Electronic Piano Textiles

In the past, electronic pianos were rather large and bulky, but Smart Textiles has created a tablecloth capable of operating like a piano. Using conductive fibers and a series of other components, the fabric can be used to create a drum kit and piano keys that can be printed onto the cloth.

The electronic piano tablecloth is the work of Li Guo and Mats Johansson of Smart Textiles who merged their disciplines to create the technology that could transform live performances.

Johansson explained the fabric, saying: "The problem today is very much where you get this change from the actual fabric to some kind of electronics, from soft flexible things to the rigid hardware and of course the electricity, the batteries. They are difficult to make from the actual textiles but we have projects that try to look also into that. To make them even flexible and lighter and so on."