregivers when creating wearable technologies.

Bios
Dr. Rana el Kaliouby is a postdoctoral associate at MIT's Media Laboratory, developing social-emotional wearables for autism spectrum conditions. She co-organized a SIG on autism at CHI 2007 and held a design session at Google, CA where the audience came up with their own designs of wearable cameras. She is the 2006 recipient of the Higher Education & Learning Institutes Gold Award from the Global Women and Inventors Network. El Kaliouby holds a B.Sc. from the American University in Cairo and a Ph.D. from the Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge.

Prof. Rosalind W. Picard is founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the MIT Media Laboratory and co-director of the Things That Think Consortium. She holds a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Masters and Doctorate degrees, both in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She was honored as a Fellow of the IEEE in 2005. Her current research develops new technologies and theories to advance basic understanding of affect and its role in human experience.

Matthew Goodwin is a Ph.D. candidate in the Behavioral Science program at the University of Rhode Island and the Associate Director of Research at the Groden Center in Providence, RI. He has over 10 years of research and clinical experience working with the full spectrum of children and adults with ASC. He also has extensive experience using a variety of innovative technologies with this population, including telemetric heart rate monitors, accelerometry sensors, and digital video/editing systems.

The Role of Design in Wearable Computing

Organized by Tom Martin, Virginia Tech.

Abstract
This workshop will provide a forum to discuss the role of design in wearable computing. Wearable computing spans a broad range of interests and expertise, not all of which can be adequately represented by a technical paper in an IEEE Computer Society proceedings. As wearable computing becomes more mainstream and if it is to continue becoming more mainstream, it is important for ISWC to provide appropriate venues for presenting the latest advances in textile, fashion, and industrial design. The objective of this workshop is to come up with a set of recommendations on what the appropriate venues should be and to discuss what the important design issues are for wearable computing.

Potential topics for the workshop include but are not limited to the following:

• How should design contributions be evaluated?
• What should be the format(s) for a design submission and presentation?
• How should these contributions be documented and archived, e.g. web site, video?
• What guidance about the program committee's expectations should be provided to designers who wish to submit a regular paper?
• For design contributors who are in tenure-track academic positions, what are their requirements in terms of building dossiers for tenure and promotion? What are the requirements of designers at start-ups? At design firms? In graduate school?
• Is the difference between a design contribution and a technical contribution simply an emphasis on wearable instead of an emphasis on computing?
• Wearable computing has had some problems gaining legitimacy with computing researchers; are there similar problems for designers?
• Can we provide case studies of interdisciplinary wearable computing projects that show the advantages of bridging that gap between the cultures of different disciplines?
• What are the important design issues for wearable computing? How will addressing them advance wearable computing? How will addressing them advance the particular area of expertise, e.g., how will e-textiles advance the field of textiles?

The intended audience for the workshop is those whose research emphasis is on the design aspects of wearable computing, such as industrial design, fashion, textiles, and applications, and at all career stages (e.g. grad student, academics pre- and post-tenure, and industry).

A Tutorial on Wearable Computing for Persons with Disabilities

Abstract
The goal of this half-day tutorial is to provide attendees with a survey of issues related to wearable computing for persons with disabilities. Topics to be covered will include a discussion of why accessibility and universal design are important, along with information on current accessibility techniques and relevant legislation. The research activities of the Wireless Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC), which focuses on wireless and mobile devices for people with disabilities, will be summarized. There will also be a detailed look at previous wearable research in the disability domain. The process of designing a wearable system for persons with disabilities will be discussed along with relevant case studies that illustrate some of the unique challenges in this type of research. A set of guidelines and tips drawn from the experiences of experts in several domains will help the attendees prepare to perform user centered design projects with populations of users with disabilities. Lastly, the tutorial will focus on the future directions that wearable computing for disabilities can take with the goal of motivating attendees to consider these issues while carrying out their research. The intended audience for this tutorial includes researchers and developers in wearable or mobile computing who are interested in learning more about how their work can aid those with disabilities. However, a high level of technical knowledge will not be necessary to benefit from this tutorial.

Bio
Maribeth Gandy is a Senior Research Scientist with the Interactive Media Technology Center (IMTC) at Georgia Tech. She is involved with many biomedical and wearable related research projects. In the past she was a co-author on papers regarding such topics as audio-only wearable computing and a wearable device for universal control. She was also involved in an NIH funded grant to explore the use of computer vision, digital signal processing, expert systems, and computer graphics to automate a brain surgery procedure that alleviates the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Previously she oversaw a project which is focused on developing a computerized system for assessing a patient's dexterity as well as cognitive abilities with the goal of early detection of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and depression. Maribeth is a project director and co-investigator in the Wireless RERC (www.wirelessrerc.org), a grant from the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in the area of wireless and mobile devices for people with disabilities. Maribeth is a co-investigator on RERC research such as user needs assessment and on development projects for universal control and cognitive prosthetics. Another of her duties with the RERC is as the project director for the University Instruction portion of the Center, which is an initiative to bring accessibility and universal design concepts to researchers, students, and industry. She has developed a clearinghouse of material related to these topics and is a regular guest lecturer on this topic in courses at Georgia Tech and other universities. She has also presented tutorials on this topic at conferences such as ISWC and HCII.

Designing Wearable Systems for Mainstream Acceptance

Abstract
The term Wearables encompasses a wide spectrum of devices, services and systems. This tutorial discusses the characteristics and design elements required for wearable devices and systems to be widely adopted by the mainstream population for use in their everyday lives. It introduces concepts such as transparent design and Operational Inertia that form a mindset conducive to designing wearables suitable for broad adoption by consumers.

Bio
Joseph Dvorak has over 10 years experience in wearable technology and design and has several patents in wearable system design. From 2005 - 2007 he was the Motorola Scientist in Residence at the MIT Media Lab and is currently the manager of Business Intelligence at Motorola. He is an Adjunct Professor at Florida Atlantic University where he teaches courses in wearable technology and systems. He is the author of the upcoming book “Moving Wearable Technology into the Mainstream”. He has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.