This post is about the proceedure behind the making of “Sarotis Experimental Prosthesis” as a technical investigation and “Sarotis; Wearable Futures” short film as an advanced prosthetic study. Following is a video to give you the large image of the development of Sarotis Project. We have been focusing on the body as the main design terrain and we are interested in how new technologies will affect the body image resulting a new type of body — space relationship. This new type of relationship has been investigated with virtual reality, projection mapping, soft robotics and live 3d scanning and resulted in Sarotis Project.

 

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Soft Screen I

The “SoftScreen I” project is an attempt towards exploring if a mediating human body interface could help us sense our own resonating consciousness. This project aims to take this idea into the level of sensing other forms of consciousness in the means of spatial terms. We think of this soft body technology as a way of mediating our conscious or even unconscious relationship to spaces. The “SoftScreen I” project not only explores the ideas behind how the brain resonates in response to its environment but also tries to find a way to communicate this information with the outside world; this means the body is not only the interface but the canvas for all of these experiments. Soft robotics was used as a tool to immitate the softness of the skin and the pressure received when touching.

 

A skin tight prosthetic attachment was created to communicate tactile information with the user, amplified with light. “Soft Screen I” was designed while testing with various shapes, colors and making techniques.

 

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Soft Screen II

“SoftScreen II” is a wearable device through which we explore soft robotics in technology and concept. It consists of six channels, each one of these work independently and are controlled through a series of switches and pipes so as to provide tactile feedback to the user. It pulses according to certain visual stimuli projected by an oculus rift helmet and integrates light through an electroluminescent sheet so at to reveal its operation to the viewers.

 

Softness (Material Exploration)

A material test was important to define the final qualities of the silicone layers that were going to be used. The material was tested in terms of: thickness, colour intensity, elasticity and aesthetic quality. In the end the most successful samples were evaluated when interacting with light: they were inflated so as to reach the most suitable choice in terms of interaction with the user.

 

Behaviour Design

Three behaviors are designed for the “SoftScreen”: balance, growth and breath. These are ways to demonstrate the physical potential of this device.

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Sarotis Kit

An experimental prosthesis was designed to study if a person’s awareness of space could be amplified using live 3D scanning technologies that control the inflation and deflation of our soft robotic wearable. The results were successful and suggested possible applications for people with visual impairments. It also revealed the possibility of constructing virtual spaces within the physical space that could be sensed through it.

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Liquid Bodies; Aesthetic Exploration of Soft Fluidic Interfaces

To express Sarotis vision of the future of soft wearable technologies a speculative film reveals how fluidic hydrogel interfaces begin to truly dissolve the distinction between our physiology and machine technologies, addressing the topic of human bodies as evolutionary machines. We try to achieve these goals in the context of bio-sensing and responsive materials. As the body is the main focus for our experiments, soft robotics was the best approach towards designing an adaptable responsive prosthesis with soft and complex behaviors.

Pipes

 

Silicone Patterns

 

 

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Bibliography

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-Nietzsche, F. W. (1950). Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Kreactiva Editorial.

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-Manovitch, L. (2002). The poetics of augmented space. Visual Communication, [online] Volume 5 (219). Available at: http://www.alice.id.tue.nl/references/manovich-2006.pdf [Accessed 31 Dec. 2015].