Download Lighting Up Your Garments

Lighting Up Your Garments: An Investigation into Methods
of Making Fabrics Glow
Emma Rowley (N0358635)
Smart Design (MSc), School of Architecture Design and the Built Environment,
Nottingham Trent University
Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
A growing number of fashion designers and apparel
manufacturers are attempting to integrate lighting into their
products. Some designers use light to communicate and
visualise many different ideas to consumers whereas others
are simply trying to keep them safe. There are three
commonly used methods employed to light up garments.
These are the use of fibre optics, electroluminescent yarns
and the use of LEDs with conductive treads. Although
many projects have been undertaken by artists and designers
using these technologies the author has yet to find a
comprehensive resource detailing the advantages of each of
these methods and their suitability to various applications.
This work sets out to examine the work done to date in this
field and detail areas of interest for future development.
Author Keywords
e-Textiles, lighting, fibre optics, electroluminescence (EL),
light emitting diodes (LEDs)
INTRODUCTION
The idea of wearable electronics is not a new one; the first
commercially available range of electronic apparel was
released as early as 2000 and was manufactured by
Industrial Clothing Design Plus. Ten years later the high
street is not full of hats with inbuilt headphones which
wirelessly communicate with the wearer‟s mp3 player or
cycle safety jackets which light up in the dark. This lack of
commercially successful products is primarily due to the fact
that most available technologies and materials are simply
not suitable for mass produced commercial products [19].
Another reason for the seemingly slow progress in
producing products suitable for commercialisation is due to
the fact that the field of e-textiles and soft circuits lies
directly on the intersection between art and science as
fashion meets engineering. Although the power of this
medium has been recognised in its potential to address the
gender imbalance currently existing in the fields of electrical
engineering and programming [9], to date there are very
examples of collaborative research involving experts in both
fields. This has resulted in many of the projects undertaken
in the past taking a fairly limited approach to designing fully
integrated circuits into garments, many works attaching off
the shelf electrical components to traditional clothing
materials resulting in a cloth “bread board” [12].
There have however been some very successful
collaborative projects between engineers and fashion
designs which have produced interesting, fully functional
and aesthetically pleasing outcomes, namely the e-Motion
project in 2008 [20]. This paper aims to further build these
bridges between the two communities to allow greater
understanding between the fields of fashion and engineering.
Although the author has no more than an interest in the field
of fashion and textiles they aim to highlight several
noteworthy projects which use lighting in their design to
illustrate to the engineering community the creativity of, and
challenges faced by, fashion designers wishing to
experiment with this medium. The author will also try to
simply explain the technology behind each of the three
lighting methods discussed in this paper to allow novices in
the field of electronic circuit design to understand the needs
and limitations of each of the methods.
The lighting methods examined in this paper will be fibre
optic fabrics, electroluminescent dyes, wires and panels and
light emitting diodes. These methods have been selected as
they are the three most commonly used methods for making
fabrics light up in both DIY projects and in more
professional contexts. Each section will begin with a brief
overview of the technology and an explanation of the
technical considerations when applying this technology to
pieces of fashion. This will be followed by a few recent or
current examples of the method being used in the fashion
industry and details of how the technology has been
integrated into these projects.
FIBRE OPTIC FABRICS
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Fibre optics are long thin strands of very pure glass.
Commonly used in telecoms to transmit light signals over
very long distances, the fibres consist of a core of glass,
about the width of a human hair, which is surrounded in an
optic cladding to reflect the light back into the core and all
wrapped in a protective plastic coating. Research into using
fibre optic textiles dates back to 1996 and a project called
“Georgia Tech Wearable Motherboard” (Smart Shirt) which
ELECTROLUMINESCENT DYES, WIRES, PRINTS AND
PANELS
was funded by the US Navy. In 2002 France Telecom
announced that a prototype of a flexible screen utilising fibre
optic technology had been developed. This innovation
allowed for garments to become graphical communication
interfaces for the first time [16]. However this technology
has since been made generally obsolete by recent
developments in organic light emitting diode (OLED)
screens.
This technology utilises the fact that when
electroluminescent substrates, such as phosphors, are
exposed to a high frequency electric field they will radiate
light. The two most commonly found electroluminescent
(EL) products are panels and wire. EL panels take the form
of a base, commonly a thin plastic sheet, with fine layers of
inks printed over it to form the lamp. First a layer of
conductive silver is printed onto the base, followed by two
dielectric layers and then the EL layer. The panel then
needs to be coated in a further conductive layer; this layer is
required to be transparent to allow the light to be transmitted
to the viewer. In order for the voltage required to illuminate
the panel to be kept at a minimum these layers need to be as
thin as possible, current panels use layers of phosphors and
dielectrics which are only micrometers thick. EL wires use
a similar combination of layers of materials, only the
dielectric and EL layers are applied directly onto a copper
wire instead of being printed onto plastic coated with silver.
Both of these products are flexible yet not soft like a fabric.
Luminex fabric, which was named in TIME magazine‟s
coolest inventions of 2003 [10], allowed fabric to be given
its own luminescence rather than just being reflective or
„glow in the dark‟. Indeed the fibres themselves do not emit
light, but the way they act as a conduit for the light source
built into the fabric gave it a “magical” (Lousmijn Van Den
Akker) look. The fabric integrates a luminous fibre into a
weave of optical strands to give the fabrics its glow. The
power requirements of this luminescent fibre dictate the
needs of the fabric. Data found by the author suggest that
this fibre requires a 200V supply [16], which can be fed by
batteries connected to a transformer. Luminex fabric
samples purchased through LumiGram are sold with all
these connections already made requiring the user to simply
plug in. Although Luminex fabric is washable, the fabric is
fairly fragile and care much be taken not to fold the fabric in
a way which will cause the glass fibres to snap. This means
that the fabric is much more flexible in the direction
perpendicular, or at right angles, to the direction in which
the fibre optic strands run.
There have been some experiments carried out by teams
attempting to apply EL lamps directly to fabrics and yarns.
This has been made possible by the development of
LuxPrint by DuPont which is a solvent based vehicle which
can be used as a carrier for electroluminescent phosphor
powders [15]. There have been several successful projects
which have managed to either silk print this or similar ink
onto a woven fabric or apply the ink directly onto yarns
which can then be knitted or woven. The main flaws in
these methods are getting the ink to form sufficiently thin
and even films of each of the required layers on the base
material and repeated bending of the fabric or yarn can
cause the printed lamp to fracture, potentially causing breaks
in the printed circuit.
Designers working with Fibre Optics
LumiGram
There are a number of designers licensed to work with
Luminex fabric. One of these companies trades under the
name of LumiGram and their fibre optic garments are
available to purchase on the internet [3]. LumiGram, based
in France, sell a number of off the shelf fashion items, such
as various tops, as well as bespoke custom designs for both
clothing and interior decoration. It also possible to purchase
fabric samples though this online outlet as well as spare or
replacement optical modules to allow the user to change the
colour of the illuminated garment.
EL products require a high frequency alternating current
(AC) supply. Glowire runs at 120V AC and needs a
frequency of about 2000Hz (2kHz) although the voltage
required depends on the length of wire being. The
brightness of the wire is also directly dependent on the
frequency of the electricity used to run it, the higher the
frequency the brighter the wire will glow. However running
the wire at a high frequency will reduce its life; a length of
Glowire operated at 4kHz will glow with a consistent
brightness for about 1600 hours, whereas the same length
run at 400Hz will glow for over 5600 hours without a
reduction in its intensity [1].
Scarlett Holland – Fibreoptic Handbag
Scarlett Holland produced a range of handbags using fibre
optic materials in combination with laser cutting and LEDs
as part of her masters in Fashion and Technology at
Coventry University. The handbags were exhibited at the
Made in Future: Made in UK partnering event held in Milan,
Italy in December 2009. This event was held to bring
research centres in the UK together with commercial
enterprises in Italy who may be interested in pursuing their
work at a commercial level. Sarah‟s work was exhibited as
an example of the cutting edge design and research work
being carried out at Coventry University as it combines
optical fibres with LEDs as the lining of a bag which utilises
digital technology and laser cutting to manufacture the
exterior and handles of the pieces.
Projects and Designers using this Technology
Elise Co – Puddlejumper
The puddlejumper coat, from 2001, is a raincoat/cape
containing EL panels which glow in response to rain. Water
sensors are embroidered onto the hood and shoulders of the
jacket and allow the electroluminescent panels in the
garment to illuminate based on the pattern of the rain. The
EL panels are constructed through a silkscreen printing
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process onto a suitable fabric substrate and then attached to
the rain coat [11].
This is required because the most current will flow down the
branch with least resistance, therefore each current path
must provide the same resistance to the current to ensure an
even distribution of current across the branches of the circuit
and prevent a single LED from being overloaded. Although
this method is more difficult to implement than the series
arrangement it offers the advantage that if the resistor values
are calculated correctly the failure of a single branch of the
circuit should have no effect on the remaining branches
which each make separate circuits for the current to follow
round. Although the parallel method requires a much lower
voltage to run multiple LEDs, when compared to a series
circuit, it does significantly reduce battery life.
Illum
Illum is a concept EL cycle jacket produced through a
collaborative project between apparel designers, goose, and
product designers, PDD. This project attempts to combine
fashion and functionality into a safety garment to allow the
wearer to stand out on the road, when it matters, and blend
into a crowd [4]. The jacket utilises EL inks to create a
garment which produces a 360o light source when activated
but appears blank when not in use. This item is also selfcharging using printed photovoltaic panels across the
shoulders and on the back of the jacket [2].
Projects and Designers Currently using LEDs
LIGHT EMITTING DIODES
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are commonly used as
indicator lights on many electrical devices. First introduced
in the 1960‟s as a low intensity red light, LED technology
has progressed significantly over the last 50 years producing
LEDs which give out light across the visible spectrum, as
well as infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths. Progression in
this field has also lead to miniaturisation of the component
as well as a marked reduction in cost.
Joanna Berzowska
Joanne is research director of the design research studio XS
Labs based in Canada. Recent works to come out of the
studio include the Leeches [7] and Constellation Dresses [6].
Although both these works focus on the human need or
requirement for power to fuel our lives [5], they both
visualise this energy usage though emitting light.
Leeches takes the form of a dress which is constructed in
such a way as to form a power-distribution grid for a series
of silicone-coated electronic „leeches‟ which contain three
red LEDs and can be attached individually to the dress in a
variety of positions and configurations. The „leeches‟ are
held in place by magnetic snaps which provide not only the
mechanical connection between the dress and the electronic
capsule but also the electrical conductivity required.
LEDs have become popular with designers working in the
field of e-textiles and wearable technology because of their
low cost and easy availability. LEDs are available from a
number of stockists, based in the UK and around the world,
mainly through their online catalogues. Technical data
sheets for the components are also easily obtained through
the internet. LEDs have fairly low power requirements and
generally only need to be driven by a few milliamps. This
means that generally to stop the LED from being over
loaded a resistor is required to be used in series with the
component for most applications. “LED calculators” can be
used to work out the resistor size required based on the
voltage of the power supply, the type of circuit being used
and the voltage and current the designer wishes to drive the
LED at.
Constellations uses chains of square LEDs sewn to the
dresses using conductive treads. The dresses are also
covered in six pairs of magnetic snaps, these pairs act as
switches for the LED circuit and when joined with a pair of
snaps from another dress the LEDs light up. Thus the
dresses only function as a group or collection to encourage
interaction between the wearers through physical contact.
Barbara Layne
A major drawback to the use of LEDs in wearables is the
difficulty attached to joining them up in chains. LEDs can
be connected in series however a greater voltage is required
to drive the LEDs without reducing the brightness of the
lights. Care must be taken to ensure that the LEDs are
connected according to the manufactures instructions and
the power supply is also the correct way round (this is true
for any arrangement of LEDs). It should be noted that
resistors can also be used in this circuit to fine tune the
voltage fed to the components in the ring, and that the
failure of a single component in the ring will cause all the
lights in the ring to go out.
Barbara is the director of Studio subTela which focuses on
the development of intelligent cloth structures. Her work
has focused on the development of soft programmable LED
matrices, grids or screens. These arrays are woven into
textile bases to create pieces which either interact with their
environment through passive sensing, of ambient light levels
or the proximity of viewers, or can be programmed by the
user to display scrolling texts and patterns.
Blue Code, an interactive piece from 2008 [18], comprises
of two panels. The first panel contains a hand woven
display of 384 blue LEDs and the second companion panel
has 8 pairs of conductive squares which the viewer can
connect together to change or control the pattern scrolling
across the display. The piece can be reconfigured in 256 (or
28) different ways, each one revealing a different weave
which has been pre-programmed into the memory of a
microcontroller.
Parallel circuits can also be used with LEDs. Although this
method is not generally recommended it does allow for a
large number of lights to be driven off a single low voltage
power supply. To run LEDs in parallel they must be either
of exactly the same specifications or each have their own
resistor in series with the LED in the branch of the circuit.
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e-MOTION
at the end of the fabrication process but instead a part of the
fabric itself.
E-Motion was a one year project which took place in the
2008/09 academic year. The project was co-ordinated by
the Fashion and Textile Design Institute at the University of
the Arts, in Berlin and was supported by Fraunhofer IZM,
Germany and the Institute for Special Textiles and Flexible
Materials – TITV Greiz, Germany. The project hoped to
foster a good working relationship between fashion
designers and technologists to allow for a series of
innovative, interactive and elegant designs. The fashion
designed and developed attempts to add another layer of
communication between the wearer and the world,
projecting the user‟s emotions out into the world without the
use of words. Several of the projects utilised LEDs to subtly
visualise their messages [14, 20].
The e-Motion projects featured in this document used
possibly the most high-tech electronics based solution to the
problem with the use of SCBs which are laminated onto the
inside of the fabric. These purpose printed circuit boards
provide a flat base on to which the electronic components
are attached by conventional methods either directly onto
the board or soldered to copper wires which are in turn
attached to the SCB. Although this appears to be the most
technically elegant and commercially viable method its
applications may be limited as the drape and feel of the
fabric is compromised at the place of the lamination as
although the circuit board is flexible and stretchy it will
stiffen the fabric which it is laminated to.
One of these projects, Pneuma by Synne Geirsdatter, uses
carbon-filled stretch sensitive yarn sewn into a tight fitting
cocktail dress to detect the breathing of the wearer. The
signals from the stretch sensor are processed by a controller
unit which is placed, along with other electronic
components, on a large stretchable circuit board (SCB)
laminated onto the inner layer of the dress. The LEDs
integrated into the SCB fade in and out in relation to the
strength of the in- and ex-haling of the wearer.
The Constellation project uses possibly the most widely
used technique for joining LEDs and soft circuits to fabrics
which is hand embroidery with conductive threads. This
method is simple and requires little specialist knowledge or
access to expensive equipment so is therefore widely used
across the DIY community. There are a number of different
conductive threads available on the internet, which are
useful for different applications. Copper threads have the
advantage that they can be soldered to, although are
expensive compared to the nylon based threads now
available.
Dis.appear, a coat by Theresa Lusser, was inspired by
people‟s interaction, or lack of, with the urban landscape at
night. The coat features a collection of white LEDs whose
brightness is synchronised to the surroundings by two light
sensitive sensors placed at the front and back of the coat,
allowing the garment to reflect the atmosphere of the streets
around it. The electronic components are, like in Pneuma,
integrated onto a SCB and laminated into the inlay of the
jacket.
There are also individuals and studios developing new and
novel ways to utilise this technology to light up various
garments. Professor Tilak Dias, of the School of Art and
Design at Nottingham Trent University has recently
developed a method to embed tiny LEDs, about the same
size as a grain of sand, into copper treads which can then be
sewn, woven or knitted straight into garments. This process,
currently at the proof of concept stage, involves soldering
the LEDs into the tread using specialist equipment adapted
to work with the flexible nature of the copper threads rather
than the standard rigid printed circuit boards [13]. If
commercialised this method could allow individuals to
purchase lengths of this light up tread, like miniaturised
fairy lights, to embroider straight into their clothes.
LED Joining Techniques
Across the projects given above the designers have used a
variety of different methods to attach the LEDs used in their
projects to the fabric of their concepts. The author believes
these designers and their methods represent a good cross
section of the most commonly used methods of applying
LEDs to e-textiles. The variety of techniques on show
reflects the large range of backgrounds, interests and
facilities the various designers are working around.
CONCLUSION
A number of different methods for lighting up garments
have been discussed with a basic outline of their energy
requirements and other factors which may require the
consideration of the designer when beginning a project using
one or more of these methods. It is hoped that this paper
provides enough information about the various methods to
allow the reader to make their selection of lighting method
for their future projects more informed and highlights that
the selection process of method is more than just a question
of aesthetic but also about how will the technology integrate
or join with the fabric.
Barbara Layne, uses an interesting solution to the problem
of how to build stiff metal based components into a soft
fabric structure. Her pieces tend to make use of wirewrapping techniques, which originate in jewellery making,
to create robust yet flexible chains of LEDs which can be
incorporated into the fabric a long side the traditional yarns
as it is woven on a loom [8]. The weaving process allows
changes the positions of the lengthwise (warp) and
crosswise (weft) yarns so the conductive threads can follow
the often complex schematic design of the electric circuits.
The result is robust electrical circuits which are fully
integrated into the cloth before it is cut and used to make
garments [17]; the electronics are not an added extra added
Although the author has tried their upmost to highlight a
broad cross section of the imaginative and innovate projects
which have been undertaken by design teams from around
4
the world, this paper only has space to merely scratch the
surface of the work being undertaken in this field. Therefore
this paper represents a starting point to illustrate the
creativity and challenges faced by fashion designers and
those working in the field of textile and apparel design to
those of a more engineering science background wishing to
develop techniques or technologies for use in this field.
[7] Berzowska, J. the leeches. 2010, 11/27/2010 ( 2004).
[8] Braddock, S. and O'Mahony, M. Techno textiles 2 :
revolutionary fabrics for fashion and design. Thames &
Hudson, London, 2005.
[9] Buechley, L. A Construction Kit for Electronic Textiles.
In Anonymous 10th IEEE International Symposium on
Wearable Computers. (Montreux, Switzerland, October 1114,
2006).
IEEE
Computer
Society,
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=406
7731, 2006, 83.
Above all this paper shows the need for close cooperation
and collaborations between experts in these two fields if etextiles are to move past catwalks, student exhibitions and
high-tech super soldier prototype and become common place
on the high street.
[10] Buechner, M. M., Grossman, L. and Hamilton, A.
Coolest Inventions: Coolest Inventions 2003. TIME
Magazine, (Nov 2003).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishes to thank Dr. Sarah Kettley for her
guidance and direction in both researching and writing this
paper as well as other the students and staff on the Smart
Design course at Nottingham Trent University (2010).
Thanks should also go to Professor Tilak Dias, Nottingham
Trent University, for his time and thoughts on electrical
active textiles, and Mark Lawrence for his assistance in
editing the final draft.
[11] Co, E. luminescent. 2010, 11/28/2010 (Jul 28 2001).
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Wearable Man-Machine Interfaces. In Tao, X. ed. Wearable
electronics and photonics. Woodhead ;, Cambridge ;
Florida, 2003.
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