An astounding integration of art with science has yielded a noteworthy specimen ‘Mushtari’, a ‘Wearable skin’, embedded with microorganisms by using 3D Printing technology.

Neri Oxman, in collaboration with Stratasys’, has utilized the triple-jetting technology to artistically design ‘Wearable skins’, which can host live matter into its pieces.

Oxman unveiled her latest creation, Mushtari on the stage of TED2015 in Vancouver. Oxman has named her quest, Wanderers: An Astrobiological Exploration, under which she aims to develop a series of such pieces, and Mushtari forms a part this series.

These pieces house microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and E. coli, in a symbiotic relationship with the host. The fluid channels in the wearable skin can stretch to around 58m, with an inner channel diameter ranging from 1 mm to 2.5 cm.

Oxman explained her contribution stating that this was the first time that 3D printing technology has been used to produce a photosynthetic wearable piece with hollow internal channels designed to house microorganisms.

She informed that Mushtari has been inspired by the human gastrointestinal tract, and is designed to host synthetic microorganisms that can glow as florescence bright colors in darkness and produce sugar or biofuels when exposed to the sun.

Listing the boons of her invention, Oxman asserted that in the near future, Mushtari will augment the wearer by scanning the skin, repairing damaged tissue and sustaining the body, an experiment that has never been attempted before.

Naomi Kaempfer, Creative Director for Art & Fashion Design at Stratasys described the collaborative effort, “one that has great reciprocal benefits as we push each other to the edges of expression and technological capability. 3D printing Mushtari is a wonderful example of how far this collaboration can bring us”.

Naomi stressed that the R&D team at Stratasys went beyond the boundaries of existing technology to formulate a dedicated, improved support structure to allow a smooth, effective hollow channel in support of Professor Oxman’s vision.