I missed the Osloom open source Jacquard loom at Maker Faire but it sounds like an incredible demo! It was also displayed at the Open Hardware Summit. It’s a computer controlled, electromechanical, thread-controlled floor loom:
The alpha prototype of the 3rd actuator and most of the development team was at Open Hardware Summit on September 27 held at Eyebeam Art + Technology Center. The loom had 4 actuators working during this demo and we proudly dressed it for the first time with 4 threads to demo the actuator. All in all it was a resounding success! We had amazingly wonderful conversations with countless incredible folks who are someway or another involved with Open Hardware. We received lots of positive feedback!
Check out Hack-a-Day’s interview with the Osloom team at Maker Faire.
I’ve built looms in the past and have thought about making a Jacquard loom. I’d love to see more about their design. There are a few pictures on their website, but it’s lacking in details.