AFFECTIVE AR
Affective AR investigates how people emotionally and perceptually respond to soft textile robots and their augmented-reality (AR) twins. The study compares physical and virtual embodiments of four nature-inspired robotic sculptures—Waiting for the Dark, Thirsty for Air, Searching for the Sun, and Making Room—each expressing living rhythms such as breathing, swelling, and stretching. Using a between-subjects design, one group interacts with the physical installations while another experiences the identical motions in AR. Both follow the same protocol and complete identical self-assessment surveys that measure affective qualities like calmness, curiosity, liveliness, and connection. This framework isolates how sensory modality material resistance versus virtual immersion influences emotional engagement.
The paper situates the work within two intersecting research trajectories: one tracing the shift in soft robotics from anthropomorphic mimicry toward expression through material behavior and motion, and another exploring how, in virtual environments, empathy and presence emerge from the quality of motion rather than visual realism.
Each robot employs unique actuation systems (motors, spools, pneumatic chambers, or servos) controlled via Adafruit Feather microcontrollers and randomized timing, generating lifelike unpredictability. The AR twins are animated using recorded motion data, reproducing the same temporal signatures within a spatially aligned immersive environment.
Preliminary data from the physical installation show participants found the experience pleasant, natural, and alive, evoking calmness and curiosity. Future stages will include the virtual-twin dataset and integrate biometric sensing (heart rate, skin conductance, pupil dilation) to deepen understanding of emotional resonance across modalities.
Textile Robots
Making Room
Textile Robot| Materials: Fabric, wood, electronics, air |Size: 5ft x 3ft x 3ft
Thirsty for Air
Textile Robot | Materials: Fabric, wood, electronics, air. | Size: 5ft x 3ft x 3ft
Waiting for the Dark
Textile Robot | Materials: Fabric, wood, electronics, petg.|Size: 12ft x 6ft x 6ft
Searching for the Sun
Textile Robot | Materials: Fabric, wood, electronics, pla|Size: 5ft x 3ft x 3ft
Virtual Textile Robots & Ar experiments
HAVEN
HAVEN proposes a stowable, inflatable capsule for emergency evacuation from the ISS. Current crewed vehicles are designed primarily for transport, not as dedicated lifeboats, leaving a critical gap in station-specific emergency systems. HAVEN addresses this by introducing a compact, modular re-entry capsule equipped with a deployable heat shield and hybrid rigid–soft structure. The system can be docked as a new module housing up to six emergency re-entry vehicles, providing immediate evacuation capability for an entire crew. Each capsule autonomously executes a high-velocity re-entry and controlled descent, enabling safe, rapid recovery in the event of fire, depressurization, or medical crisis. Working on this project deepened my interest in form finding under extreme environmental constraints—how collapsible and inflatable structures can achieve both spatial efficiency and mechanical integrity
COWO - Bio Material Research
COWO is a coconut and wool composite. When combined through a tufting process, these two undervalued waste streams form insulation and acoustic panels without the use of synthetic adhesives. The natural structure of each material allows us to build layered compositions that meet performance requirements while remaining compostable and safe to handle. These panels can be adapted for interiors and modular systems, demonstrating how waste can be reimagined as a reliable, regenerative resource.
We exhibited our COWO coconut- wool panels as a part of the VAMO exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale that opened to public in 2025.
PROGRAMMBALE ASSEMBLY FOR DISASSEMBLY
Programmable Assembly for Disassembly, investigates how multi-material objects can be designed for controlled separation for renewability or reuse. While many “sustainable” products emphasize biodegradable materials, their hybrid assemblies often make recycling impossible; shoes, for instance, are notoriously difficult to disassemble. My research develops design, fabrication, and material strategies that enable multi-material systems to be separated into their constituent parts, integrating disassembly as a design parameter from the outset. Departing from traditional design-for-disassembly theories, I focus on embedding responsiveness directly into the materials themselves.
One line of inquiry explores mechanical disassembly, using magnetic particles and auxetic geometries and bimaterial prints to create joints that can detach under specific magnetic fields or forces. In parallel, I am developing disassembly methods for soft materials, such as fabrics and threads, including dissolvable threads that release upon exposure to targeted solvents, as well as new threading methods. By combining these approaches, I aim to establish a spectrum of mechanisms that enable products to be easily deconstructed at the end of their lifecycle without losing constituent materials. This work advances a circular design framework where materials are programmed to unmake themselves under defined conditions, offering a response to the limitations of today’s recycling systems.
Displaced & Clusters / Interaction Design
Kinetic installation| Materials: fabric, wood, electronics, pla| Size: 13ft x 4ftx 4ft
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Displaced and Clusters(the next piece)are pieces that interact with both their audience and the surrounding environment. The behaviors of the sculptures change based on various inputs. Displaced achieves this through sensors installed in the space where it's located, while Clusters geolocate their position, collect air pollution data every three hours, and adjust their speed according to the air pollution levels.
CLUSTERS
Kinetic installation. Materials: fabric, wood, electronics, pla. Size: 7ft x 3ftx 2ft & 6ft x 3ftx 2ft. The robots connect to wifi to geolocate its position and gather air pollution data. According to how clean the air is, it’s movements alter.
OTher Works
ISLAND OF DOUBT
RAISING QUILLS
Kinetic sculpture | Materials: fabric, wood, electronics, pla| Size: 9ft x 4ftx 4ft.
I stretch above and below to connect the ends in a new way. They’re a part of me and I of them. I hold out my quills to extend my home. If you and I should share a touch, I would show you the spaces between. I move on my own, not with the wind, not towards the sun, nor do I need water. I contain all within myself. You decide who I am, what I am, where I am from.
METAMORPHOSIS
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The Metamorphosis focuses on how we understand our bodies and move within space and how we establish a sense of belonging with the built environment and nature through play. The series consists of four wearable pieces that are a part of an interactive installation. The shape of each garment is inspired by children’s play combined with a nature print, and the environments of the installation contain micro or macro images of nature. Visitors are invited to wear the garments and enter the installation. They are encouraged to discover which parts of the installation they blend in with and where they stand out. They get a chance to experience new ways of moving while wearing the garments. Some restrict certain movements while allowing others. The experience urges the wearer to be aware of their movements and the space they inhabit and ponder what it means to become one with nature using our garments the way we move.
