Integrating Biomaterials and Interactive Technologies: The Growth of Biodesign within Human-Computer Interaction

Biodesign has grown significantly in the last decade, intersecting with other fields from fashion to material science to healthcare. Recently, biodesign has entangled with Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), a multidisciplinary field of research that focuses on the design and development of computational technologies that people interact with. Bridging the gap between digital and biological, new computational technologies have been developed to integrate with biomaterials (i.e., materials grown from biological matter). Such works range from biomaterials that are embedded with electronics like microcontrollers and/or transformed into electronic components themselves like biomaterial touch sensors for sustainable ubiquitous computing, to biomaterials that are designed specifically for digital fabrication methods like 3D printing to reduce non-renewable waste streams, to biomaterials that are alive to create naturally dynamic and reactive living interfaces that encourage respectful and caring interactions with technology and the natural world. As these three research areas grow within HCI, HCI practitioners have begun drawing knowledge and inspiration from ongoing efforts in biodesign, especially Do-It-Yourself methods for biomaterial development. To accommodate such work, the traditional HCI research lab has expanded to include biological wet lab spaces, microscopes, cooking equipment, and incubators. In combining these two fields, we have seen massive growth in the creation of new bio-digital technologies that not only push current understandings of computational interaction, but also promote more sustainable technological futures.