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IF machines is run by Maggie Orth, and does some interesting research and development in fashion and digital technology. They’ve developed some really interesting conductive fabrics.

“International Fashion Machines is a design and research company whose broad mission is to understand and transform the aesthetic and material properties of technology. IFM is dedicated to creating technology, art and design that is physically unexpected, intimate, humorous and beautiful. To accomplish this, IFM merges the practices of design and art-making with experimental, technological and smart material research. IFM’s projects in this area range from one-of-a kind interactive textile artworks to research for the military and design and strategy for the fashion industry.”

Technorati Tags: design, electronics, wearables

The Music Thing Blog is a collection of resources and articles on all things related to digital and interactive music systems. If you’re interested in interaction design and music, it’s worth a read.

Thanks to Jamie Allen for the link

Technorati Tags: art, electronics, pcomp, physical computing, music

Sajjadah 1426 by Soner Ozenc is a prayer rug woven with electroluminescent wire that increases its brightness as it’s pointed more toward Mecca. A compass module built into the rug senses the orientation and changes the brightness of the EL wires. Seems like a good companion to the Ikone i800 mobile phone. I like the idea behind the phone, but at its core, it’s still software on a generic phone. What’s interesting about the rug is that it’s digital hardware for a specific audience. This one’s got a pretty large potential audience

via WMMNA

Technorati Tags: art, design, electronics, location systems, networked objects, networks, pcomp, religion

Treehugger is a blog that reports on sustainability issues of all sorts: new alternate power sources, political actions, design-related issues, and more. A decent read if you’re interested in physical design and sustainability.

Thanks to Sita Cochran for the link

Technorati Tags: art, design, electronics, networks, environment

Tangint is a discussion space and resource for tangible computing run by Brygg Ullmer out of Louisiana State.

“Tangint is intended to service the international community of researchers, designers, artists, and other practioners in the area of tangible interfaces and (more generally) tangible interaction.”

There’s a section for related papers that’s shaping up well. It’s a good place to post good tangible projects. A new section on art installations would be welcome.

Thanks to Brygg Ullmer for the link.

Technorati Tags: electronics, pcomp, physical computing

Elliott Malkin has done an interesting project on Eruvim in Manhattan. He’s documented an eruv on the lower east side, and is using semacodes to mark the border of the eruv, so that visitors and residents with camera phones can access information about the area and its cultural signifigance to the orthodox Jewish community that inhabits it. What interests me is the way that the boundaries of eruvim have traditionally used infrastructural elements as boundary markers, according to Elliott’s presentation, so that using telecommunications infrastructure as a marker seems like a logical follow-on.

Technorati Tags: architecture, cities, infrastructures, networks, religion, sociology

Elliott Malkin has done an interesting project on Eruvim in Manhattan. He’s documented an eruv on the lower east side, and is using semacodes to mark the border of the eruv, so that visitors and residents with camera phones can access information about the area and its cultural signifigance to the orthodox Jewish community that inhabits it. What interests me is the way that the boundaries of eruvim have traditionally used infrastructural elements as boundary markers, according to Elliott’s presentation, so that using telecommunications infrastructure as a marker seems like a logical follow-on.

Technorati Tags: architecture, location systems, networks, religion