Microbe-HCI: an emerging field at the intersection of microbiology and human-computer interaction

Abstract With recent developments in the life sciences and computer technology blurring the boundaries between organisms and artifacts, innovative applications of microorganisms in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and Biodesign have fueled the development of Microbe-HCI as a new area of investigation. As an emerging interdisciplinary research field, Microbe-HCI challenges existing knowledge structures and previous approaches of designers and HCI researchers. Using the PRISMA (Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) framework, this systematic literature review analyzes 53 selected articles from the Scopus database, the ACM (Association for computing machinery) database, and Google Scholar to examine the developmental pathways, microbial categories, and research themes of Microbe-HCI. We quantitatively analyze the literature data to explore the constituent elements of the biological interaction system and identify the role of microbes within the interaction system components. The results of the research theme categorization show six areas of focus in current Microbe-HCI research: maintaining microbial activity, microbial function, future-oriented speculative bioethics, education and entertainment, interactive living media, design methods, and tools. Based on the results, we discuss the implications and future research directions of Microbe-HCI from the perspectives of sustainability and bioethics, encouraging interdisciplinary researchers and designers to further explore the integration of microbial and interactive technologies.