Dr Richard Helmer: engineering next generation intelligent textiles

Researcher and musician Dr Richard Helmer has developed a virtual guitar based on a tee shirt with built-in movement sensors linked by wireless to a computer.

• 31 July 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Background
• Live on stage
• Diapers and batteries

Background

Dr Helmer specialises in adding electronic functionality to flexible materials such as textiles, paper and films.

Dr Helmer has been awarded from the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering with Honours
• Doctor of Philosophy.

As a Research Engineer at CSIRO, he has been developing commercial applications in electronic and intelligent textiles for many years.

He built the virtual or ‘air guitar’ to test his ideas on the feasibility of using electronic sensors in textiles to interface with computers.

Live on stage

The project draws on Dr Helmer’s lifelong interest in music — he’s a songwriter, drummer, guitarist, keyboardist and home recording enthusiast.

He’s also a veteran live performer with the Melbourne band Madhouse, with many cameos in other groups.

The air guitar consists of a regular tee shirt with integrated electronic circuitry, incorporating movement and strain sensors.

These interface with a computer through a built-in wireless transmitter in the shirt.

For the computer, Dr Helmer with assistance from a German exchange student Mr Thorsten Karrer, has written software that plays sampled guitar parts (notes, chords, riffs) in response to the player’s arm movements.

He says most people would find the instrument easy to play.

'They don’t need advanced musical or computing skills,' he says. 'And players have complete freedom of movement, with no wires to trip over.'

Diapers and batteries

Dr Helmer believes that as mobile computing becomes more widespread, electronic garments worn by users will be strong contenders for the control systems linking people to their electronic devices.

Using technology similar to the air guitar, Dr Helmer is working with the CSIRO Fibre Engineering team, as well as the Australian Institute of Sport, to add advanced functionality to a wide range of textile products.

These could find application in other areas including:

• entertainment
• sports medicine and training
• military
• rehabilitation
• medicine.

For example, he’s developing:

• new sports technologies with the AIS
• a garment with sensors to represent the human form in three-dimensions
• incontinence sensors for adult pads to assist nursing staff
• comfortable sensors for monitoring heart condition and vital signs
• small light batteries that can be ‘woven’ into garments
• an automatically-scoring boxing vest.

Find our more about our electronic textiles work in 'It's not rocket science... it's rockin' science'.