Ray Kurzweil predicts the ‘Singularity’, the progressive amalgamation of the human brain and machine intelligence. Aubrey de Grey understands aging as a disease that can be cured and may lead to infinite life extension. And Zoltan Istvan, who with his ‘Transhumanist Party’ is currently running for US presidency, advocates -among other things- the technological enhancement of the mind and body through robotics and smart devices.

Within the context of ‘Humanity +’ this Seminar explored the possibilities and potential effects of augmenting the self and extending the body. Focusing on the human skin, as a means for protection but also a mediator of our senses and the environment we looked into ways of creating novel interactions and bodily experiences.
Working with raw materials and recipes, supplemented through embedded electronics a crucial task for the students was to think about futuristic applications and implications of a second skin.

The first phase of the seminar focused on creating new materials or combining existing ones into advanced composites, with a particular focus on bioplastics and kombucha. During the second part of the course students could investigate the augmentation and actuation of the material systems through means of electronics and physical computing. The final phase was reserved to developing a functional application, working prototype and speculative future scenario, presented through means of video and material catalogues.