AME410: Interactive Materials

for The GAME School at Arizona State University

Spring 2026

AME 410: Interactive Materials is a special topics studio course focused on building interactive systems that integrate electronics and embedded computation with unconventional materials. Through hands-on experimentation, students explore how material properties, fabrication techniques, and computation can be combined to imagine the future of tangible and embodied interactive media.

For lecture slides, readings, and course assignments go here

Unit 1: Paper

We start the class working with one of the most common art materials: paper. Even the simplest of materials allows for many avenues of interaction. We explore origami, paper engineering, pop-up, and paper circuits.

Resources, readings, inspirations: The Elements of Pop-Up by David A. Carter and James Diaz, The Pop-Up Channel, Jie Qi, Chibitronics, Kelli Anderson

Unit 2: Bio(degradable)materials

For three weeks, students learned how biodegradable materials can be used in art making and fabrication. In the classroom we built a biomaterial lab in which students “cooked” a variety of agar agar (algae) based bioplastics: algae bioplastic sheet, colorful bioyarn, and a conductive biofoam.

Resources, readings, inspirations: Material Kitchen, The Bioplastic Cook Book by Margaret Dunne, Hand and Machine, Living Matter Lab

Students pouring turmeric colored agar bioplastic sheet

Students extruding colorful bioyarn in calcium chloride bath

Students cooking and foaming conductive material

Unit 3: Textile Interfaces

We explored hand-sewing and wearable technology design. Through class demos, students created their first soft circuits, soft buttons, and a soft pressure sensor using soft materials like felt and textiles combined with conductive fabric and thread. We created a class swatch book of original student designs of interactive textiles.

Resources, readings, inspirations: Make: Wearable Electronics by Kate Hartman, How To Get What You Want, Social Body Lab, Unstable Design Lab

Unit 4: Soft Robotics

This was a quick crash course in the vast and ever expanding world of soft robots. We discussed concepts like bio-inspiration, inflatables, home care robots, cable control, and space applications.

Resources, readings, inspirations: Make: Soft Robotics by Matthew Borgatti and Kari Love, Inflatocookbook by Ant Farm, Big Hero 6