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    Content by Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson
    E-Textile Tailor Shop by KOBAKANT
    The following institutions have funded our research and supported our work:

    Since 2020, Hannah is guest professor of the Spiel&&Objekt Master's program at the University of Performing Arts Ernst Busch in Berlin

    From 2013-2015 Mika was a guest professor at the eLab at Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee

    From July - December 2013 Hannah was a researcher at the UdK's Design Research Lab

    From 2010-2012 Mika was a guest researcher in the Smart Textiles Design Lab at The Swedish School of Textiles

    From 2009 - 2011 Hannah was a graduate student in the MIT Media Lab's High-Low Tech research group led by Leah Buechley


    In 2009 Hannah and Mika were both research fellows at the Distance Lab


    Between 2003 - 2009 Hannah and Mika were both students at Interface Cultures
    We support the Open Source Hardware movement. All our own designs published on this website are released under the Free Cultural Works definition
    Conductive Materials

    Zebra Zebra Fabric (X-Zebra, Y-Eeonyx)

    Inspired by the availability of Zebra fabric and the fact that Eeonyx can coat a variety of materials in their secret resistive/piezoresistive formula, this post is about an idea for a fabric, that will hopefully “come true”.

    The idea is that, by coating the Zebra stripes in Eeonyx’s carbon polymer, the contact between the highly conductive material (silver plated nylon thread) and the resistive/piezoresistive material (Eeonyx) is made. The conductive zebra strips become the sensor leads, bringing the sensor data to the edge of the material – or can be picked up anywhere along the way.

    >> Flickr Set

    Fully Coated

    A Zebra fabric coated fully in Eeonyx would allow one to measure the resistance of the Eeonyx coated fabric between the conductive zebra strips, and how this resistance changes when stretched/pressured.

    Partially Coated

    A Zebra fabric coated partially (in strips or fields) of Eeonyx, would allow one to isolate the areas of sensing.

    Stripes to produce overlapping squares:

    Areas of Eeonyx:

    Freeform shapes of Eeonyx:

    Wide-Stripe Zebra Fabric (Pitch – 31.5mm(c)/6.5mm(nc)
    Narrow Stripe Zebra Fabric (Pitch – 8.125mm(c)/7.5mm(nc)
    c = conductive
    nc=non-conductive

    2 Comments so far

    1. Indula on November 12th, 2014

      I work as the Dep Gen Mgr leading Technology Comercialisation for Innovation Projects for a Multi national company. WE are a manufacturer of apparal for the worlds leading brands of sports (including 2008 & 2012 olympics), intimates and swimwear, now getting into the sphere of wearable technology. Very interested in solutions for soft non chafing textile base sensor electrodes (currently for ECG and Bio Impedance), soft pliable low profile conductive pathways and novel & innovative connector possibilities.

    2. Professor Cyril Hilsum on February 16th, 2015

      Dear Hannah and Mika
      I work for a new company in wearables, Infi-Tex, which has acquired the assets and IPR of Softswitch. We are interested in obtaing samples of Zebra Fabric that has conductive stripes spaced to match commercially available connectors, that is width and spacing 1.27mm (0.05″). Later we may need even more closely spaced connectors, 0.64mm, 0.64 mm apart. The fabric can be similar to the one shown on your site.
      Is this something you can make or obtain for us? I’ll happily answer questions.
      Kind regards
      Cyril

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