I’ve worked together with Mickel on the design of the actual vest. Mickel makes extravagant suits and has a feel for the effect of textile techniques. First we talked through the whole vest and the atmosphere that it should breath. I took all my requisites and net fabric that I ordered online from a firm that makes rucksacks. We made a sketch and decided that the three display colours should reappear as bulky pockets on the sides.
With only two seams Mickel made the vest look a lot more sturdy. We studied some examples of pockets and did some tests. Sewing the actual pocket with extra net pocket and flap proved a lot of work. The result is a bit too overdone to my taste. But unless you make it you can’t tell what will work. Some slight changes will be necessary to achieve the right effect. The actual display is still in its’ infancy where integration in the vest is concerned.
I have been working on the display elements for all three gasses. I use conductive fabric that will heat up causing the ink to turn transparent. It was quite a research to get the shapes right. The lines have to be the same width everywhere otherwise the current won’t go through the whole strip. They shouldn’t be too wide because there will not be enough resistance to generate heat. Nor should they be too narrow because the fabric will burn. After I found the right width and shape I measured the voltage and ampere values for each strip. They differ quite a lot because each strip varies in size and form. Voltages range from 0,38 to 3,56 volt. Amperes are between 1,82 and 2. Heating times are between 10 and 40 seconds but they are very much depending on the temperature of the environment .
The result should be a nice animation of evenly lit strips of reflective fabric. If it needs some extra stitching remains to be seen. The three displays should be integrated with the same look and feel as the pockets to give it a work wear quality.