Living biomaterials are increasingly being used in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) for the production of objects through growth. It still needs to be clarified how electronics can be integrated to make these objects interactive. Madalina Luciana Nicolae, Vivien Roussel and Marc Teyssier are devoting their research to the production of interactive biohybrid devices, a class of interactive devices that function on the basis of the fusion of electronic components with living organisms.

The biohybrid device is a video game controller created by the fusion of biological and digital manufacturing processes. The controller slowly takes shape by embedding conductive elements, sensors and output components into the material from natural growth and reproduction processes of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY).

The project blurs the boundaries between living and non-living systems by using the manufacturing process of morphogenesis (biofabrication and bioassembly) to encapsulate electrically interactive elements. The authors envision a future in which interactive objects can grow, so this project aims to question the status of objects as well as that of current means of production and to test the perception of technological interfaces and devices and their integration into our environment. This concrete, hands-on approach addresses the sustainability, limits and implications of a biotechnological future.

Living biomaterials are increasingly used in all areas of production (from food to textiles, from raw materials to synthetic cells), but the impact and consequences of this artificial but sustainable world we are heading towards are still completely uncertain.