In today’s tech-infused world, just about any inanimate object can send a message to your phone. From wireless speakers and security systems to major appliances and furniture, these innovations have found their way into both our residential and commercial interiors. At Elizabeth Whelan Design in Portland, ME, even fabric has graduated from a decorative backdrop to an intelligent communicative device.
The textile design studio recently created its first-ever smart textile, LED 2b2, a fabric woven with a yarn embedded with LED technology that can send data. Initially installed onto a Morrison panel by Knoll for use in a commercial space, Elizabeth Whelan, founder and principal designer of Elizabeth Whelan Design, is excited about the textile’s future capabilities for real-world problems.
“It is both an aesthetically beautiful fabric and a communication device,” Whelan says. “Once the fabric is woven with the LED yarn, it can be programmed to respond in a variety of ways, and its methods of communication can be read by using an app on a mobile device.”