Textiles that clean the air using light? It's possible thanks to recent developments in nano coatings, based on titanium dioxide and copper.
Onda shows how air purifiers could look with this technology. It changes the role of these devices from purely functional, to a canvas for personal expression.
Users choose a frame and custom textile design that fits their style. By pressing on the fabric they can check the air quality. This activates a light that will glow slow and calm while the air is clean, but becomes quick and stressed when sensing pollution.
Coached by Loe Feijs
Special thanks to Grafisch Atelier Daglicht
Work: Hardware and textile design, interaction design, photography and video
Via research by Built Environment at Eindhoven University of Technology I stumbled upon a nano coating that cleans the air silently and invisibly, using visible light.
I saw an opportunity to apply this coating on textiles, to create a different kind of air purifier. In the process I considered many form factors and textiles, to find a balance between functionality and user experience.
Users want to see something, to believe that the air becomes cleaner.
(Yang & Newman, 2013)
As both nano particles and air are invisible, I used lights as a metaphor. In the tests users associated slower speeds good air, while frenzied lights were connected to pollution.
