Description

This master’s thesis examines the form generation of pneumatic air cushions under external constraints as well as their potential for interactive applications. The interplay of material properties, internal air pressure, and simple control structures enables controllable, reversible, and open-ended shape changes.

Based on systematic form and interaction experiments, it is investigated how passive external constraints from control lines and tubes influence the form behavior of pneumatic structures and open up new design possibilities.

The research demonstrates fundamental principles of form formation as well as new aspects of material agency, including plasticity, shape stability, and joint-like movements. Pneumatic air cushions are understood as generative and interactive structural systems whose potential for product and interaction design is expanded.