Tangible interfaces for manipulating aggregates of digital information
Name
51909368-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
43.02 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
2c67e5b084d6e11fcc062bdd6e9de2c3
Author(s)
Ullmer, Brygg Anders
Advisor(s)
Hiroshi Ishii.
Date Issued
2002
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis develops new approaches for people to physically represent and interact with aggregates of digital information. These support the concept of Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs), a genre of human-computer interaction that uses spatially reconfigurable physical objects as representations and controls for digital information. The thesis supports the manipulation of information aggregates through systems of physical tokens and constraints. In these interfaces, physical tokens act as containers and parameters for referencing digital information elements and aggregates. Physical constraints are then used to map structured compositions of tokens onto a variety of computational interpretations. This approach is supported through the design and implementation of several systems. The mediaBlocks system enables people to use physical blocks to "copy and paste" digital media between specialized devices and general-purpose computers, and to physically compose and edit this content (e.g., to build multimedia presentations). This system also contributes new tangible interface techniques for binding, aggregating, and disaggregating sequences of digital information into physical objects.
(cont.) Tangible query interfaces allow people to physically express and manipulate database queries. This system demonstrates ways in which tangible interfaces can manipulate larger aggregates of information. One of these query approaches has been evaluated in a user study, which has compared favorably with a best-practice graphical interface alternative. These projects are used to support the claim that physically constrained tokens can provide an effective approach for interacting with aggregates of digital information.
Description
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2002.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-269).
Subjects
Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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