Pupils design thinking fashion as a society mirror for sustainability
In a summer internship at the Pro²Future research center, students from the Ebensee fashion school combined fashion, technology and artificial intelligence in the GreenFashion4Future project.
“The young designers have shown how they can shape our and their own future,” said the managing director of Pro2Future GmbH DI Gerd Hribernig, proud of the success of the summer internship funded by the FFG. “Cognized fashion, that is, the combination of fashion and cognitive technologies, shows the creative power of young people. The fashion show at our partner conference was a great success ”, says Univ.-Prof. Dr. Alois Ferscha, the Scientific Director of Pro2Future GmbH.
The fashion show was the conclusion of summer internships, funded in the FFG Talents program and supported by Lenzing AG and the Ebensee fashion school, in which students from the Ebensee fashion school, together with Pro²Future, Area 1 Machine Perception and Awareness, addressed the following questions: what if do you use fashion or clothing to raise awareness of the need to change your behavior towards a more sustainable, greener way of life? What if you “cognize” clothes, i.e. combine fashion and technology to achieve exactly that?
This is how the Green Transport Skirt and Shirt and the Green Transport Tie, running clothes and a tie were prototypically created. Garments that light up in different colors depending on movement behavior patterns using IMU, an electronic device that measures acceleration, among other things, and artificial intelligence in connection with LEDs. This makes low-carbon (on foot, bicycle, public transport) and high-carbon (by car, motorcycle) mobility visible and creates new awareness for both the wearer and the viewer every day.
Another workpiece is the Sustainability Company Shirt, into which a QR code is sewn. This allows the wearer of the shirt to be identified and to collect points by taking environmentally conscious actions, such as entering a recycling station or switching off the light. If a certain number of points is reached, the points could be redeemed for a free breakfast in the company canteen, for example.
Or the Energy Harvester Coat, an outdoor coat suitable for everyday use, with integrated flexible photovoltaics, the energy of which is used to supply networked devices such as smartphones and / or Raspberry Pi applications with power. The aim is to provide an incentive to spend as much time as possible with the Energy Harvester Coat outdoors.
Other prototypes were the Environmental Awareness Dress, the Environmental Awareness Bag and the Safety Glove. The dress uses an integrated CO2 sensor and LEDs to indicate danger when a critical CO2 value is reached. The bag works on a similar principle, but with integrated fine dust sensors. The work glove triggers tactile feedback (vibration) as soon as the gas value measured by the integrated gas sensors reaches a critical level.
Inspired by the designed GreenFahion4Future, an emergency hoodie and an emergency jacket were also created, clothing that uses tactile feedback to indicate danger if too much pressure is exerted on the wearer.
The fashion students were consistently very interested in the necessary technical aspects, such as programming and soldering, which were necessary for the production of GreenFashion4Future. “Even if the main interest is still in fashion and working creatively, I can certainly imagine combining this creativity with technology in the future and using it for the creative technical field.”, Said one participant in the internship with conviction. The supervisor of the internships and Area Manager of Area 1, Mr. DI Michael Haslgrübler, was enthusiastic about the craftsmanship and the inspirational power that the fashion students displayed when implementing the prototypes and closed the fashion show and the internship with the words “Thank you for the support in the implementation of the fashionable aspects of GreenFashion4Future and for giving us the opportunity to get excited about technology and IT ”.
In addition to the fun, creativity and mutual enrichment that the internships within the framework of GreenFashion4Future made possible for Pro²Future and the students of the Ebensee fashion school, the prototypes presented gave a little foretaste of the countless possibilities that clothing in connection with integrated technology can offer to one make a valuable contribution to raising awareness of changes in everyday behavior.
Further Photos can be found via https://pro2future.at/6-profuture-partner-conference-hq-opening-2/
If we have aroused your interest in the prototypes produced, in joint research projects or in working with us (internships, scientific work, part-time, full-time) with GreenFashion4Future, you will find further information at www.pro2future.at
DI Michael Haslgrübler, Area Manager Area 1 Perception and Aware Systems
Mag. (FH) Sandra Neuhold-Pauer, Head of Organisational Development and HR Management
