Heat-sensitive sonic textiles: increasing awareness of the energy we save by wearing warm fabrics

In this paper we describe the development of two heat and movement-sensitive sonic textile prototypes. The prototypes interactively sonify in real-time the bodily temperature of the person who wears them, complementing the user’s felt experience of warmth. The main aim is making users aware of the heat exchanges between the body, the fabric, and the surrounding environment through nonintrusive and creative sonic interactions. After describing the design challenges and the technical development of the prototypes - in terms of textile fabrication, electronics and sound components - we discuss the results of two user experiments. In the first experiment, two different sonification approaches were evaluated allowing us to select the most appropriate for the task. The prototypes’ use-experience was explored in the second experiment. QC 20230614