Case study — Interaction design

In Between

An interdisciplinary semester project about the dynamics of communication in close relationships, built from knitted piezoresistive garments and an ambisonic sound system. Three people wear pieces that connect them; the distance between their bodies becomes the instrument.

Role

E-textiles and sensor development, interaction design, testing

Timeline

Four months, 2022–23

Team

With Alexander Mass — TU

Tools

Prym Maxi knitting mill, Max 8, Ambisonic system

The knitted sensor panel worn on the body and draped over a dress form

The premise

Proximity used to do the work. Standing close to someone gave you gesture, expression, tone — everything that sits underneath the words. Instant messaging and social media changed the arrangement: we now communicate most deliberately at distance, and least clearly up close.

Both states have a cost. In close quarters, finding the right words gets harder amid ambient noise. At distance, the message is considered but the emotional register goes missing. The project sits in the gap between those two — hence the name.

Knitted swatches in pale and dark conductive yarn, one clipped to a test lead

Making the material

E-textiles
Piezoresistive knit
Sensor testing
Max 8
Granular synthesis

A piezoresistive knitted sensor that bounces — and the sound bounces with it.

Playing the material

Sound is off by default; the control is in the corner.

What the piece does

Drawn close, the conversations overlap. Moving apart, they come clear — the garment plays the distance between people.

How it works

As the fabric stretches or relaxes, the movement modulates the soundscape. Granular synthesis blends ambient noise with clear spoken words inside an ambisonic sphere, and the tension in the garment focuses those voices onto a particular point in the room — so the sound has a position, not just a volume.