MIT's Tangible Media Group is back with "bio-skin" -- a "living" material that responds to perspiration and body heat. As the person wearing the "second skin" becomes warm and sweaty, the material peels away to reveal real breathable holes in the clothing. "We are trying to create an interactive feedback loop between the human body, biofilm and the environment," said Chin-Yi Cheng, responsible for computation design and simulation at MIT Media Lab.
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The MIT team, led by Hiroshi Ishii and Lining Yao, grew natto cells and bio-printed them into scale-like shapes. Aligning the cells in a specific pattern, the team could program them to behave in a certain way -- in this instance to curl open when heated. The exact behaviour of the cells was visualised in a computer program specially designed for the project.
"Fashion is changing and this project is part of it. I believe it's time we rethink the way we create fashion and the reason behind it," said Oksana Anilionyte, a fashion designer who worked on the project. "The experience of wearing these garments is very special as they come to life when you start wearing them."
The team behind the project wanted to shift from building and manufacturing materials to growing them. The costume design is part of a wider project called "bioLogic," which looks at ways to create sensors and actuator motors from nature rather than engineering them in factories.
Other applications for the material include flowers that can blossom and wilt, a "living" tea leaf that curls open to signal when the cup of tea is ready, and a lampshade that shifts and dances under the heat of the bulb.
The team is continuing to experiment with uses for the material -- including the addition of small heaters to control the material remotely, and adding a substance that means the colour of the material changes as its shape does.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
