Nien Lam

Warning Signs is a visualization of the pollution that exists invisibly all around us. When the wearable senses carbon monoxide, the piece subtly changes color and pattern to indicate higher levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere to the wearer and those around him or her. This piece was designed and created by Nien Lam and Sue Ngo.

photographed by miriam simun

Laser cutting thermochromic fabric for a wearable.

We’ve been experimenting with other heating elements to visualize patterns on thermochromic fabric. In our past tests we used conductive thread as the heating element but find it doesn’t carry enough current over longer distances to sufficiently heat the fabric. Here are some tests we did with creating heating elements with normal resistors and muscle wire. Muscle wire may be the way to go as it is flexible and does a good job heating the fabric. Next step is to create a wearable piece of clothing.

The fabric:
We are experimenting with NOVACHROMIC thermochromatic fabric. The color of the fabric will appear brown when cool but will change to yellow when touched or heated at the point of contact.

The form:
We are choosing to make a hoodie to afford us more room to work with and is a commonly worn daily outerwear. We integrating the thermachromatic fabric with regular fabric.

The desired visualization:
We want to create a visualization on the fabric using conductive yarn, fabric, and possibly different inks (as seen in the video below)

Sensing for Volatile Organic Compounds:
Carbon Monoxide Sensor – MQ-7

Gas Sensor Break-out board

Methane CNG Gas Sensor – MQ-4

Theragrip Thermal Tape

Amulets are ancient objects thought to give protection against evil, danger, or disease. They are normally kept on a rope or chain and hang around your neck. The corporate ids we see today remind me of these amulets, though their function is for identification and entry to secure areas. They have your photo on them and look very generic. It would be possible to create modern day amulets with embedded RFIDs and fiduciary makers that would not only replace ids, but all the cards and keys we normally carry around with us. Beyond it’s functional use, everyone could have custom designed amulets that better express the person it adorns. My amulet is of a snake, which is my Chinese zodiac sign.

I normally wear eyeglasses to correct my vision. Though I could be more comfortable and wear contact lenses, I choose to wear glasses for more vain reasons. I would even go as far as saying that my glasses are a bit pretentious. Nevertheless, I think of my glasses as a mask that already represents me. I wanted to take this idea further and really exaggerate my glasses and eyes. To construct this mask I used photos of my own eyes and some large costume glasses.

The mask here intended to “hide” me is made to look like the smiley face emoticon. It is constructed using the the individual keys from computer keyboards. The digital motif is based on the idea that my identity is constructed and discovered with a computer. Things like my Facebook profile, my blog, and my tweets are a way I can control how the world perceives me. I see these online tools as something I can hide behind.

This is a simple wireless circuit I created using a coin cell battery, a LED, and sheet metal. I used my wedding ring as a switch to close the circuit. The challenge here was to find conductive material that was not electrical wiring. I incorporated my ring since it is something conductive that I have with me all the time.