Felt Connections: On the Design of Meaningful Body-Centered Interactions for Children with Shape-Changing Textile Interfaces

August 2024 – August 2026

Objective
This project aims to design and develop shape-changing textile devices that generate rich and dynamic body-centered interactions for children. Physical interactions play a vital role in children’s well-being and contribute significantly to their mental, physical and emotional development. Yet, current digital technologies often prioritise visual and auditory senses over tactile or movement-based modalities. As children’s lives become increasingly mediated by technology, we wish to explore and encourage the design of technologies that enable children (and adults too) to express themselves fully and engage in meaningful physical interactions within tech-mediated environments. We will do this by conducting co-design workshops with children and engaging in soma design methodologies that foreground the body and lived experience in the design process.

Background
This research intersects the emerging fields of soft robotics, e-textiles, soma design and machine learning. It will draw from fabrication techniques in soft robotics and e-textiles to produce shape-shaping textile artefacts that offer versatile on- and off-body interactions. Drawing from the field of machine learning and recent work in Human-Robot Interaction, we will explore ways to interpret sensor data from the devices, enabling the generation of responsive, context-aware behaviours of the interfaces. On the design side, we take a soma design approach to develop technologies that promote genuine connection, using strategies such as mediated touch and shared embodied experiences.

About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Alice Haynes studied Engineering Mathematics at the University of Bristol, UK, going on to specialize in soft robotics – the development of robotic devices made of soft materials – and haptic interfaces – the development of devices that can produce tactile feedback. Alongside her research, she worked in a local arts charity called KWMC, co-facilitating workshops and teaching fabrication skills in their community makerspace. After defending her PhD thesis in 2022, she moved to Germany for a postdoctoral position in the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at Saarland University. There she explored techniques for fabricating shape-changing textiles that could move and adapt to the body and environment. Increasingly interested in the role of our body and felt experience in interactions with such soft, tactile interfaces, she is excited to bring a soma design approach to this project.

Main supervisor
Kristina Höök, Professor, Division of Media Technology and Interaction Design, KTH

Co-supervisor
Iolanda Leite, Associate Professor, Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH