Wool Steel Wool
A combination of wool and steel wool which creates a material with both sensing and actuation properties. Its subtle behavior engages users' attention, resulting in a calming effect. Using a capacitive touch sensor, magnetic actuator, and microcontroller, it transitions from anxious to calm, showcasing the potential of soft interfaces to create expressive and emotionally engaging interactions.
Behaviour
The default state is fast randomised pulses to attract a user’s attention and express the “anxious” emotion. While interacting, the user notices a more calm pace that still has some irregularities in it. The more attention it receives the calmer it gets. So after interactions larger than 5 seconds users can feel a very steady slow pulse, giving a calming feeling for both the artefact and the user. By embedding a capacitive touch sensor, magnetic actuator and micro-controller, we were able to program this behaviour in detail. Interacting with Wool Steel Wool makes you experience a future of soft products that offers subtle yet expressive interactions, creating an emotional bond between user and material
Interaction
Proces
