Objective
SPARK design & innovation asked me and Spinnov BV to help them in making a prototype of a foldable roadsign. The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences had asked SPARK to make working prototypes of three different patents, one being a foldable roadsign. My expertise in combining textile and electronics made me responsible for this part of the prototype. The project got media attention in Kuwait and in the Dutch design magazine 'dude'.
PROOF OF CONCEPT PROTOTYPING
PROTOTYPING & TESTING
Objective
SPARK design & innovation asked me and Spinnov BV to help them in making a prototype of a foldable roadsign. The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences had asked SPARK to make working prototypes of three different patents, one being a foldable roadsign. My expertise in combining textile and electronics made me responsible for this part of the prototype. The project got media attention in Kuwait and in the Dutch design magazine 'dude'.
PROOF OF CONCEPT PROTOTYPING
PROTOTYPING & TESTING
Approach
The patent for the foldable roadsign was quite vague and therefore we decided on a specific focus for the product during a brainstorm session with SPARK. After that session the project was divided in to two fases: proof of concept to decide the techniques and the building of a high fidelity prototype. SPARK would focus on the casing, Spinnov on the electronics and Studio Stefan Zwegers on the integration of the electronics in the textile.
Prototyping + Testing
One of the main requirements was the possible mass production of such a foldable roadsign. We therefore wanted to make a textile printed circuit board using industrial machines. Experiments were done with conductive yarn and an embroidery machine and we managed to make small textile pcb's. After having found a big industrial embroidery machine we were able to make the large textile pcb for the roadsign. In the end the prototype was succesfully presented in Kuwait by SPARK.
Photos of the STOP sign courtesy of SPRAK design & innovation
