Intelligent Soft Wearables

SIGGRAPH 2026 Course Proposal - Jul 19-23 @ LA

Design and interaction pipeline: computational design (1), integration (2), sensing (3), processing (4), actuation (5).

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From Fast Prototyping to Scalable Design For Smart Textiles Fabrication

Smart textile interfaces are increasingly central to SIGGRAPH’s broader conversation around interactive fabrication, soft/hybrid materials, and next-generation input/output devices. From computational design to on-body motion capture or soft haptic suits for immersive experiences, this session introduces the anatomies, fabrication techniques, and emerging capabilities of smart textiles that are reshaping our industries. The course covers end-to-end perspectives on smart textiles: from designing to fabrication, through selecting functional yarns, embedding sensing, inference, and actuation, with integrations into fiber or fabric. Grounded in long-running interdisciplinary research across our labs from HCI to Materials Science, Textile Engineering, Microelectronics and Computer Science, the session prioritizes fabrication-aware methods that move toward wearable- and product-ready prototypes that behave reliably outside the lab. Participants will gain a structured overview of key smart textile building blocks; from conductive fibers, textile electrodes for electrostimulation, soft sensors, flexible displays, heating and other fabric-based actuators. The course emphasizes how material choices, design, and textile manufacturing constraints shape cost, scalability, durability, performance, comfort, and user experience. By the end, participants will be able to select appropriate materials, build and characterize a sensorized textile interface, and make informed design decisions that balance aesthetics, comfort, robustness, signal integrity, and even inference, for interaction across application domains. Finally, the participatory part of the course will allow attendees to feel the materials as well as test demonstrators of soft sensors and actuators, a rare opportunity that takes advantage of this special format.

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If you have any questions, please contact SoftWearables(AT)mit.edu.