RFID Weaves a Tale With New Loom Technology

University researchers have developed a way to marry old technology, weaving, with something much more modern—video games—in order to help players create stories. The game, known as Loominary, employs RFID technology to link the ancient practice of weaving to an interactive, computer-based game that follows the life of Medusa, a monster of ancient Greek mythology. Loominary has been exhibited at several venues, and is now available to game developers on an open-source platform. It consists of passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID-tagged yarn shuttles, with antennas built into a loom to capture each time a shuttle is used to weave yarn through the tapestry.