Based on porous skin and intelligent materials, Hidden Protocol constructs a composite field designed to simulate the states experienced by social anxiety individuals at different stages of social interaction. By treating the viewer as an integral part of the artwork, it invites them to participate in an interactive process, to visualise the physiological and psychological responses of SAD.

Developed through iterative experiments with responsive materials, behavioral sensing, and real-time visual generation, Hidden Protocol is divided into two models of ‘no one interacts’ and ‘someone interacts’. When no one approaches, the installation maintains a state of relative equilibrium. When someone enters, the network of sensors captures various forms of social stimuli. The data will be mapped in real time to the embedded LEDs, the cellular animation of flexible screens and the soft robotic movements, creating an embodied interaction system that connects physical behaviour, perception, and spatial animation.

In relation to speculative futures, Hidden Protocol explores the untouchable threshold and an alternative social interface. It examines the in-between space between body and machine, individual emotion and collective interaction, proposing a speculative future in which emotional conditions are no longer hidden internally, but externalized through responsive architectures and intelligent materials.

Hidden Protocol focuses on art with technology and intelligent materials, integrating IoT sensing systems with Arduino and TouchDesigner for real-time visual generation.

The installation constructs a distributed sensory system where sensors function as embedded ‘organs’ within the artwork. The input data, such as pressure, decibels and distance, are monitored in real time and transmitted to Arduino for data pre-processing via programming. And then it will be translated into soft robotic movement and animation with TouchDesigner.

As the project is currently in an ongoing developmental stage, AI-assisted visualization tools have also been used during the conceptual diagram and speculative rendering process.