WEARABLE EXHIBITION PROJECT

CERES

Speculative design piece exploring the potentials in what we could wear in the future for asteroid mining activities.

OVERVIEW

Ceres is a futuristic jumpsuit that enhances our relationship with the cosmos through data, sensors, and textiles. It’s connected to NASA’s open source API and vibrates when it detects asteroids orbiting near earth. It’s inspired by NASA’s material research in mining potential valuable resources from asteroids. This project was developed to be showcased in wearable tech exhibitions and conferences globally.

ROLE:
Co-Founder, Wearable Media
Creative Direction, Lead Research, Apparel Design and Technical Illustrations, Sample Production, Collaborated on software and hardware engineering.

TIMELINE:
Fall 2017–Spring 2018

PARTNERS:
Yuchen Zhang, Wearable Media
Jingwen Zhu, Wearable Media

EXHIBITED AT:
2019
Future of Everything Festival,The Wall Street Journal, NY
Maker Festival, Taobao/Alibaba, Hangzhou, China
ON CANAL by Wallplay, NY

2018
Imagine Science Film Festival, NY

2017
Ghost in the Shell, Paramount Pictures and Yahoo!, Paris Fashion Week, Paris, France
Future Textile Library, EdLab Teacher’s College, Columbia University, NY
Stronger Together, Creative Tech Week, NY

FEATURED ON:
The Verge, CBC Radio, NEW INC, EdLab Studios, Columbia University

YEAR 2029

This was our first project at our studio, and we were selected for an exhibition by Paramount and Tumblr, who hosted an event at Paris Fashion Week for their release of the movie, “Ghost in the Shell”. This exhibition sought to bring together the worlds of film, fashion and technology, illustrating how technology is innovating fashion. We were challenged to envision what people would wear in the year 2029 in which the anime story takes place. With our love of sci fi, fashion, and technology, we wanted to design a highly conceptual and futuristic garment that could intimately connect our body to sense the cosmos around us. We strove to demonstrate our vision and capabilities in intersecting technology and fashion, and bringing a moon shot idea from concept to reality.

RESEARCH + CONCEPT

The NASA’s Space Apps Challenge hackathon I participated in seeded the idea for the design. Further reading of an article by William Steigerwald, "New NASA Mission to Help Us Learn How to Mine Asteroids" also helped us understand the background of this mission. The concepting process began by creating a mood board which would guide and inspire us in designing the silhouette of the jumpsuit. Sketches were then created to illustrate our vision. 

TIMELINE 

We had approximately 3 months to complete this project. We divided it into 4 phases, and our team worked in tandem on the design, prototype, production, and engineering. 

DESIGN + PROTOTYPE

From the initial sketches, I created technical illustrations for our sample production. We also developed a layout for the e-textile components which connected a microcontroller, vibration motors, and neopixel LED strips to the jumpsuit. We iterated on the design process several times to find the optimal fit, fabric material, and electronics to use. 

TECHNICAL FLOW

To illustrate the operation for the garment, we sketched out an interaction flow diagram. This also helped with programming the interactions needed for the microcontroller and sensors.

TOOLS + MATERIALS

There were several rapid prototyping sessions where we tested different methods and materials. We tested a a silicone solution to enclose the electronics and LEDs on the fabric. We designed and laser cutted acrylic molds which shaped the silicone encasements. Vibration motors were sewn and attached to the shoulder areas on the jumpsuit. We also designed 3D printed plastic casings that were based on asteroid shapes to house the microcontroller and battery. 

PROCESS

Sketching, Garment Design, Tech Pack, User Flow, Rapid Prototype for Software and Hardware, Textile Prototype, Iteration, Sewing, Silicone Molding and Fabrication, Casting, Soldering, Laser Cutter, 3D Print on Form Labs, Physical Computing

TECHNICAL

Adafruit Feather M0 Bluefruit LE, NASA's Asteroid Neo-Ws RESTful API, NeoPixel LED Strips, Vibration Motors

MATERIALS

Cotton Textile, Webbing for Straps, Metal Snap Buttons, Silicone, Shrink Wrap

OUTCOME + REFLECTION

Ceres gained attention from the media including The Verge, and CBC Spark in Canada, and we exhibited the piece globally including at EdLab Teacher's College, Columbia University, and at the Maker Festival by Taobao/Alibaba in Hangzhou, China. 

This project gave us momentum to develop our first wearable fashion product, GLOW. Through the prototyping and iteration processes, we learned how to work with new materials such as silicone solution, and engineer e-textile components onto fabric. I learned to lead and collaborate with our team to persevere through a conceptual moon shot idea, and build from concept to reality a futuristic clothing design that senses the world around you. 

“Wearable Media is filling a gap in the wearable industry, and it’s not just an aesthetic one. Their work pushes against popular ideas about what wearables are supposed to do. ”
— The Verge