AirCraft: Exploring Air as Design Medium

 Air is vital for all living things, and it is ever-present. Humans, in particular, reside within the constant flow of air: the natural winds created by nature, the breaths we take, and the artificially generated currents from fans. Most research has investigated pneumatic haptic technologies for interaction, resulting in expensive and noisy devices that differ from real-life air interaction. Unsurprisingly, harnessing air as a design material still needs investigation, including the elemental and instinctive aspects that make it an integral part of our sensory existence. Through Research through Design, I explore the dimensions of air and its flow including the creation of more affordant interactives for prototyping with airflow. Unlike prior work, this project aims towards harnessing uncontained airflows in sensorily intimate and intuitive interactions. Here, I present the iterative process, grounded in bodily experiences, in two sections. Firstly, I illustrate air-based interactions using three cases, the accompanying prototypes, and design workshops. Then, I reflect on airflow as an interactive design material and describe opportunities for future investigation. Secondly, as a response to the first section, I introduce a toolkit to suggest an affordable and accessible approach for harnessing air as a novel design medium for creators in interactive systems and participatory workshops with the designers. I evaluate the effectiveness of these toolkits in stimulating diverse design possibilities and reducing barriers, thus enhancing the perception of air as a design element. I share workshop outcomes, demonstrating a range of ideas surrounding air and participants' evolving perceptions while leveraging with the toolkit. The findings emphasize air's untapped potential as a design medium and advocate for broader exploration of overlooked materials in design interactions.