bioLogic: Revolutionizing Sportswear with Living Bacteria

MIT Media Lab's Tangible Media Group Unveils Self-Transforming Biological Skin

The bioLogic project began in the summer of 2014 and was completed in October 2015 at the Tangible Media Group, MIT Media Lab, in Cambridge, MA, USA. The team, which included Lining Yao, Wen Wang, Guanyun Wang, Helene Steiner, Jifei Ou, Chin-Yi Cheng, and Oksana Anilionyte, discovered that humidity-sensitive bacteria could be harvested and used as nanosensors and nanoactuators. These mechanisms were applied to fabric using custom-made micro-resolution printing technology, creating a synthetic breathing skin activated by perspiration and body heat.

The design process involved studying the mechanical properties of Natto cells and their reaction to body temperature and humidity change. In collaboration with New Balance, the team also studied human heat- and sweat-maps to create a biological garment that reacts in symbiosis with the human body and its needs. The result is a garment that transforms in response to the wearer's body, with tiny vents on the fabric curling open or closed based on the wearer's sweat and heat maps.

One of the significant challenges faced by the team was upscaling from a micro-scale structure like a singular cell to the first transforming biological skin that can be worn and tested. The project represented a significant scientific, engineering, and design challenge. However, the team successfully overcame these hurdles, creating a garment that reacts to perspiration, with tiny vents over the body's heat zones opening and closing, allowing for instant cooling.

The bioLogic team's work represents a significant step forward in the field of wearable technology. The project was awarded the Golden A' Wearable Technologies Design Award in 2016, a prestigious accolade granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. The award recognizes products and ideas that advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.

As the field of wearable technology continues to evolve, the work of the bioLogic team offers a fascinating glimpse into a future where actuators and sensors can be grown rather than manufactured, derived from nature as opposed to engineered in factories. The team's innovative use of living bacteria in garment design not only represents a significant scientific and engineering achievement but also opens up exciting new possibilities for the future of sportswear and wearable technology.