Taxtile Nerve Extensions

A taxtile is a smart fabric that integrates tactile sensors and actuators in the same flexible material, inspired by human skin. Tactile illusions such as the ‘shrinking waist’ and the ‘stretching nose’ demonstrate that bodily awareness is dynamic and is not constrained to the physical body. The design sketch for Fauxy the Fake Fur Coat with Feelings has vibrotactile buttons sewn on the inside to connect the fabric sensor to skin sensations. We propose that bodily awareness could flow into the coat through these ‘taxtile nerve extensions’ to position the wearer’s perceptual systems as the smarts in the Smart Fabric.