Venous Materials 互動材料 by Hila Mor is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 設計品質 Competition Category.

銀設計品質· 2021

Venous Materials 互動材料

by Hila Mor

Client: Tangible Media Group, MIT Media Lab

A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 設計品質 Category

57,684

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #108491

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Venous Materials 互動材料

靜脈材料係一種互動材料，可以同時充當感測器同顯示器。柔軟嘅矽膠內部形成幼細嘅流體通道，有色墨水喺通道入面流動。當使用者屈曲材料或者施加壓力時，墨水嘅流動就會改變，形成可見嘅圖案同顏色變化。呢種材料柔軟又自成一體，使用者嘅動作就提供咗能量。運算設計工具可以喺生產之前模擬幾何形狀同流體流動。生產涉及激光雕刻同實驗室工序。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀獎

Venous Materials 互動材料是 A' Design Award 銀獎得主，這是授予頂級、華美而令人印象深刻的設計的極為崇高的認可。銀獎得主是極其卓越、極具創造力的作品，展現出其設計師傑出的專業技能、才華與敏銳。預計Venous Materials 互動材料將成為一件出色的典範之作，兼具非凡的專業性與深刻的創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銀獎的設計是一項備受矚目、令人欽佩的發明，造福並拓展藝術、科學、設計和技術的界限。Venous Materials 互動材料是一件令人羨慕的創作，它喚起渴望，帶來積極的情感，並激發驚嘆與讚嘆。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Venous Materials technology developed through research on current Microfluidics, that is specifically designed for human interaction and user experience. A specilized computational tool was developed for the design process and to simulate and visualize of the color change and display of the flow within the material, according to the user input. Production process involves laser engraving and manual lab processes. Materials used are PDMS silicone and ecoline ink.
Dimensions & Packaging: Venous Materials prototypes size range between 5cmX5cm and 15x15cm. These samples can be assembled together to form a larger sheet.
Tags: Interaction Design, Material research, Dynamic Graphics, Microfluidics, Computational Aided Design, Sensors and Displays, Venous Structures
Production Technology: Through utilizing latest research with Microfluidics technology, Venous Materials was developed while focus on human interaction and UX design. To realize the design and production process, a specialized computational design and simulation tool was developed. This tool allows to simulate and visualize of the color change and display of the flow within the material, according to the user physical input. Production process involves laser engraving and lab processes. Materials used are PDMS silicone and ecoline ink.
Design Challenge: While current computer chips and electronics usually require rigid and bulky components that challenges the integration with varied objects or fabrics, Venous Materials is soft and self-contained mechanism that utilizes the motion of daily activities as its energy source. Design of micro-fluid dynamics is not intuitive task, our approach and computational tool allows the design, simulation, and prototyping of fluidic interactive sensors that can be embedded in, or attached to, any object.
Research: This work present design and fabrication methods for interactive fluidic mechanisms that respond to deformation by mechanical inputs from the user. The Venous design tool provides designers with a simple way to create and validate designs of fluidic structures. It allows users to design the geometry, and simulate the flow with intended mechanical force dynamically. This leads to Interactive applications of Venous Materials, to augment human movement and everyday objects.
Inspiration: This project is inspired by venous structures that are ubiquitous throughout nature and inside the human body. By changing colors, veins can inform us of internal and external physical conditions. For example, veins in leaves transmit pigments that drive color change, which informs us of the internal condition of the leaf and which season it is.
Project Duration: The project started June 2019 and finished April 2020 in Cambridge, MA, at the MIT Media Lab, Tangible Media group
Operation Flow: The displayed flow pattern and color change of the fluidic channels within Venous Materials inform the users of the motion and physical force that is applied on the material. The users can interact with Venous Materials by deforming or applying pressure on the material, which drives the fluid flow within the internal channels to visualize the dynamic responsive display. Therefore, Venous Materials simultaneously functions as a sensor and display of tangible information.
Team Members: Hila Mor, Tianyu Yu, Ken Nakagaki, Benjamin Harvey Miller, Yichen Jia, Hiroshi Ishii
Image Credits: All Photo/video credit to Tangible Media Group, MIT Media Lab