Hybrid Sensory Surfaces: Biological meets Digital

Abstract

The re-design of interactive devices in response to needs in terms of environmental sustainability and enrichment of user experience combines two core topics of contemporary design: biological and digital. Through the design project we can twist material and immaterial, physical and virtual, integrating different modalities of interaction, stratifying the information on multiple levels and conferring to surfaces a perceptual plus involving multiple sensory stimulations. In this scenario microbial nanocellulose represent a promising material because of its technical-performative features which make it usable as biological interface and capacitive sensor, but especially because of its aesthetic-sensory features which can be controlled and programmed through the interaction with the fabrication process, affecting the intensity and richness of the interactive experience.

Keywords: Digital Materiality, Material Experience, Surface Design, Perception, Biofabrication, Microbial Nanocellulose

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100938