This studio explores rapid prototyping of shape-morphing fabrics as tangible interfaces by combining parametric modeling tools with accessible 3D printing techniques. Participants will experiment with two textile-based fabrication methods: (1) 3D printing on pre-stretched textiles for programmable morphing, and (2) printing TPU-based modular mesh structures with varying parameters to explore material properties. Through hands-on exercises, participants will investigate how material parameters—such as pattern, scale, thickness, and density—define fundamental rules for shape morphing and enable the creation of responsive, expressive, and multi-stable tangible artifacts. Emphasizing thinking-through-design for desired material behaviors, the studio invites HCI researchers and designers to collaboratively explore and critically reflect on the benefits, limitations, and future integration of shape-morphing interfaces.

Smart materials have garnered significant attention in both academia and industry, yet identifying pragmatically impactful applications still requires contributions from multiple stakeholders, including researchers, designers, and industry professionals.Although previous research has explored novel technical approaches or user-centered applications of smart materials, this study focuses on how to stimulate effective dialogue among stakeholders to explore impactful smart material applications.

CHI ’25, Yokohama, Japan

To support children’s food interaction and enhance their understanding of food through morphing food technology, we develop a design exploration through the Research through Design (RtD) methodology. Our exploration integrates four stages: (1) defining design objectives through empathy with stakeholders, (2) investigating morphing food materials to understand their deformation mechanisms, (3) designing and iteratively developing tools based on user feedback, and (4) conducting a workshop-based evaluation. Our design outcome is a toolkit, comprising a morphing food library, trigger tools, and instructional interfaces. The workshop showed that through interaction with morphing food, children learned not only scientific principles but also developed culinary skills, as well as the diversity of food forms and functions. We discussed the detailed findings, insights, and implications for future design.

We present IntelliTex, a low-cost and highly accessible double-coating fabrication method for washable and reusable functional textiles with customized input functionalities. Specifically, off-the-shelf textiles are firstly coated with conductive carbon black using pen ink, which endows textiles with rich sensing capabilities, such as pressure, stretch, slide, and temperature. Secondly, textiles are coated with polyurethane to enhance the sensing stability over wash cycles for good reusability. To support user customization, we enrich the design space of double-coating by exploring various coating methods and diverse textiles to be coated. We further contribute a comprehensive library of input components and an online document to make our approach accessible to novice users. Finally, five application examples and a user study showcase the versatile functionalities and user accessibility of our method, with which we hope to support designers, makers, and researchers to easily create functional textiles ready to use in everyday life.

Snap-through instability, like the rapid closure of the Venus flytrap, is gaining attention in robotics and HCI. It offers rapid shape reconfiguration, self-sensing, actuation, and enhanced haptic feedback. However, conventional snap-through structures face limitations in fabrication efficiency, scale, and tunability. We introduce SnapInflatables, enabling safe, multi-scale interaction with adjustable sensitivity and force reactions, utilizing the snap-through instability of inflatables. We designed six types of heat-sealing structures enabling versatile snap-through passive motion of inflatables with diverse reaction and trigger directions. A block structure enables ultra-sensitive states for rapid energy release and force amplification. The motion range is facilitated by geometry parameters, while force feedback properties are tunable through internal pressure settings. Based on experiments, we developed a design tool for creating desired inflatable snap-through shapes and motions, offering previews and inflation simulations. Example applications, including a self-locking medical stretcher, interactive animals, a bounce button, and a large-scale light demonstrate enhanced passive interaction with inflatables.

While it seems counterintuitive to think of degradation within an operating device as beneficial, one may argue that when rationally designed, the controlled breakdown of materials— physical, chemical, or biological—can be harnessed for specific functions. To apply this principle to the design of morphing devices, we introduce the concept of "Degrade to Function" (DtF). This concept aims to create eco-friendly and self-contained morphing devices that operate through a sequence of environmentally-triggered degradations. We explore its design considerations and implementation techniques by identifying environmental conditions and degradation types that can be exploited, evaluating potential materials capable of controlled degradation, suggesting designs for structures that can leverage degradation to achieve various transformations and functions, and developing sequential control approaches that integrate degradation triggers. To demonstrate the viability and versatility of this design strategy, we showcase several application examples across a range of environment conditions.

Existing methods in human-computer interaction to enhance children’s eating habits predominantly rely on digital interactive technologies, which pose the risk of increasing sensory stimulation and diverting children’s attention away from the food itself. Drawing inspiration from shape-changing food research, we propose an approach that combines deformable wafer paper for food preparation. We summarize the principles of wafer paper controllable deformation and develop a toolkit to facilitate its use. We support children in creating personalized, transformable food items using this method, aiming to provide a playful, convenient, and safe food-making experience tailored for children, thereby enhancing children’s mealtime engagement and habits.

"Like poles repel, unlike poles attract" is a fundamental principle of magnetism commonly used in instantaneous haptic interaction. Through the assembly design of basic five magnets, MagneChase creates a potential barrier between repulsion and attraction. This allows MagneChase modules to change the direction of their interacting force when brought closer. Applying this interaction principle, we provide application examples of kinetic roleplay to enhance tangible play experiences. A preliminary user study suggests that children were captivated by the magnetic phenomenon and derived pleasure from engaging with MagneChase. We also discuss the potential for MagneChase as a tangible kit to promote enlightenment learning in gameplay.

The field of Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI) has been consistently utilizing kinematic mechanisms to create tangible dynamic interfaces and objects. However, the design and fabrication of these mechanisms are challenging due to complex spatial structures, step-by-step assembly processes, and unstable joint connections resulting from the inevitable matching errors within separated parts. In this paper, we propose an integrated fabrication method for one-step FDM 3D printing (FDM3DP) kinematic mechanisms to create dynamic objects without additional post-processing. We describe the Arch-printing and Support-bridges method, which we call All-in-One Print, that compiles given arbitrary solid 3D models into printable kinematic models as G-Code for FDM3DP. To expand the design space, we investigate a series of motion structures (e.g., rotate, slide, and screw) with multi-stabilities and develop a design tool to help users quickly design such dynamic objects. We also demonstrate various application cases, including physical interfaces, toys with interactive aesthetics and daily items with internalized functions.

Access to computer-aided fabrication tools, such as 3D printing, empowers various craft techniques to democratize the creation of artifacts. To afford new blow molding techniques in the field of Human-Computer Interaction, we make efforts to simplify this challenging handy fabrication and enrich the design space of blow molding by taking advantage of the thermoformability and heat deformability of 3D printed thermoplastics. We propose a novel and democratized blow molding technique, PneuFab, enabled by FDM 3D-printed custom structures and temporal triggering methods. Then we implement and evaluate a design tool that allows users to play with parameters and preview the resulting forms until achieving their desired shapes. Showcasing design spaces including artifacts with complex geometries and tunable stiffness, we hope to expand access and dive into what more the digital blow molding fabrication can be.

Orthoses with electronic functions have emerged as a promising medical product in response to the increasing demand for rehabilitation training, therapy assistance, and health monitoring. However, fabricating this “smart orthosis” often requires long development cycles and exorbitant prices. We introduce E-Orthosis, an integrated fabrication approach with construction toolkits for healthcare professionals to quickly embed electronics in off-the-shelf orthoses with customized functions cost-effectively and time-efficiently. Specifically, we develop components with magnets and pogo pins to support rapid attachment and sustainable use, and textile-based electrodes with snap installation to improve the wearing experience. We also provide a circuit iron tool to apply circuit traces on complex surfaces of orthoses directly and a hot punch tool to embed magnet ports and electrodes. Three application examples, technical evaluations, and expert reviews demonstrate the functionality of E-Orthosis and the potential for democratizing rapid-developed and low-cost smart orthoses for patients.

Bridges are unique structures appeared in fused deposition modeling (FDM) that make rigid prints flexible but not fully explored. This paper presents X-Bridges, an end-to-end workflow that allows novice users to design tunable bridges that can enrich 3D printed objects' deformable and physical properties. Specifically, we firstly provide a series of deformation primitives (e.g. bend, twist, coil, compress and stretch) with three versions of stiffness (loose, elastic, stable) based on parametrized bridging experiments. Embedding the printing parameters, a design tool is developed to modify the imported 3D model, evaluate optimized printing parameters for bridges, preview shape-changing process, and generate the G-code file for 3D printing. Finally, we demonstrate the design space of X-Bridges through a set of applications that enable foldable, resilient, and interactive shape-changing objects.

3D printing, as a rapid prototyping technique, usually fabricates objects that are difficult to modify physically. This paper presents FlexTruss, a design and construction pipeline based on the assembly of modularized truss-shaped objects fabricated with conventional 3D printers and assembled by threading. To create an end-to-end system, a parametric design tool with an optimal Euler path calculation method is developed, which can support both inverse and forward design workflow and multi-material construction of modular parts. In addition, the assembly of truss modules by threading is evaluated with a series of application cases to demonstrate the affordance of FlexTruss. We believe that FlexTruss extends the design space of 3D printing beyond typically hard and fixed forms, and it will provide new capabilities for designers and researchers to explore the use of such flexible truss structures in human-object interaction.

3D printing technology makes Do-It-Yourself and reforming everyday objects a reality. However, designing and fabricating attachments that can seamlessly adapt existing objects to extended functionality is a laborious process, which requires accurate measuring, modeling, manufacturing, and assembly. This paper presents ShrinCage, a 4D printing system that allows novices to easily create shrinkable adaptations to fit and fasten existing objects. Specifically, the design tool presented in this work aid in the design of attachment that adapts to irregular morphologies, which accommodates the variations in measurements and fabrication, subsequently simplifying the modeling and assembly processes. We further conduct mechanical tests and user studies to evaluate the availability and feasibility of this method. Numerous application examples created by ShrinCage prove that it can be adopted by aesthetic modification, assistive technology, repair, upcycling, and augmented 3D printing.