The 21st-century computing devices, envisioned by Mark Weiser, should ‘weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until it is indistinguishable from it.’ This vision propelled the development of today’s computational devices, seamlessly blending into our surroundings. However, this vision is overshadowed by a growing concern: the environmental impact of the rapid proliferation of devices. In our pursuit of the ubiquitous computing idea, the prevailing design paradigm centers on creating devices with optimal functionality and longevity, often overlooking considerations of recyclability, and packing the most functionalities into the smallest form factor.
My research focuses on adding ‘sustainable physical intelligence’ to our built environment through ‘robotic materials.’ These materials have the ability to sense the surroundings, exchange information, harvest ambient energy, produce shape outputs, and adapt to environmental changes. Simultaneously, they are designed with the capability to self-destruct or be recyclable for new device lives. Imagine a day when 3D-printed chocolates encode Wi-Fi access passwords and can be securely disposed of by simply eating; a vivid artificial flower made of completely biodegradable, shape-changing materials can deliver emotional interactions; and a surface filled with expandable particles can convey sensible tactile information while being entirely recyclable.
Tingyu Cheng is a final-year Ph.D. candidate at Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in human-centered computing and supervised by professors Gregory Abowd and Hyunjoo Oh in the College of Computing. His main research interests and background lie in ubiquitous computing and human-computer interaction fields, aiming to design, fabricate, and analyze novel-material-based sensors and actuators and their interactions with humans.
Specifically, he aims to incorporate ‘sustainable physical intelligence’ into our built environment. This involves not only enabling our environment to sense different surrounding activities, actuate to indicate/deliver information, or even communicate, but also paying attention to how this built-in materials intelligence can facilitate self-destruction or further recycling, mirroring the processes found in nature.
Cheng has published in major HCI venues (CHI, IMWUT, UIST) and scientific journals (Science Advances, npj Flexible Electronics, Smart Materials and Structures) and has received paper awards (CHI 2023 honorable mention) and design awards (Core77 honorable mention/winner, Fast Company Design Award honorable mention/finalist, Ars Electronics honorable mention).