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From plastic to biomaterials: prototyping DIY electronics with mycelium

Published: 09 September 2019 Publication History

Abstract

Researchers, makers and hobbyists rely on plastics for creating their DIY electronics. Enclosures, battery holders, buttons and wires are used in most of the prototypes in a temporal way, generating waste. This research aims to extend the boundaries of biomaterials applications into electronics. Mycelium is a fast-growing vegetative part of a fungus which adapts to different shapes when growing in a mold and decomposes after 90 days in a natural environment as organic waste. In order to create more sustainable prototypes, we use mycelium composites with common digital fabrication techniques for replacing plastic in electronics. We present our method for growing mycelium, our design process of using digital fabrication techniques with mycelium, applications for embedding electronics in mycelium boards, making enclosures for electronics, and using mycelium within electronics. This paper could contribute with the merge of biomaterials and electronics, an approach which is still under exploration.

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References

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Natalie Alima. 2013. Mycotecture - growing into form - IAAC Blog. http://www.iaacblog.com/programs/mycotecture-growing-into-form-2
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Published In

cover image ACM Conferences
UbiComp/ISWC '19 Adjunct: Adjunct Proceedings of the 2019 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing and Proceedings of the 2019 ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computers
September 2019
1234 pages
ISBN:9781450368698
DOI:10.1145/3341162
Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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Publication History

Published: 09 September 2019

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Author Tags

  1. DIY electronics
  2. bio fabrication
  3. biomaterials
  4. digital fabrication
  5. electronics
  6. mycelium
  7. rapid prototyping

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Overall Acceptance Rate 764 of 2,912 submissions, 26%

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  • (2024)The Potential of Co-Designing with Living Organisms: Towards a New Ecological Paradigm in ArchitectureSustainability10.3390/su1602067316:2(673)Online publication date: 12-Jan-2024
  • (2024)Challenges and Opportunities in Using Electronic Prototyping as a Maker ToolProceedings of the XXIII Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3702038.3702092(1-15)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2024
  • (2024)Addressing Uncertainty in Biodesign through Digital Twins: A Case of Biofabrication with MyceliumACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/368527131:6(1-28)Online publication date: 21-Aug-2024
  • (2024)Growing Conditions for Growing: Infrastructures for Designing with Living Organisms in Fabrication SettingsProceedings of the 13th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3679318.3685389(1-14)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
  • (2024)Degrade to Function: Towards Eco-friendly Morphing Devices that Function Through Programmed Sequential DegradationProceedings of the 37th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology10.1145/3654777.3676464(1-24)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
  • (2024)Sustainable Unmaking: Designing for Biodegradation, Decay, and DisassemblyExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3636300(1-7)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
  • (2024)SolderlessPCB: Reusing Electronic Components in PCB Prototyping through Detachable 3D Printed HousingsProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642765(1-17)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
  • (2023)Designing Dissolving WearablesAdjunct Proceedings of the 2023 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing & the 2023 ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computing10.1145/3594739.3610781(286-290)Online publication date: 8-Oct-2023
  • (2023)Sustainflatable: Harvesting, Storing and Utilizing Ambient Energy for Pneumatic Morphing InterfacesProceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology10.1145/3586183.3606721(1-20)Online publication date: 29-Oct-2023
  • (2023)Decomposable Interactive SystemsAdjunct Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology10.1145/3586182.3616705(1-5)Online publication date: 29-Oct-2023
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