We
The Design Research Lab is a network of people, organisations, and non-human agents engaged at the intersection of technologies, materials, and social practices. Our aim is to design socially and ecologically sustainable tools, spaces, and knowledge that support people’s participation in a digital society – based on common principles of inclusiveness and respect for the planet. This puts the basic democratic right to take part in the digital sphere into practice. We start our research from individual lifeworlds and the needs of minoritized groups, beyond consumer majorities.
We are an interdisciplinary team of designers, researchers, tech-enthusiasts and critical thinkers from Berlin University of the Arts, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society, as well as Einsteincenter Digital Future (ECDF).
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Skintimacy
Skin-based interface for interpersonal touch
Skintimacy is an interface that allows for the manipulation of electronic-based processes through touch. Depending on whom you touch, the way your bodies make contact influences the control of both analog instruments and digital setups. We developed Skintimacy by implementing an Arduino microcontroller to transfer data to software platforms in order to provide diverse opportunities for a playful control of audio and video. This kit is intended to facilitate the symbiotic relationship between physical computing and the sense of touch. The straightforward design of the device allows for experimentation in many different contexts. Taking into account the dynamic nature of skin conductivity, which varies individually, one has the possibility to create highly responsive installations.
Further research
To continue our observations of use scenarios, we have manufactured a limited series of Skintimacy DIY-kits. As a co-design study these have been sent to interaction designers, media artists, dancers and engineers. Furthermore, we transferred our insights and experience with tactile interaction to the project Closer.
For more information please visit: www.skintimacy.org