Textiles can communicate with us through their textures, and the association they trigger in us. Like the urge to pet a cat when it crosses our path on the street. The fluff part of the Screaming Fluff was therefore chosen as one of the most touchable textures in our everyday lives. Even the shape of it abstractly represents the head of a cat or a dog. But because we live in a world where not everything is always as it seems to be, the Screaming Fluff, although loudly communicating it should be touched, does not actually want that, and starts screaming if you do.

This shows a humorous contrast between what we expect and what happens, which puts the viewer in a position of surprise. Regardless of whether they feel amused or annoyed about the result, the interaction should open a few questions. What they are of course differentiates from viewer to viewer based on their individual outlook on the world or human relationships.

The fur is functionalized by the chemical process of in-situ polymerization and sewn-in strands of conductive thread, that are connected to the circuit board. I used capacitive sensing as input and used the mpr121 as a readout board. Everything else comes together on the Arduino. All electronics are placed inside the ball, which only requires an outside cable connection to power.