Radical Atoms is a new vision-driven design research on interactions with Dynamic Physical Material that can 1) conform to structural constraints, 2) transform structure & behavior, and 3) inform new abilities. This concept has the idea to transform our relationship with information, moving away from fast, free and disposable data in favor of more personal, intimate archiving of the precious moments in our lives. Nowadays, easy access to technology enables many of us to obsessively document lives. Thus, can technology that helps people better appreciate captured memories, yet still having a human “ownership” of that moment?

Texture Tape seeks to explore memory recording through texture–which carries an intimate relationship with our experiences.This encourages human-computer relationships by integrating physical properties into augmenting everyday objects. Like a Polaroid, Texture Tape instantly captures textures through mimicry. The fictional (future?) polymer stretches to copy the texture of what it is placed upon, creating a very similar copy. Grass may blow in the wind, or the feel of a loved one’s skin can allow us to recall precious moments from our own memory, rather than presented to us through current visually-oriented media. One may also copy-paste textures onto other pieces of tape to create larger tapestries and mosaics of texture and to use the tape as a creative medium.

Attributes of our design to bring the concept of “less is more” to media capture are:

– Natural and intuitive interaction
– Familiar form-factor
– One-time use
– Portability

In collaboration with:
Inna Koyrahk + David Carr
Tangible Media, MIT Media Lab

View the videos via Vimeo:

“Love Story”
“Picnic” (Long) Our Final Video
“Picnic” (Short)