Abstract

Hybrid Skins are an emerging type of conformable interface that operates at various scales of human experience. These interfaces uniquely integrate technological functions with social and cultural perspectives, merging traditional crafts with miniaturized robotics, machines, and materials in their development. The resulting Hybrid Skins can serve social, cultural, and technological purposes, while supporting the formation of individual identities. This seminar explores recent work from the Hybrid Body Lab in designing Hybrid Skins through under-explored approaches such as textile robotics, bio-fluid sensing, modular flexible electronics, and the exploration of sustainable, biological materials. With their seamless and conformable design, Hybrid Skins provide unprecedented intimacy in the human experience and an opportunity for us to carefully rethink and redesign how our relationship with technology can, should, or should not be. By blending engineering, design, and active engagement with diverse communities, Kao and her lab aim to create opportunities for exploring a wide range of possible futures for wearable technology that celebrate, rather than restrict, the richness of human experiences.

Bio.

Dr. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao is a computer scientist, interdisciplinary designer, and Associate Professor at Cornell University, where she founded and directs the Hybrid Body Lab. She is also the 2026-2027 Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Fellow at Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Kao’s research centers on Hybrid Skins—culturally inspired, conformable, wearable interfaces that merge traditional crafts with cutting-edge miniaturized technology. Her accolades include the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the ACM ISWC Test-of-Time 10-Year Impact Award, and multiple Best Paper and Honorable Mention awards from leading ACM computer science conferences. As an interdisciplinary designer, Kao has exhibited her work internationally at venues such as the Pompidou Center in Paris and New York Fashion Week, earning distinction through the SXSW Interactive Innovation Award and Ars Electronica STARTS Prize Nomination. Through her research and design practice, she aims to foster inclusive futures for soft wearable technologies, like smart tattoos and textiles, and pioneers novel digital fabrication methods. Her work has been featured in Forbes, CNN, TIME, Fast Company, and WIRED. Kao holds a Ph.D. from MIT Media Lab and was born and raised in Taiwan.

All faculty and students are welcome to join.