SoftBioMorph: Fabricating Sustainable Shape-changing Interfaces using Soft Biopolymers
2024. Madalina Nicolae, Claire Lefez, Anne Roudaut, Samuel Huron, Jurgen Steimle & Marc Teyssier
Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference.
Abstract
Bio-based and bio-degradable materials have shown promising results for sustainable Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) applications, including shape-changing interfaces. However, the diversity of shape-changing behaviors achievable with these materials remains unclear as the fabrication knowledge is scattered across multiple research fields. This paper introduces SoftBioMorph, a fabrication framework that aims to integrate the fabrication know-how of sustainable soft shape-changing interfaces with biopolymers. Based on the example of Sodium Alginate, the framework contributes (1) a set of material synthesis processes that modify the biopolymer’s properties to fulfill different functions; (2) a set of DIY crafting-based assembling techniques that functionalize the material and assembling properties to achieve three primitive types of change in shape; and (3) a series of application cases that demonstrate the versatility of the framework. We further discuss limitations, research questions, and fabrication challenges, presenting a comprehensive approach to sustainable prototyping in HCI.