“Revolutionizing Play: The Biodegradable BioHybrid Gaming Device Crafted from Bacteria and Yeast”

interactive biohybrid gadget cultivated through biofabrication

The BioHybrid Gadget is a video game controller that combines biological growth with digital manufacturing principles. Conceptualized by Vivien Roussel, Madalina Nicolae, and Marc Teyssier, this device is cultivated using SCOBY (a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) and incorporates conductive elements, sensors, and output parts during the organic growth phase. By employing biofabrication techniques, this initiative provides a vision of the future of sustainable, interactive technologies — suggesting devices that grow, adapt, and ultimately biodegrade.

Although its primary use is gaming, the ramifications of the BioHybrid Gadget reach far beyond that realm. It acts as a proof of concept for interactive devices developed biologically that could blend into various sectors of daily living. Envision keyboards, wearables, or even architectural features grown through biofabrication. The prospect of growing technology instead of building it ushers in a novel phase of material innovation.

BioHybrid Gadget in action | all images provided courtesy of M. Nicolae and V. Roussel unless stated otherwise

by Vivien Roussel, Madalina Nicolae, and Marc Teyssier

The BioHybrid Gadget is a practical artifact and a challenge redefining how we create, engage with, and dispose of technological items. Its sensory and aesthetic characteristics — a fusion of organic textures and futuristic design — present a stark deviation from conventional plastic controllers. Rooted in the urgent necessity for sustainable methodologies, this device expands the horizons of interactive architecture by melding living and non-living systems. Morphogenesis, the biological phenomenon by which structures naturally evolve, becomes a key manufacturing tenet, enabling the controller to ‘grow’ instead of being assembled. By embedding electronically interactive elements throughout the growth phase, this hybrid creation erases the distinctions between organic and synthetic, living systems and digital production.

Designers Vivien Roussel, Madalina Nicolae, and Marc Teyssier draw influence from urgent ecological issues. In the last ten years, computing hardware has become affordable and widely accessible yet is paradoxically disposable, contributing to e-waste — one of the fastest-growing waste categories internationally. Devices such as smartphones and computers are seldom designed for repair or reuse, resulting in short lifespans despite their material durability. The BioHybrid Gadget suggests a sustainable solution.

a video game controller that combines biological growth with digital manufacturing

from extractive to regenerative approaches

The BioHybrid Gadget demonstrates a transition from extractive production to regenerative methodologies, probing the frameworks that have influenced technological progress over decades, and encouraging users to explore the possibilities of biofabrication in commonplace items. What if technology could seamlessly integrate with the ecosystem? How might it alter our understanding of technological interfaces? And what obligations arise from designing living systems?

This device resonates with broader movements like biodesign, speculative design, and circular economy concepts. By merging digital and biological manufacturing, it fosters discussions about technology’s role in a posthuman future, where the lines between humanity, machinery, and nature blur. This endeavor also engages with relational design philosophies, reflecting ideas from thinkers like Yuk Hui and Ron Wakkary, who examine the incorporation of technology within ecological and relational frameworks. By infusing life into the creation method, Vivien Roussel, Madalina Nicolae, and Marc Teyssier reimagine objects as proactive participants within their environments.

The BioHybrid Gadget marks merely the beginning of a broader inquiry into sustainable, living technologies. Future iterations aim to enhance the biofabrication process, investigate new material applications, and broaden functionalities. This experiential approach addresses the limitations and implications of a biotechnological future, urging others to reconsider the interplay between humanity, technology, and the environment.

the device is grown using SCOBY (bacteria and yeast) while integrating conductive elements throughout the growth phase

aligned with broader movements such as biodesign, speculative design, circular economy | image courtesy ESC Mediem Kunst Labor

a flat version of the joystick, just dried out after growing

the game controller showcased during an exhibition at ESC mediem Kunst Labor, Graz, Austria | image credit ESC Mediem Kunst Labor

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the manufacturing stages and utilized techniques summarized | image © M. Nicolae & V. Roussel

experimentation and validation of the approach in the publication UIST’23

project details:

title: BioHybrid Device
creators: Vivien Roussel, Madalina Nicolae, Marc Teyssier

collaborators: Marion Koelle, Samuel Huron

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edited by: ravail khan | designboom