Jill Scott
«e-Skin»

«e-Skin: Smart Sculptures in Interactive Environments», is a set of interactive interfaces based on human skin and hair. Our own skin and hair is the largest organ of the human body: a tactile reactive interface with special metaphorical connotations of communication and sensitivity. I am currently working on with Artificial Intelligence experts and Electronic engineers on this project, which uses ergonomic objects. These objects are sensitive to temperature, pressure and vibration and which provide tactile, acoustic and visual feedback including scientific visualisation. On the screens the viewers can communicate with simulation of a biological conditions and metaphors which include the cultural and racial implications of skin. Here the viewer uses spatial and social communication of human-artefact systems in human computer-interfaces (HCI) Our team hopes to blur the boundaries between artificial and natural surface and create a new social levels of visual and acoustic communication. Of particular interest is the collapsing of the gap between touch and the other senses (vision, hearing, and proprioception). A set of prototypes with related environments have already been produced and tested with visually impaired and handicapped users.