EmTex: Prototyping Textile-Based Interfaces through An Embroidered Construction Kit

As electronic textiles have become more advanced in sensing, actuating, and manufacturing, incorporating smartness into fabrics has become of special interest to ubiquitous computing and interaction researchers and designers. However, innovating smart textile interfaces for numerous input and output modalities usually requires expert-level knowledge of specific materials, fabrication, and protocols. This paper presents EmTex, a construction kit based on embroidered textiles, patterned with dedicated sensing, actuating, and connecting components to facilitate the design and prototyping of smart textile interfaces. With machine embroidery, EmTex is compatible with a wide range of threads and underlay fabrics, proficient in various stitches to control the electric parameters, and capable of integrating versatile and reliable interaction functionalities with aesthetic patterns and precise designs. EmTex consists of 28 textile-based sensors, actuators, connectors, and displays, presented with standardized visual and tactile effects. Along with a visual programming tool, EmTex enables the prototyping of everyday textile interfaces for diverse life-living scenarios, that embody their touch input, and visual and haptic output properties. With EmTex, we conducted a workshop and invited 25 designers and makers to create freeform textile interfaces. Our findings revealed that EmTex helped the participants explore novel interaction opportunities with various smart textile prototypes. We also identified challenges EmTex shall face for practical use in promoting the design innovation of smart textiles.