Kurze, AlbrechtChuang, LewisBerger, ArneStephan, KlausSontopski, NatalieHildebrandt, StephanJost, ElisabethEibl, Maximilian2023-08-242023-08-242023https://dl.gi.de/handle/20.500.12116/42106‘bitplush’ is a project that will explore how individuals can be emotionally connected through smart connected plush toys. The goal is to explore and formalize the design space of implicit and multimodal interactions that can be supported with and through them, in a way that is tangible, graspable, and meaningful. To achieve this, highquality, handcrafted plush toys will be equipped with hardware and software for innovative data processing and communication. Off-the-shelf as well as novel textile-integrated and textile-based sensors and actuators will be used to develop novel communication channels that will enable a sense of “closeness over distance” without diminishing other forms of communication. Interdisciplinary tools, methods, materials and theories of social relationships serve as a framework for our design space. We conclude with a brief discussion on the planned iterative stages of this project and seek opportunities for like-minded collaborations.Text/Workshop Paper10.18420/muc2023-mci-ws09-420