Smart Material Interfaces: Playful and Artistic Applications (keynote paper)

In this paper we draw attention to the emerging field of smart material interfaces. These novel composites, that in some cases are already celebrated as the answer for the 21st century's technological needs, are generally referred to as materials that are capable of sensing the environment and actively responding to environmental changes by changing their physical properties. Smart materials have physical properties that can be changed or controlled by external stimuli such as electric or magnetic fields, light, temperature or stress. Shape, size and color are among the properties that can be changed. Smart material interfaces are physical interfaces that utilize these materials to sense the environment and display responses by changing their physical properties. Common smart materials appear in the form of polymers, ceramics, memory shape alloys or hydro-gels. This paper aims at stimulating research and development in interfaces that make novel use of such smart materials.