Control This Beautiful Ceramic Radio By Touching Its Palladium Surface

Engineers and gilder might not seem like the most intuitive invention partners — after all , their cunning hail from altogether dissimilar centuries — but the result of those kinds of unconventional collaborations can be magical . Behold : Hibou ( meaning Owl , in French ) , a ceramic receiving set that ’s control by touching the palladium form on its surface .

Hibou is the work of two French designer namedCelia Torvisco and Raphaël Pluvinage , at ENSCI Les Ateliers , along with Jean - François Dingjian and Laurent Greslin , Fondation Hermès , and a gilder at Paris ’ Sèvres Cité de la Céramique . The twosome have worked with tactile interfaces before — for representative , this radiothat alter based on directions — and the same principle is at body of work with Hibou . Each decorative pattern hold in a different doings : run for your fingerbreadth along the lean gradient on the shell ascendency volume , for example , while tap on the silvery Triangulum liner deepen the channel . The broad silvery roach on its upper face ? That ’s the on / off .

The patterns are covert printed inpalladium , a rare , fair recently - discovered snowy metallic element that also happens to be a great music director . Below , you ’ll see some shot of other patterns the duette publish — theoretically , you could apply a wicket of the stuff to any organic fabric , turning it into a director . Technically , Hibou is just another mite - sensitive gadget , like any number of others on the market right now . But as an experimentation in interaction pattern and corporeality , it feels like an aim from the future . mark out more on the designers’website . [ Vimeo , viaDesign Boom ]