TextileUX proposes the creation of a pressure-sensitive textile-based sensing platform to enable computational environments to be embedded seamlessly into our lives. In the 1990s, Mark Weiser and his colleagues at Xerox PARC introduced their vision of Ubiquitous Computing – a world in which “computers disappear into our everyday environments and weave themselves into our daily lives without being noticed”. In the meantime, researchers around the world have been creating new ways to interact with devices. Part of this research has been focused on miniaturizing hardware components and making them more flexible. With regards to materials and textiles, there have been advancements in production methods so that their material and sensing characteristics of textiles can be adjusted to suit a variety of different contexts and environments. However, despite these improvements, current products and prototypes fall short of the Ubiquitous Computing vision. At present, it is still extremely difficult to embed smart textiles into everyday objects due to the complexity of combining material and textile knowledge with computer science. TextileUX seeks to create an all-in-one sensing platform that involves:

1. developing a novel conductive and resistive yarn,
2. producing knitted and woven pressure-sensitive textiles – also for a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) solution,
3. providing software for visualizing data and detecting gestures,
4. implementing and examining enhanced interaction modalities,
5. creating demonstrators that meet demands in different application contexts.

In this process, TextileUX aims to develop unique smart textile-sensing know-how and broaden the knowledge base at the intersection of material, textile and computer science. Through the co-creation of exciting end-user applications rooted in different domains, it also aims to exploit the developed synergies, creating a unique scientific position for the planned COMET-project.