bYOB [Build Your Own Bag]: a computationally-enhanced modular textile system

We present bYOB (Build Your Own Bag), a flexible, computationally enhanced modular textile system from which to construct smart fabric objects. bYOB was motivated by a desire to transform everyday surfaces into ambient displays for information and to make building with fabric as easy as playing with Lego blocks. In the realm of personal architecture, bYOB is an interactive material that encourages users to explore and experiment by creating new objects to seamlessly integrate into their lives. The physical configuration of the object mediates its computational behavior. Therefore, an object built out of the system of modular elements understands its geometry and responds appropriately without any end-user programming. Our current prototype is a bag built out of the system that understands it is a bag when the handle is attached to the mesh of modules, responds by illuminating its fabric and inner contents when the sun goes down (Fig 1), communicates the presence of objects placed in the bag, and interacts with the user via speech. We describe how bYOB contributes to and differs from existing work in modular based systems and fabric interfaces. We discuss our development process in respect to physical, electronic, and conceptual design. We also describe salient features and future applications enabled by this new construction kit.