Researchers have developed an innovative display that shows information through clothes and other fabrics. The new technology, called PocketView, uses LED lights to display basic information. It can function as a standalone piece of technology or could be incorporated into existing or next-generation smart devices.
The team created prototypes that mimic smartphones, pens, key fobs, and other shapes and sizes. The idea is not to show all the information that one would normally see on a smartphone display. Rather, these are displays that show minimal information.
Because the display devices can take various shapes and sizes, they have the versatility to be worn and used in any piece of clothing that has a pocket. Another key point of the new display technology is that it is relatively inexpensive and could easily and quickly be rolled out on a large scale. The prototypes are also Bluetooth-enabled, meaning that they sync with existing devices.
Although currently working with standalone prototypes, the researchers believe the next generation of these LED displays could easily be incorporated into existing devices. And whereas other research in wearable displays focuses on creating new high-tech fabrics, the utility of PocketView means that it works with clothes people already have.
For more information, contact Chris Wilson-Smith at
Transcript
00:00:00 we explore the idea of viewing information through the fabric of a pocket using low resolution bright led matrix displays a concept we call pocket view this enables viewing things when a phone is inaccessible like checking notifications when carrying a shopping bag following navigation directions when cycling or tracking fitness stats while running we created multiple functional hardware prototypes in different form factors each resembles a common object that people put in their pockets already we also tested how well leds shine through common clothing fabrics in a controlled technical experiment the most general prototype resembles a phone case or a wallet it is completely self-contained with an led matrix microcontroller battery and bluetooth to connect to a phone
00:01:04 the phone sends images to the device it is placed in the pocket to view information from the phone as low resolution graphic images with a simple interaction vocabulary single taps cycle through different information sources like weather fitness stats when walking and viewing directions when notifications arrive they can be dismissed with a double tap the device can work through a range of fabrics like thick cotton pants a polyester jacket and a patterned skirt it also works in a range of pockets and clothing like a hoodie pocket the pocket of leggings or a shirt pocket we also created a prototype resembling a headphone earbud case this smaller form factor fits into smaller pockets of women's jeans or workout gear we also built an even smaller form factor resembling a car remote it also features
00:02:20 a slightly different led size it is placed inside a pocket to show a welcome message we also created a pen form factor with a very simple strip of led even with this limited display it can provide useful information like time before the next meeting we also experimented with a higher resolution led matrix in the form of a phone case pocket view can be used in different settings like meetings it enables subtle viewing of notifications it can show instructions to perform an exercise routine it can also be used as a public display to enable social interactions we also evaluated the general approach in a user study participants used the led prototype as well as two other through fabric methods as baselines one baseline was a standard phone display with graphic high contrast imagery this is simple but it only works through some fabrics
00:03:40 the other bass line was a radical concept using a switchable diffuser material sewn into a pocket it is of dubious practicality but it served as an extreme type of through fabric display for comparison purposes for additional details and study results see the accompanying paper
