Angelica Dass: Humanae Project

…but for the rest of us we rely on our waterproof jackets to stay dry in the rain. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly well-known that much of the technology used can accumulate in the environment and in body tissue. A team at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have developed a waterproofing technology that is both a technical and environmental breakthrough. They started with short-chain polymers (which only bioaccumulate a little but tend to perform worse) rather than long-chain polymers that are typically used (that bioaccumulate a lot but perform better). They then used a process to apply the waterproofing that had been developed at MIT called initiated chemical Vapour Deposition (iCVD). Whereas usually a material is submerged in a liquid waterproofing  that blocks the pores of the fabric thus requiring a further process to open them up again to make a breathable fabric, iCVD doesn’t blog the pores in the first place. the technology is being further developed and the team are looking to license it to outdoor and clothing brands and manufacturers.

website link: MIT Develops Nontoxic Alternative to Water-Repellent Coatings, MIT Press Office, July 2nd 2018

I find saddle points (or hyperbolic paraboloids as they’re mathematically known) a deeply pleasing shape. This little hook was developed as part of a large project we’ve been collaborating on. It’s strong and safe as it has no sharp edges.

For more hyperbolic paraboloid and origami joy pop down the rabbit hole that is the website of Erik Demaine

Website link: Erik Demaine

Wouldn’t it be nice to have even natural light in a room regardless of the position of the sun in the sky? One unexpected way to achieve this could be to use wooden panels. Clearly (!) not just an 8′ x 4′ from the builder’s merchant but a new transparent material developed At the University of Maryland. The wood is soaked in a solution to remove the lignin that gives wood its brown colour. Unfortunately removing the lignin also removes its strength and so the material then needs to be treated with epoxy to restore it.

Website link: Wood windows are cooler than glass, University of Maryland, August 16th 2016

This glove may look cumbersome but it could seriously reduce the communication burden for thousands of sign language users. It can translate the 26 letters of ASL (American Sign Language) into text and the current version was built for less that $100 using stretchable and printable electronics that are easily commercially available. The glove has the potential to allow sign language users to travel through everyday situations such as train stations or supermarkets without needing a human translator to communicate their questions or needs.

Website link: Low-Cost Smart Glove Translates American Sign Language Alphabet and Controls Virtual Objects, 12th July 2017, University of California, San Diego

A focus on frugality and a willingness to explore unlikely mechanisms has led this team of Stanford bioengineers to develop an incredibly low cost ‘paperfuge’ – a centrifuge made of paper that requires no electricity – as a diagnostic tool to serve the one billion people worldwide who live without infrastructure such as roads and electricity.

Website link: Inspired by a whirligig toy, Stanford bioengineers develop a 20-cent, hand-powered blood centrifuge, 10th January 2017, Stanford University

This morning we were discussing how hot a roomful of 30 people doing tap get in the summer (not a theoretical discussion but a pressing one after a very hot tap class). Another person in the class had a cooling towel which was as cool as if it had been in the fridge. Here at Thread, a casual morning question of ‘how was your evening?’ can quickly descend/ascend into a discussion of evaporative cooling, thermal conduction, absorptive properties of different textiles and potential surface treatments to alter the perceived temperature of a fabric.

We’re delighted that the GoBag 2 Kickstarter campaign has launched and already exceeded its £10,000 goal and is heading up.

Website link: GoBag Kickstarter campaign

This month we’re back in Thailand, finalising the production set-up for a product launching later this year. We’ve been developing the product with our client for four years and we can’t say much until it’s launched but here’s a photo of a bit of cardboard engineering (while we wait for a component to arrive) helping to feed some binding tape flat into a sewing machine.

I’m British. It’s over 30 degrees centigrade. Today I want to be covered in this cooling film

Website link: Newly engineered material can cool roofs, structures with zero energy consumption, 9th February 2017, University of Colorado Boulder

In his book, Things come apart, Todd McLellan takes everyday objects, breaks them down into their constituent parts, lays them out and photographs them. These images highlight the hidden complexity of the products around us. Take a sewing machine, for example. We see a smoothly moulded plastic (or on industrial machines a cast steel) shell that hides the numerous mechanisms and components that can take two separate and continuous threads and make a linear connection between two panels, or in simpler terms stitch two things together.

At Thread, we often (well, not that often but probably more than the typical person) talk about how brilliant a sewing machine is and so we particularly liked to see it carefully disassembled. Not so keen on the picture that followed this one of the sewing machine seeming to explode though.

If you look carefullly to the bottom right hand corner of the main shell you can see 12 sewing pins. Pins always get everywhere so I’m not surprised to see that they got inside the sewing machine!

Great to see all the hard work that went into this product being recognised

Website link: reddot award winner 2017 – N-Pro scrum cap

…turn the heating down and put another jumper on, except that now that extra jumper might be dip-coated in a silver nanowire solution that makes the fabric highly radiation insulating. It could even reflect back over 90% of a user’s body heat whereas the average item of clothing reflects around 20%. At the Yi Cui lab at Stanford University fabrics have been created that have silver nanowires embedded in them to reflect human body infrared radiation while maintaining the original breathability of the fabric. This doesn’t get around the problem of persuading someone to put a jumper on in the first place though….

Website link: Personal Thermal Management by Metallic Nanowire-Coated Textile, Nano Letters, 2014

Researchers at the University of Warwick have developed a low-cost conductive plastic composite that can be 3D printed using a standard 3D printer. This opens up possibilities for printing electronically functional objects rather than just beautiful models that have no functionality. Currently they have produced a partial glove that allows for the movement of a hand to be tracked and slightly more comically a mug with embedded sensors that can detect how full it is.

Website link: University of Warwick – Engineers pave the way towards 3D printing of personal electronics

Website link: Research article – A Simple, Low-Cost Conductive Composite Material for 3D Printing of Electronic Sensors

How can baby product design save parents time? Reduced mess = less tidying.

Rachel and Tom Wood are parents of twins – and time sapped as a result. Seeking to save on tidying and clothes changes (or messy kids) after mealtimes, Rachel began experimenting with bibs. They approached Thread with a prototype made from a broken umbrella that strapped onto highchair trays, because they wanted to turn their functional lash-up into a product.

Thread explored design options and prototyped them for user testing. We developed the chosen concept further to be made from a single pattern piece that was adjustable to increase the age range of the product, and could fit a wide range of high chairs.

This bib catches mess that would otherwise end up on clothes and the floor. We can vouch for it as Thread’s directors tested a pre-production prototype with their first child.

We’re delighted that Bibado has launched this week and is available to buy.

For a long time all bikes were made of steel, then came aluminium and then carbon fibre. For fairly similar reasons (improved strength per unit weight) KONE have developed the Ultrarope (TM) lift cables based on a carbon fibre core. The limiting factor for the length of current lifts is the strength to weight ratio of steel that the cables are made of. At a certain length the weight of the steel is greater than the steel itself can withstand. This currently limits lifts to around 500m tall. Hope the ride quality is more comfortable than a carbon fibre bike!

Website link: “The other mile-high club”, The Economist, 15th June 2013

Website link: KONE Ultrarope (TM), press release, 10th June 2013

A complete set of body armour made of bones has been discovered in Omsk, Siberia and according to Yury Gerasimov, a research fellow of the Omsk branch of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, it would have “given good protection from weapons that were used at the time – bone and stone arrowheads, bronze knives, spears tipped with bronze, and bronze axes.” Bones are naturally well-suited to resisting blunt trauma as they are not a single solid material but made up of two distinct types of tissue: the compact bone tissue that makes up the smooth outer surface and the trabecular bone tissue of the interior which is made up of rod and plate like elements. These two structures would dissipate energy under impact therefore helping to protect the person underneath. We’ve worked on the human factors side of body armour and it’s amazing how ancent body armour can provide inspiration for modern concepts.

Website link: Warrior’s 3,900 year old suit of bone armour unearthed in Omsk, Siberian Times, 6th September 2014

India has a long history of textile skill in development and production. This is reflected in the number of words we have in English that derive from Indian languages including calico, gingham, khaki, seersucker and chintz. The technique of mordant dyeing (that uses natural dyes to gives intense colours that don’t fade) was used in India from 2-3 thousand years ago. Until the 18th century Europe was less skilled than India in textile production. With the industrial revolution there was and has continued to be huge development in Europe but recent research suggests that India may be about to increase its share of the technical textiles world market share.

There are difficulties as many of the raws ingredients have to be imported (which increases the cost) and power supplies can be unreliable. However the Indian government is actively supporting the technical textiles industry and the sector is expected to grow by around 20% annually to reach a value of £16.25 billion by 2016-2017.

Website link: Technical Textile Market in India 2012-2016, August 2013

Silk is an extraordinary material with several amazing properties. It can provide excellent ballistic protection and has been used extensively in the past and perhaps slightly more surprsingly is part of the current issue of kit for British soldiers. Here at Thread we know that silk (both silkworm and spider) can do these suprising things and yet we were still impressed to hear of screws for pinning broken bones being made of silk. The screws are created by moulding and baking a silk fibroin (an insoluble protein created by spiders) material. These screws are self-tapping and reduce stress shielding (where pins and implants can reduce the stress on a bone which can in turn reduce its density and strength) and promote bone remodelling.

Website link: The use of silk-based devices for fracture fixation, Nature Communications, 4th March 2014

Jacquard punchcards

Jacquard weaving is a development of traditional loom weaving that integrates a system of punched cards (see above) that can control the position of the warp (lengthways threads) and therefore what colour and pattern is visible on the surface of the fabric. These punchcards automate what appears to be a complex process into a simple, repetitive one. This formed the basis of punch card data storage systems, notably Herman Hollerith’s machines and company that went on to become the core of IBM. It’s a curious thought that the roots of all the electronic, digital systems in use today were in the creation of patterned textiles. It seems to me this shows that it’s hard to predict where a technical innovation might eventually lead.

The Jacquard loom could use this simple system to produce images of incredible complexity. The portrait to the left was produced on a Jacquard loom using black and white silk which makes it a very early digital image. The automation of the pattern creation significantly reduced the cost of creating woven patterns and therefore made them available to far more people.

This excellent video on the V&A website illustrates clearly how Jacquard weaving can create complex patterns.

Website link: a video of how Jacquard weaving works, V&A museum

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have that a small plant-hopping insect, the Issus, has hind leg joints that very closely resemble mechanical gears like those in a car gearbox. These gears ensure that the Issus’ hind legs move with precise synchronisty when it starts to jump. In fact greater synchronicity than if the legs were controlled by neural signals alone. As Malcolm Burrows from the University of Cambridge says ‘In Issus, the skeleton is used to solve a complex problem that the brain and nervous system can’t.’ This is a really interesting example of a mechanical solution to what appears to be a nervous system issue. It reminds me of the origins of computing in Jacquard weaving….

Website link: “Functioning ‘mechanical gears’ seen in nature for the first time”, 12th September 2013

Insulin pumps and beauty pageants: one a fairly frequent topic of discussion at Thread the other less so but Miss Idaho 2014 caught our attention. Sierra Sandison has type 1 diabetes and rather than hide her insulin pump she simply wore it on the waistband of her bikini. We were very happy to see this as for the last few years we’ve been involved in developing and prototyping pouches for insulin pumps for a major medical equipment brand. Where previously the only option for a pouch was black (always black), plain and generic there is now effort to create pouches that fit in with people’s lives and wardrobes.

Website link: #showmeyourpump takes off as diabetics inspired by beauty queen post proud pictures of their insulin pumps, The Independent, 19th July 2014

In a recent meeting there was a discussion about obscuring the outline of an object or body which reminded me of this early and bold camouflage. There was no science behind it when it was created just a feeling that it might make things more difficult. Recent research at the University of Bristol has shown that for large, slow-moving boats it is ineffective but for faster moving vehicles, such as a land-based car or truck, it may well provide an advantage. A surprising way to make something more difficult to discern.

Website link: That old razzle dazzle, The Economist, June 7th 2011

Website link: Camouflage, detection and identification of moving targets,Proceedings of the Royal Society B – Biological Sciences, vol 280.

With increasing demand for sustainable alternatives so it makes sense to minimise the weight of the sustainable energy production system so that it’s easier to deliver and uses less fossil fuel to do so! GE are developing a woven fabric that is based on fibreglass and will be tough and flexible. It will be tensioned over a steel frame and could be assembled on site rather that requiring expensive fibreglass lay-up moulds and avoiding the need to transport a blade that is 10’s of metres long.

Its interesting that technological developments can often seem cyclical, fabric covered wing structures were used in the first aeroplanes as it created a lightweight, relatively rigid structure and now that concept is being reused and updated with tecnical textiles.

Website link: GE Reports: “Can you knit a wind turbine?”, 3rd December 2012

We’ve just returned from the techtextil tradefair in Frankfurt. Technical textiles and non-wovens as far as the eye could see! Some interesting new materials and some great new suppliers. Lots of development happening in the integration of leds into textiles. I think we’re still a way off it being a mainstream technology though (it’s those pesky batteries that are needed). Now to sort through all the samples, business cards and brochures!

Website link: techtextil

Just finished a quote for some potential work on prosthetic limbs (which we’re very excited about). We came across this amazing organisation during a bit of background research. The Alternative Limb Project creates prosthetic limbs for individuals, either ones that are so realistic it’s disconcerting in a ‘why isn’t that attached to a person?’ kind of a way or incredible limbs that are definitely not designed to match a typical limb. It seems strange to be thinking of a prosthetic limb as a fashion accessory but this one surely must be?

“My attitude to being an amputee and wearing an artificial limb has changed with time. To begin with one is very aware of being different, of being disfigured, but as time moves on one adjusts and changes perspective. In the first few years my focus was on trying to be normal, wearing clothes that hid the fact that I was an amputee, but over the years I have become more comfortable with who I am and I now embrace having different legs for different activities and different occasions”
Kiera Roche, Chairperson for Limb Power

Website link: The Alternative Limb Project

Website link: Limb Power – life after limb loss

This video from 1957 of a rock making factory in London is astonishing. The letters in rock seemed magical enough anyway but now they seem even more extraordinary. Sometimes things are made in the most unexpectedly simple way. In the case of rock, a bit of scaling makes it all work perfectly: build really big letters and then stretch them until they’re small. (I also think the voiceover and background music adds a little extra charm.)

Website link: British Pathé video clip archive

Jonathan Ive talking about beauty, making stuff and being a kid who knows what they want to do. I heard this a few months ago and loved it. He’s so understated and sensible.

Website link: Jonathan Ive talks to James Naughtie on the Today programme

This bowl is made of 100% cork but processed in such a way that it apparently feels more similar to leather and is very pliable. This seems like it could be useful for something less decorative and more function-led. Cork provides excellent insulation (I think I’ve heard that is was used on the early Russian spacecraft) and protection from impact. It says it’s 100% cork but I wonder if there are any adhesives, resins etc used to bind it together? It seems there probably are so not quite 100% cork…

Website link: how cork is made

Website link: Adjust-a-bowl at Branch, sustainable design for living

A new Banksy has appeared on the wall of a Poundland store in north London.

Website link: The Independent: Banksy gets the bunting out in north London, 15th May 2012

The Igarashi Design Interface Project at the Japan Science and Technology Agency is developing software that allows the user to draw in physical space on a mannequin to generate digital patterns that can be manipulated in software. There are a few basic tools for creating sweeps of fabric, cut-outs and seam lines. I can see this being really useful for other fabric products like personal protective equipment (where fit and so ergonomics are vital), pushchair hoods (which can be made up of sveral compound curves in 3-D – not easy to model in 3-D software alone) etc. I hope this is developed further…and soon.

Extreme loading on webbing straps: Rhino relocation
This photo is from the latest rhino move, where 19 of the creatures were taken by WWF, Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, SANParks, and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife on a 1,000 mile journey across South Africa to reside in a new location in the Limpopo province. There are only about 5,000 critically endangered black rhinos in all of Africa. Because they’re not the most social of animals, they need a lot of space to roam around and play their rhino games. This means that, as populations slowly recover, they need to be spread out. In the past, moving a rhino involved tranquilizing it, loading it into a truck, and carting it over bumpy African roads. This was not good for the rhino. Sometimes, rhinos were carried by helicopters in nets, but that led to breathing problems. Today, conservationists are using a new technique–tying the animals by the ankles and flying them by helicopter–to get rhinos from one place to another.

Website link: Operation rhino drop, co.exist: world changing ideas and innovation

We received two samples of 50mm wide webbing today and there was a “The Devil wears Prada” moment when we were discussing which would work best in a particular design and somebody exclaimed that it wasn’t an obvious decision as they were just so different!

Website link: “these belts are just so different”, The Devil wears Prada

“Saying that someone is simple is a little bit insulting, whereas it should be the highest compliment. It’s very simple to make things difficult and very difficult to make things simple. Things generally start simple, get difficult, then become simple again. The middle bit is where you learn the value of simplicity and try to regain it.”

Website link: The Guardian, 17th March 2007