The BIOdress

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a body-worn interface facilitating the communication between humans and their environment. It seeks to allow the wearer to understand the state of their natural environment through an extended state of embodiment. First, it discusses our motivation for sustainability and the need to change our anthropocentric attitude to a more holistic one that includes the natural environment. Then, it discusses how clothing can be seen as an immediate way of embodiment, and how computational technology and connection to the Internet of Things can contribute to the development of wearable interfaces, which expand our notion of the human body to include our natural environments. It then introduces the BIOdress, a bodyworn interface facilitating interspecies communication with a goal to create an expanded network of embodiment. The overall objective is to encourage human empathy beyond the anthropocentric towards more sustainable development. Show more