AMPHORM : form giving through gestural interaction to shape changing objects

Abstract

Shape-shifting materials have been part of sci-fi literature for decades. But if tomorrow we invent them, how are we going to communicate to them what shape we want them to morph into? If we look at our history, for thousands of years humans have been using the dexterity of their hands as primary means to alter the topology of their surroundings. While direct manipulation, as a primary method for form giving, allows for high precision deformation, the scope of interaction is limited to the scale of the hand. In order to extend the scope of manipulation beyond the hand scale, tools were invented to reach further and to augment the capabilities of our hands. In this thesis, I propose "Amphorm", a perceptually equivalent example of Radical Atoms, our vision on the interaction techniques for future, highly malleable, shape-shifting materials. "Amphorm" is a cylindrical kinetic sculpture that resembles a vase. Since "Amphorm" is a dual citizen between the digital and the physical world, its shape can be altered in both worlds. I describe novel interaction techniques for rapid shape deformation both in the physical world through free hand gestures and in the digital world through a Graphical User Interface. Additionally I explore how the physical world could be synchronized with the digital world and how tools from both worlds can jointly alter dual-citizens.