x Anouk Wipprecht – Hystrix

Hystrix (2017)
Wearable Robotics – Interactive Fashion
Exhibited at B4B3L4B Gallery

Hystrix is a collaboration with international robotics fashion designer Anouk Wipprecht. Combining Anouk’s talents and ingenuity for producing responsive wearable dresses and my interest in making invisible stressors apparent to others, we designed in collaboration with students at CCA a wearable modeled on the defense mechanisms of the porcupine. This wearable uses a system of sensors including temperature, galvanic skin response, pulse, and proximity to deduce the stress of the wearer in relation to their proximity to others. Pointed spikes are animated when the wearer’s stress levels go beyond a certain threshold. These spikes serve as an indicator to the wearer of their state of stress, as well as a message to surrounding threats to back off.

This project is currently being developed into its next stage: an app and wearable which allows people to monitor their stress and log the effects of street harassment in public space.