A material database framework to support the design of shapechanging products Marius Hölter1, Agnese Piselli2,*, Sara Colombo3, Barbara Del Curto2 Politecnico di Milano, Design Department, Milan, Italy Politecnico di Milano, Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering Department “Giulio Natta”, Making Materials LAB, Milan, Italy Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Design Lab, Cambridge, USA *agnese.piselli@polimi.it Abstract. New classes of smart materials are emerging, revolutionizing the way we design and interact with products. Their dynamic properties are changing our perception and understanding of what a material is in itself (a system), and especially what it is able to do (its performance). The use of smart materials generates new opportunities in the creation of future forms of interaction, promoting the concepts of material move, material turn, material lens, and dynamic products. This study aims to provide design students and industrial designers with information and inspiration on the topic of ShapeChanging Material Systems (SCMSs) by developing a framework for an explorative database. The integrated digital tool, implemented with a set of 25 case studies, fosters the further development of these materials, and opens up new opportunities of application in multisensory dynamic products Keywords: Shapechanging material systems (SCMSs) ∙ Smart materials ∙ Materials database ∙ Human factors ∙ Product design Introduction The study of materials and their technical, sensorial and manufacturing properties is an essential element in the education of a product designer [1] Materials and manufacturing processes are at the core of any physical artefact, and not only they contribute to its function, but they also have aesthetic and emotional values which allow the designer to shape the character of a product [2], [3] Having an up-to-date knowledge about advanced materials and manufacturing technologies is of greatest importance for industrial designers to not miss out on new opportunities that might present a solution to their next design problem [4] In this panorama, new classes of materials are emerging (e.g., smart materials, biobased materials, DIY materials) [5], revolutionizing the way we design experiences and interact with products [6], [7] Among them, smart materials are recognized more and more as systems, characterized by digital–physical substrates [8], rather than a simple material class [9] Their dynamic properties are changing our perception and understanding about what a material is in itself (a system), and especially what it is able to (its performance) Materials are becoming something that is ‘alive’, and so will the future products that incorporate them The use of smart materials generates new opportunities in creating future forms of interaction [10], promoting the concepts of material move [11], material turn [12], material lens [13], and dynamic products [14] Within the research area of smart material composites and Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs), one type of interaction seems to be of particular interest for industrial designers: dynamic, physical shape change [15] Shape-Changing Material Systems (SCMSs) are becoming of increasing interest [16], as they have promising product applications Shape-changing material systems (SCMSs) identify a wide range of material concepts as shape-changing composites, dynamic, digital and programmable materials (e.g., programmable carbon-fiber based composite [17]) that are characterized by a shape transformation Problem statement and research aim Smart materials have the unique ability to respond to stimuli and adapt to the environment. Through their unconventional behavior, they offer novel possibilities for designers, especially when it comes to the design of interactions and experiences. To take advantage of smart material behaviors, it becomes fundamental to have knowledge of their properties (technical, sensorial, etc.) and their current applications [6] To provide basic knowledge and encourage the use of “traditional” smart materials in product design, informative tools have been developed [6], [14], [18] Despite this, there is still no evidence of a systematic, easily implementable and digital tool to serve this purpose For this reason, the need of guiding designers through a structured smart material selection practice emerged, with the aim to increase the integration of smart material thinking in their design practice This research presents a new framework of an explorative and implementable database on Shape-Changing Material Systems to support design students and industrial designers in developing a deep understanding of what constitutes them (i), their sensorial and technical properties (ii) and the enabling technologies and fabrication processes that can be used to manufacture them (iii) The database represents a digital tool that aims to provide designers with information and inspiration on the topic of SCMSs, fostering the further development of these materials, and opening up new opportunities for their application in multisensory products Materials and methods To develop the new database framework, a literature review on the most established tools for material selection and exploration was conducted Based on their structure, language and approach, five different databases were compared: designbased (Material ConneXion®; MaterialDistrict), engineering-based (MatWeb; MatBase), and integrated material databases (Granta Design CES EduPack) The Products, Materials and Processes Database (PMPDb), developed in 2016 by Figuerola [19], has been analyzed as it represents the first approach towards equally engaging designers and engineers These databases were selected not only to identify the material properties and parameters that are interesting when choosing materials, but also to understand how to correlate the transformation phenomena of SCMSs to their technical properties and the constituents that enable the shape-change behavior Moreover, 40 projects, experiments and concept studies on the field of dynamic shape change in physical products and materials were analyzed This research provided a deep investigation of the technologies and tools used for the fabrication of SCMSs, their application areas, key features and main functional principles Based on these reviews and on the framework of the most comprehensive commercial material database analyzed (CES Selector), a set of properties and parameters was selected to characterize and describe SCMSs General Information [Study/Concept name; Year of publication/development; Research area; Reference source; Development status] is important to get a better understanding of the current SCMS feasibility and status of development, assessing also potential risks (technical failures, development costs, etc) Application [Potential markets; Scale] helps designers to find inspiration in a specific area of research or application. The “Scale” is related to the size of the system as well as the magnitude of shape change that can be achieved Material Information [Input Stimulus; Intrinsic Transformation; Material Composition; Active and Passive Material Units]. When working with SCMSs, different types of Input Stimuli (light, temperature/heat, moisture, electric field/potential, magnetic field, chemical, pressure) can be used for the materials classification [6], [15], [20], [21]. Intrinsic Transformation describes the material’s first response to the input stimulus: in materialbased soft body transformations, the structural elements function as actuators themselves [22] The physical structure and the active/passive constituents of a system (Material Units) [15] play a key role in enabling the physical shape change of a SCMS To better explain this concept, Textuators case study (Tab. 1, n. 23) is based on the use of an electroactive polymer (EAP) mix that was used to coat the passive material units, and requires to be immersed in electrolyte to activate the shape changing behaviour Dynamic Effects [Structure; Volume; Geometry; Orientation; Surface Texture; Softness/Hardness; Flexibility/Stiffness] comprises the different types of shapechange related outputs that can result from a transformation and that can be perceived by the user. These parameters, linked to sensorial properties, have been derived from literature review and databases analysis [18], [22], [23] Performance Properties [Programmability; Directionality; SelfRecovery; Transformation Speed; Deformation Strength; Power Requirement; Functional Environment] describe the inherent requirements and technical capabilities that characterize SCMSs. They are mainly anchored in the results of the literature review and are specific for SCMSs. The integration of such properties in the new database represents an original contribution of this research. Fabrication [Process; Tools and Technology]. Additional Notes Results and Discussion Using the set of parameters described above, the framework of material database has been built. Its framework is inspired by the structural setup of the CES EduPack PMPDb: the proposed database is centered on SCMSs Concept datatable linked to four further datatables, as described in Figure 1 Fig. 1. SCMSs database framework and links to the five datatables A set of 25 SCMSs case studies (Tab 1), selected among the 40 previously analysed and representative of the variety of behaviors for dynamic shape change in physical objects, was implemented in the database (Fig. 2). Fig. 2. SCMS record showing the overview and general information sections Table 1. List of 25 ShapeChanging Material Systems case studies 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Project Name Source 4DPrinting: MultiMaterial ShapeChange aeroMorph Artificial Muscles from Fishing Line bioLogic Biomimetic 4D Printing Exoskin Ferromagnetic Soft Materials FluidDriven OrigamiInspired Muscels Granular Jamming HygroSkin Metrosensitive Pavilion jamSheets Lilies Multidirectional Muscles from Nylon Multimaterial 4D Printing PneUI Programmable Carbon Fiber Programmable Knitting Programmable Wood Shutters Smart Granular Materials Soft Materials for Soft Actuators Stress Ball Textuators Thermorph Tibbits (2014) Ou et al. (2016) Haines et al. (2014) Yao et al. (2015) Gladman et al. (2017) Tome (2015) Kim et al. (2018) Li et al. (2017) Jiang et al. (2013) Krieg (2014) Ou et al. (2014) Dana Zelig (2017) Mirvakili & Hunter (2014) Ge et al. (2016) Yao et al. (2013) Papadopoulou et al. (2015) Scott (2015) Correa et al. (2015) Coelho & Maes (2009) Dierichs et al. (2017) Miriyev et al. (2017) Schramm (2016) Maziz et al. (2017) An et al. (2018) Status of Development Experiment Prototype Experiment Prototype Experiment Prototype Experiment Prototype Prototype Prototype Prototype Experiment Experiment Experiment Prototype In Development Experiment Prototype Prototype Experiment Prototype Prototype Experiment Prototype 25 uniMorph Heibeck et al. (2015) Prototype Conclusion and further developments The main aim of this work was to develop an integrated and informative tool to educate designers on ShapeChanging Material Systems (SCMSs) properties, providing also their classification. The following points illustrate the research main findings: Literature research on traditional material databases has been performed to guide the new database structure development. 40 case studies have been studied to describe a number of properties and parameters able to characterize SCMSs The framework for a digital SCMSs database consists of five datatables 25 SCMSs case studies, representative of various behaviors of dynamic shape change in physical objects, are implemented in the first database prototype Further investigation will be done to: Validate the SCMSs database, conducting user tests with a group of design students, design professionals, and material scientists Expand the database with other stimuliresponsive materials and systems (e.g., thermoresponsive SCMSs, etc.) Implement an open multidisciplinary platform, where experts with different backgrounds contribute in updating on new material advancements References Ashby M., Johnson, K.: Materials and Design: the art and science of material selection in product design Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford (2002) Karana, E et al.: Emerging material experiences Mater Des., 90, 1248–1250 (2016) Piselli, A.: Material Selection in the Professional Appliances Industry In Polimi Design PhD_018 Franco Angeli, Milano, 19-41 (2018) Dastoli, C., Bolzan, P., Bianchini, M., Del Curto, B., Maffei, S.: Design, Digital Fabrication & 3D Printing: A Crash Course For Design Students EDULEARN18, 4774–4781 (2018) Veelaert, L., Bois, E., Ragaert, K.: Design from Recycling EKSIG 2017, 129–143 (2017) Lefebvre, E et al.: Smart materials: development of new sensory experiences through stimuli responsive materials Proceedings of the 5th STS Conf., 10 (2014) Colombo, S.: Merging digital and physical: Tangible interactions SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, 21–30 (2016) Wiberg, M.: Interaction, new materials & computing - Beyond the disappearing computer, towards material interactions Mater Des., 90, 1200–1206 (2014) Parisi S et al.: Mapping ICS Materials: Interactive, Connected, and Smart Materials Proceedings of the 1st IHSI Conference, 739–744 (2018) 10 Piselli, A., Garbagnoli, P., Cavarretta, G., Del Curto, B.: The shape of light: An interactive approach to smart materials Proceedings of the 20th ICED Conference, 9, 219-228 (2015) 11 Fernaeus, Y., Sundström, P.: The material move how materials matter in interaction design research Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS), 486 (2012) 12 Wiberg, M., Robles, E.: Computational compositions: Aesthetics, materials, and interaction design Int J Des., 4, 2, 65–76 (2010) 13 Jung, H., Wiltse, H., Wiberg, M., Stolterman, E.: Metaphors, materialities, and affordances: Hybrid morphologies in the design of interactive artifacts Des Stud., 53, 24–46 (2017) 14 Colombo, S.: Sensory Experiences Informing, Engaging and Persuading through Dynamic Products PhD Thesis, Politecnico Di Milano (2014) 15 Yao, L.: Shape Changing Composite Material Design for Interactions PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2017) 16 Tibbits, S.: Active Matter MIT Press, Boston, (2017) 17 Self-Assembly Lab MIT, https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/programmable-materials 18 Bergamaschi, S., Lefebvre, E., Colombo, S., Del Curto, B., Rampino, L.: Material and Immaterial: New Product Experience Int J Des Objects, 10, 1, 11–22 (2016) 19 Figuerola, M., Lai, Q., Ashby, M.: The CES EduPack Products, Materials and Processes Database - White Paper (2016) 20 Bengisu, M., Ferrara, M.: Materials that Move SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, 5–38 (2018) 21 Addington, M., Schodek, D L.: Smart Materials and New Technologies For the architecture and design professions Elsevier (2005) 22 Coelho, M., Zigelbaum, J.: Shape-changing interfaces S Pers Ub C., 15, 161-173 (2011) 23 Piselli, A et al.: Development and evaluation of a methodology to integrate technical and sensorial properties in materials selection Mater Des., 153, 259–272 (2018) ... and integrated material databases (Granta Design CES EduPack) The Products, Materials and Processes Database (PMPDb), developed in 2016 by Figuerola [19], has been analyzed as it represents the. .. fabrication of SCMSs, their application areas, key features and main functional principles Based on these reviews and on the framework of the most comprehensive commercial material database analyzed... thinking in their design practice This research presents a new framework of an explorative and implementable database on Shape-Changing Material Systems to support design students and industrial designers