It’s not quite Halloween yet, but if you’re the type that likes to plan ahead, then you should consider this for that masquerade ball seven months from now. COLLAGENE is a Kinect software application designed to create adaptive and customizable masks based off of a quick scan from an XBox Kinect. Developed by DO THE MUTATION, the project “explores the border between physical and virtual, connecting computer code’s abstractions with the intimate, visceral dimension of body alteration.”

COLLAGENE

Produced as unique pieces through 3D printing and WINDFORM materials, the material formation is determined by the topographic anatomy of any particular scanned face. The face acts as an input for COLLAGENE’s specific algorithms that generate the form of the object, resulting in highly complex geometries that fit the user’s face perfectly and uniquely. The material chosen for the project, WINDFORM LX 2.0, is a black polyamide-based material reinforced with glass fiber used in high-performance industries such as motorsports and aerospace. According to DO THE MUTATION, the masks provide identity alteration and concealment that stimulates viewers’ imagination and visual association while exploring the physical and the virtual worlds.

Masks are produced through additive manifacturing technology and WINDFORM materials provided by CRP GROUP from Modena. This production technology is perfectly integrated in the design strategy, allowing to create an hypothetically extended set of unique objects, each different from the other, of highly articulated geometry. Moreover, the complete digitalization of the processes allows the web integration, and consequently the possibility of relocating the different development phases: it is possible to scan the face, create the mask and produce it in totally distinct places.

For more info on the production methods and application availability, head over to DO THE MUTATION.