Towards making kinetic garments based on conductive fabric and smart hair

We introduce a novel making method for kinetic garments, which can change their shape and are thus used for decoration and self-expression. Such garments are generally realized by attaching devices to garments, and wiring and control systems are required to make them. In particular, wiring becomes complicated when many actuators are used. This issue is an obstacle for fashion designers and increases production difficulty. We propose a power supply and communication method for devices distributed on conductive fabric. This method allows the individual control of devices on the fabric without complicated wiring. We use soft hair-like bending actuators, called Smart Hair, as devices. The present study evaluates the application of the proposed method to Smart Hair.