In the summer of 2017 we started with the research focus “Material as Interface”. This includes the intersection of interface and interaction design with the diverse digital and analog possibilities of form and material design. So-called „Smart Material Interfaces“, or SMI for short, bind interaction directly to the material as a material property. The material becomes a medium of information but also of transformation of kinetic energy and environmental influences. There are many advantages: Information and transformation are inscribed in the material, which enables real-time processing and reaction. The reaction takes place discreetly, directly at the point of contact with the body, for example. The possible encodings are manifold: 2D folds, 3D structures, 4D time-based states.

The pictures show shape studies with dielectric elastomers

Research Team: Prof. Kora Kimpel, Joanna Dauner
Tutors: Franziska Seehausen, Merani Schilcher

Student Research Team: Manuel Ahnemüller, Lisa-Marie Gloser, Julian Netzer, Merani Schilcher, Piet Schmidt, Franziska Seehausen, Nadezhda Shikalova, Julius Winckler