openMaterials

Shi Yuan’s creative wallpaper incorporates thermochromic paint that changes color as the temperature rises. The sequence below shows how it reacts to heat coming from the radiator (via dornob). Yuan’s calendar uses this same material to make the date fade away as day turns into night.

Interactivos?’09: Garage Science was an intensive project development workshop (January 28 through February 14, 2009) and a seminar that explored practices where art, science and technology meet. Participants were invited to turn the Medialab Prado, Madrid into a garage laboratory where low-cost, accessible materials were used to develop objects and installations that combine software, hardware [...]

InnTex is doing some pretty interesting work on interactive textiles. First they developed a matrix pressure activated fabric: it uses knitted fabric for textile structure, tin copper or stainless steel/polyester for augmentation, and is made out of an inner non-conductive layer and two outer conductive layers, allowing for the circuit to close when the outer [...]

Greg Saul and Mark D. Gross describe their paper devices as “small paper interactive objects that use nitinol shape-memory alloy wire for actuation, gold leaf printed circuits, embedded microchips for control, and paper outer shells for form and structure.” Their gold leaf circuits applied directly on the paper allow for a light weight, beautiful, and [...]

One of our main research interests here at openMaterials is pulp-based computing, an approach that involves embedding electronics, electro-active inks, conductive threads and other smart materials directly into handmade paper pulp. Marcelo Coelho and Pattie Maes are doing some very interesting and beautiful work at MIT’s Fluid Interfaces Group.

Philip Ball in an interview with Jennifer Leonard (for the book Massive Change): “It’s about moving away from the classical idea of materials – inert stuff that serves a structural role – toward the more contemporary notion of materials. More and more, materials are active and respond to stimuli in their environment. Materials can light [...]