Investigating Underdetermination Through Interactive Computational Handweaving

Presented at DIS 2020 by Lea Albaugh, Scott Hudson, Lining Yao, and Laura Devendorf.
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Computational handweaving combines the repeatable preci- sion of digital fabrication with relatively high production de- mands of the user: a weaver must be physically engaged with the system to enact a pattern, line by line, into a fabric. Rather than approaching co-presence and repetitive labor as a negative aspect of design, we look to current practices in procedural generation (most commonly used in game design and screen- based new media art) to understand how designers can create room for suprise and emergent phenomena within systems of precision and constraint. We developed three designs for blending real-time input with predetermined pattern features. These include: using camera imagery sampled at weaving time; a 1:1 scale tool for composing patterns on the loom; and a live “Twitch” stream where spectators determine the woven pattern.