Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Medienwissenschaft

Knitting machines have been around since 1589 with William Lee's stocking frame, and the first consumer knitting machines produced at the end of the 19th century. This talk discusses hacking a Brother KH930 knitting machine, a consumer machine from the early 1980's, to work with modern computing. Computer scripted textile patterns will also be discussed as well as a hands-on demo with the hacked KH930. The knitting machine hacking scene has also exploded in the past few years, and there is great hope for even more automation and experimentation with older machines.

Fabienne Serriere is a hardware hacker who loves to make machine do more than they were designed to do. This year she is interested in knitting machines, automated plant growing systems (namely for orchids), and antennas for listening to LOE (low earth orbit) satellites and other flying objects.