Interesting Interfaces: Wearable Futures online

The "Wearable Futures" conference that took place this September in at the Newport School of Art, Media and Design at University of Wales, Newport, has posted abstracts from all talks on its website. Many are extended and, as a whole, the range of topics gives the field good coverage - from case studies to critiques of uptake.

Describing their project "worn", Kristina Andersen, Anne Nigten and Matthew Fuller (of the
V2_Lab, Institute for the Unstable Media Rotterdam; Media Design research, Piet Zwart Institute, Willem de Kooning Academy Hogeschool Rotterdam) say: 'In an area where the technology is often ostensibly developed for military purposes and the embodied knowledge of movement is largely held in the art community, we would like to promote a different creative use of wearable technology: by scrutinising its origins, playing with its anomalies and cultural qualities and modifying its applications towards life and expression. However, repurposing technology often introduces problems and misunderstandings among collaborators who understand and codify the technologies at stake differently.

"worn" explores ways to translate the designer's 'object of desire' into design documents understood by all involved areas of knowledge; 'from the ‘aspergian’ technician and the alien artist to the practical designer'.

There is plenty more to consider from the three days of conference.

Associated Link: Wearable Futures - the abstracts

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