Interactive Materiality

This course focused on materials as a broad concept, with different qualities and options for interactivity. Interactive materials consist of a combination between inherent material properties and smart materials. Inherent material properties are the properties a material already has. Smart materials are materials that have sensing and actuating properties. The interactive material developed during this course, represents the notion ‘History of Use’: a visible history of use which creates a greater sense of familiarity and personality towards the user.

Besides this, the final material is designed to be used as part of multisensory therapy, which is meant for people suffering from dementia. The end result is a material that triggers people to touch the material. After touch the material shows the most favorable path, in order to show the user his/her use of the material. To achieve these qualities in a material, sensors and LEDs were incorporated in the final soft material, primarily made from cotton.