“It is a multi-modal approach that has never been tried before,” says Professor Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann, coordinator of the HAPTEX project. HAPTEX stands for Hap tic sensing of virtual textiles.

The new system is a major breakthrough achieved through highly focused work of a small consortium of five research institutes. In just three years, they have created a pre-commercialization prototype of the device and its related multi-modal software.

But it was not easy. Creating the realistic sensation of deformable textiles required a huge amount of modeling. “That was our first big challenge,” says Magnenat-Thalmann, taking precise measurements of the tensile, bending and stretching properties of the material.

“You also need very high resolution; the visual system will give a realistic impression of movement with just 20 frames a second, but touch is much more sensitive. You need a thousand samples a second to recreate touch,” she tells ICT Results.

Major challenges

In the end, the team created two models. One global model tracks the overall properties of the material. A second, fine-resolution model then maps the actual sensation on skin. All this information had to be combined with a detailed visual representation of the textile.

“That was another major problem,” notes Magnenat-Thalmann, “because the two must be in sync or the sensation will not be realistic.” Like a video with the audio out of sync, any latency between the visual and the sensual destroys the effect.

These were three major challenges from the outset, but they were just the beginning. “We had major jobs to do with the hardware, too. Nobody has combined a force-feedback device with a tactile one,” reports Magnenat-Thalmann.

HAPTEX overcame this problem by developing a powered exoskeleton glove with a pair of pin arrays that provide tactile sensation to two fingers. The glove gives the sensation of bending and stretching the fabric, while the pin arrays convey texture. Then this integrated device is combined with the visual and tactile database to give an overall impression.

Feeling believes

“We have a working prototype device and we have validated it. It gives a reliable and reproducible sensation of real fabrics in a virtual world,” says Magnenat-Thalmann.

Reviewers were very impressed with the project’s results, but Magnenat-Thalmann says the project did not achieve all that they hoped for. “Originally, our vision was to create a system that allowed users to distinguish between, say, cotton, wool and silk in a blind test. The system is not that sensitive yet.”

It is, however, in pre-commercialization form. The team now hopes to secure funding for a second project that will take the device from prototype stage to full commercialization. If they succeed, it will be a first of its kind.

It will also mean entirely new markets. The textile industry and online shopping are obvious examples, but Magnenat-Thalmann also sees applications in gaming, where it could be used to make virtual worlds more realistic.

25,000 textile workers protest poor wages in Bangladesh

September 22, 2007

DHAKA (AFP) — At least 25,000 textile workers defied a ban on protests in emergency-ruled Bangladesh on Saturday to demand back-pay and bonuses in one of the country's biggest industrial zones, police said.

The workers walked off the job in the Tejgaon Industrial Area in Dhaka and held protests in the streets, forcing the shutdown of most factories in the area, assistant police commissioner Moshiur Rahman said.

Police used batons to break up protests after demonstrators smashed the windows of several factories, Rahman said, adding army personnel and the elite Rapid Action Battalion were deployed.

"The protests have calmed down," Rahman said. "We have told factory owners to sit with the workers to settle the wage dispute. Otherwise, it may flare up again."

Police reported no injuries from their actions to disperse the protesters.

But at least 50 people, including four policemen, were injured when protesters using sticks and stones clashed with factory workers who refused to join the protests, the private UNB news agency said.

Police said a bus was torched by workers after it hit three protesters.

The military-backed government has banned all kinds of protests and rallies and has said it will not tolerate any unrest in the important textile sector, which is crucial to impoverished Bangladesh's export earnings.

Tejgaon is home to some of Bangladesh's top garment factories.

Garments are Bangladesh's biggest export earners with sales abroad fetching more than nine billion dollars, or three-quarters of the country's total export earnings, in the last fiscal year.

But the industry has been hit by a series of protests over low wages and poor working conditions. Sixteen factories were torched and hundreds vandalised last year in the country's worst ever labour unrest.

The protests came to a halt late in 2006 when the government, unions and the employers agreed to a 25-dollar monthly minimum wage.

The government has issued several warnings to the factories to implement the minimum wage but according to the unions just 20 percent have done so.

"We have conducted surveys in the country's main industrial zones and found that only 20 per cent of the country's some 4000 factories have implemented the minimum wages," Moshrefa Mishu, president of Garment Workers Unity Forum, said.

In the latest warning, the government has said it will take legal action against factories that fail to implement the minimum wage by September 30.

The deadline has so far been deferred at least twice.

"The situation is very tense and is deteriorating every day. In addition, recent increases in food and commodity prices have even made the minimum wage meaningless," said Mishu, who led last year's labour protests.

But the president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Anwarul Alam Parvez, said that "97 per cent of our factories have implemented the minimum wages."

He called the demands of the workers "illegitimate and unacceptable."

Bangladesh has been under emergency rule since January 11 after elections were cancelled over vote-rigging allegations.

Job description and activities:

Textiles designers work in knit, weave and print to create two-dimensional designs that can be produced in a design repeat for the production of commercial or artistic fabrics or textile products.

Working in both industrial and non-industrial locations, they often specialize or work in a specialist context, within the textile industry. The two major fields are:

* Interiors (upholstery, soft furnishings and carpets);

* Fabrics for clothing (fashion or specialist, e.g. fire-proof).

Textile designers may also work in associated industry functions, for example, designing wrapping paper, packaging, greetings cards and ceramics.

Typical work activities include:

* making up sets of sample designs;

* working out a design formula for a group of samples;

* liaising with clients, technical staff, marketing and buying staff to plan and develop designs;

* Accurately interpreting and representing clients' ideas;

* producing sketches and design ranges for presentation to customers;

* assessing and approving completed items;

* working independently, if self-employed, or liaising closely with colleagues as part of a small team;

* using specialist computer aided design (CAD) software to produce a range of designs;

* experimenting with color, fabric and texture;

* maintaining up-to-date knowledge of new design and production techniques;

* developing new design concepts;

* ensuring that projects are completed on time;

* visiting sites and other sources of ideas for designs;

* sourcing fabrics and other materials at trade fairs, markets and antique shops;

* Attending trade shows, as a delegate or as an exhibitor - this may involve representing the company with a display or stand, or appraising the work of competitors;

* keeping up to date and spotting fashion trends in fabric design by reading forecasts in trade magazines and using internet resources;

* developing a network of business contacts;

* if self-employed, managing marketing, finances and day-to-day business activities.