Body, Bend: Resolving the soft-rigid paradox using 3D printing innovation

S. M. Astrid Bin, Nyokabi Kyriũki, and Alex Hofman

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Wearable musical instruments face a material challenge: piezoelectric percussion sensors require rigid, stable mounting, while garments demand softness and flexibility, and must be body-conforming. This tension is particularly acute for piezoelectric sensors used in percussion applications, where consistent signal response depends on stable sensor placement. In this paper we present a novel fabrication method using 3D-printed, flexible TPU substrates that we developed to embed piezo sensors in wearable garments. This approach enabled us to create a sensing infrastructure that is not only stable and reliable for sensor response, but is uniquely lightweight, wearable, aesthetically resolved, and fully integrated into a wearable fabric system. Developed through a collaboration between an instrument designer and an electronic musician with deep African influences, this infrastructure enabled a complete wearable percussion instrument that musically and aesthetically supported the artist's practice. By resolving the soft-rigid paradox through 3D printing that is widely accessible and cost-effective and presenting a material-led response to the notion of the 'unfinished instrument' that is completed through use, this work demonstrates how fabrication innovation can move technology from foreground constraint to background infrastructure, empowering artists and designers to prioritise musical, aesthetic, and visual factors.

Citation

S. M. Astrid Bin, Nyokabi Kyriũki, and Alex Hofman. 2026. Body, Bend: Resolving the soft-rigid paradox using 3D printing innovation. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784032 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_1,
 abstract = {Wearable musical instruments face a material challenge: piezoelectric percussion sensors require rigid, stable mounting, while garments demand softness and flexibility, and must be body-conforming. This tension is particularly acute for piezoelectric sensors used in percussion applications, where consistent signal response depends on stable sensor placement. In this paper we present a novel fabrication method using 3D-printed, flexible TPU substrates that we developed to embed piezo sensors in wearable garments. This approach enabled us to create a sensing infrastructure that is not only stable and reliable for sensor response, but is uniquely lightweight, wearable, aesthetically resolved, and fully integrated into a wearable fabric system. Developed through a collaboration between an instrument designer and an electronic musician with deep African influences, this infrastructure enabled a complete wearable percussion instrument that musically and aesthetically supported the artist's practice. By resolving the soft-rigid paradox through 3D printing that is widely accessible and cost-effective and presenting a material-led response to the notion of the 'unfinished instrument' that is completed through use, this work demonstrates how fabrication innovation can move technology from foreground constraint to background infrastructure, empowering artists and designers to prioritise musical, aesthetic, and visual factors.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {1},
 author = {S. M. Astrid Bin and Nyokabi Kyriũki and Alex Hofman},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784032},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {7},
 pages = {1--7},
 title = {Body, Bend: Resolving the soft-rigid paradox using 3D printing innovation},
 track = {Paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_1.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}