Introduction

Biodesign scholarship has increasingly emphasised the field’s heterogeneity, noting that contemporary biodesign laboratories no longer operate under a single methodological or epistemic paradigm, but instead diversify according to their objectives, ethical positions, and institutional contexts (Crawford Reference Crawford2023; Ihls and Pollini Reference Ihls and Pollini2025; Karana Reference Karana2020; Marseglia et al. Reference Marseglia, Cantini, Celli, Brunelli and Lotti2025). Within this landscape, biodesigners have explored non-anthropocentric and more-than-human (MTH) modes of inquiry through interdisciplinary practices that challenge instrumental approaches to living systems (Kuznetsov et al. Reference Kuznetsov, Barrett, Fernando and Fowler2018; Pollini Reference Pollini2024; Sawa Reference Sawa2016; Stefanova Reference Stefanova, Chakrabarti, Poovaiah, Bokil and Kant2021). Recent research has further foregrounded MTH sensibilities through speculative, relational, and posthuman design tools that question dominant human-centred assumptions (Bell et al. Reference Bell, Ramsahoye, Coffie, Tung, Alistar, Byrne, Martelaro, Boucher, Chatting, Fdili Alaoui, Fox, Nicenboim and MacArthur2023; Chen and Pschetz Reference Chen, Pschetz, Mueller, Kyburz, Williamson, Sas, Wilson, Toups Dugas and Shklovski2024; Kim et al. Reference Kim, Nicenboim, Martins, Karana, Chang, Chen and Hsu2025; Vu et al. Reference Vu, Funk, Huang and Barati2024). However, a persistent tension remains between these aspirations and the highly specialised, sterilised infrastructures of biological laboratories, where microbial-scale experimentation often reinforces anthropocentric control and optimisation. This demonstration is positioned within this critical gap.

This demonstration presents a situated biodesign toolset developed through three years of practice-led research in a BSL-1 biodesign laboratory within an industrial design engineering faculty. The work explores how MTH sensibilities can be surfaced, negotiated, and performed within a conventional biodesign lab environment that is typically optimised for sterilised, human-centred biological experimentation.

Adopting the Becoming-with stance toward cyanobacteria informed by the philosophy of becoming (Kim et al. Reference Kim, Kim, Martins, Karana, Gray, Ciliotta Chehade, Hekkert, Forlano, Ciuccarelli and Lloyd2024), the author frames the laboratory as a shared field rather than a site of control, attending to cyanobacteria’s phototactic behaviours, optical sensing, and temporal relations at the microbial scale. Through this lens, the author developed experimental tools that mediate between biological experimentation, design practice, and speculative technological interventions.

The toolset consists of four main components (see Figure 1). First, a redesigned Biodesign Lab Journal supports documenting interdisciplinary tensions, situated decision-making, and MTH reflections during laboratory practice (Kim et al. Reference Kim, Nicenboim, Martins, Karana, Chang, Chen and Hsu2025). Second, a Phototaxis Toolbox – a DIY physical computing array assembled using 3D-printed components, Raspberry Pi, and CircuitPython – modulates light conditions for cyanobacterial phototaxis experiments. For exhibition purposes, this setup will be displayed with Petri dishes that do not contain living organisms, ensuring biological safety. Third, HoloLens 2 enables hands-free operation in sterile conditions while overlaying experimental information through augmented reality. Fourth, a Meta Quest 3 headset running Cyano Vision, a Unity-based VR application, visually explores the optical sensing of cyanobacteria from a non-human perspective.

Figure 1.

The four-component biodesign toolset. (A) Reflective biodesign lab journal with stickers and a bookmark for documenting interdisciplinary tensions and more-than-human reflections (Kim et al. Reference Kim, Nicenboim, Martins, Karana, Chang, Chen and Hsu2025). (B) Phototaxis toolbox array consisting of 3D-printed components, a Raspberry Pi, and a CircuitPython-controlled light modulation system for cyanobacterial experiments. (C) Author conducting hands-free laboratory work using HoloLens 2 with an augmented reality overlay under sterile conditions. (D) Author experiencing Cyano Vision through Meta Quest 3 to speculate cyanobacteria’s optical response from a non-human perspective.

Figure 1. Long description

Layout structure consists of a composite graphic with four independent rectangular panels arranged in a two-by-two grid, labelled A through D. Panel A, top left, shows an open, perfect-bound notebook with a grid-patterned page on the left and a semi-blank page on the right lying flat, with multiple round stickers and a rectangular bookmark on the right. Panel B, top right, shows a top-down photograph of a round transparent flask and a round black case with a small LED bulb strip embedded, with bundles of red, green, and black wires extending into a small square plastic control box next to it. Panel C, bottom left, shows a photograph of a person in a white lab coat, wearing a dark augmented reality headset, holding a clear flask. Panel D, bottom right, shows a person in a lab coat wearing a white virtual reality headset reaching toward flasks on a large laboratory appliance.

All tools will be spatially arranged as a coherent biodesign workstation, moving between instrumental and speculative modes. Limited copies of the lab journal will be available for browsing and potential use in participants’ own contexts. The phototaxis toolbox will be displayed in an experimental configuration. Recorded documentation of HoloLens 2 and Meta Quest 3 use in real laboratory settings will be presented via a standing screen; upon request and depending on time constraints, attendees may experience Cyano Vision directly using the Meta Quest 3 (Figure 2). Ideally, the demonstration will be installed in an independent room that juxtaposes familiar biological laboratory paraphernalia with unfamiliar experimental tools. This immersive arrangement will allow attendees to step into the author’s situated experience of biodesign, prompting reflection on the field’s boundaries and future directions beyond anthropocentric ways of biodesigning in laboratory settings.

Figure 2.

First-person perspectives from mixed-reality systems during laboratory practice. (A) Augmented reality view through HoloLens 2 showing experimental information overlaid onto the physical laboratory environment during hands-free operation. (B) Virtual reality view through Meta Quest 3 running Cyano Vision, depicting the visual speculation of cyanobacteria’s optical sensing and sensorial relations to light within the laboratory space.

Figure 2. Long description

Layout structure consists of two horizontal rectangular panels placed side by side, labelled A and B. Panel A, on the left, shows a first-person live view looking into a physical laboratory with a hand holding a clear flask in the lower foreground and a semi-transparent rectangular digital browser window floating over the background view of the room. Panel B, right, shows a fully digital computer-generated image rendered entirely in shades of dark blue and glowing cyan light, depicting a geometrically projected laboratory with a hand holding a glowing shape of a culture flask.

The demonstration requires:

• • One table (minimum 110 × 60 cm)

• • One standing screen (approx. 40 inches)

• • Relocatable power tap (minimum three outlets)

• • One independent room (minimum 3.3 m², optional)