Models and Mechanisms for Tangible User Interfaces
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Models and Mechanisms for Tangible User Interfaces Brygg Anders Ullmer Bachelor of Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, January 1995 Submitted to the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, School of Architecture and Planning, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology June 1997 © Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1997 All Rights Reserved _____________________________________________________ Author Brygg Anders Ullmer Program in Media Arts and Sciences May 9, 1997 _____________________________________________________ Certified by Hiroshi Ishii Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences Thesis Supervisor _____________________________________________________ Accepted by Stephen A. Benton Chair, Departmental Committee for Graduate Students Program in Media Arts and Sciences Models and Mechanisms for Tangible User Interfaces Brygg Anders Ullmer Submitted to the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, School of Architecture and Planning, on May 9, 1997 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Abstract Current human-computer interface design is dominated by the graphical user interface approach, where users interact with graphical abstractions of virtual interface devices through a few general-purpose input “peripherals.” The thesis develops models and mechanisms for “tangible user interfaces” – user interfaces which use physical objects, instruments, surfaces, and spaces as physical interfaces to digital information. Prototype applications on three platforms – the metaDESK, transBOARD, and ambientROOM – are introduced as examples of this approach. These instances are used to generalize the “GUI widgetry,” “optical,” and “containers and conduits” interface metaphors. The thesis also develops engineering mechanisms called proxy-distributed or “proxdist” computation, which provide a layered approach for integrating physical objects with diverse sensing, display, communication, and computation capabilities into coherent interface implementations. The combined research provides a vehicle for moving beyond the keyboard, monitor, and pointer of current computer interfaces towards use of the physical world itself as a kind of computationally-augmented interface. Thesis Supervisor: Hiroshi Ishii Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences ________________________________________________ Models and Mechanisms for Tangible User Interfaces 2 Thesis Committee _____________________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor Hiroshi Ishii Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology _____________________________________________________ Reader Mitchel Resnick Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences Fukutake Career Development Professor of Research in Education Massachusetts Institute of Technology _____________________________________________________ Reader Terry Winograd Professor of Computer Science Stanford University Models and Mechanisms for Tangible User Interfaces 3 Acknowledgements I am grateful for the guidance and support of many people who have made this work possible. Special thanks to: Hiroshi Ishii, for his enormous enthusiasm and vision, for innumerable hours of discussion and guidance that gave content and shape to the thesis, and for the opportunity to participate in the creation of the Tangible Media Group. Thesis readers Mitchel Resnick and Terry Winograd, for their guidance and ideas in helping shape this document. AT&T and Mitsubishi, my fellowship sponsors during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 academic years, and especially to fellowship mentors Will Hill and Joe Marks. All of the people at Interval Research who made the summers of 1993-95 a wonderful first “graduate school.” Thanks especially to: Terry Winograd, for providing guidance and inspiration throughout the duration; David Liddle, for allowing my continuing exploration of proxdist computation ideas; Debby Hindus, for helping me find my way to and through the Media Lab; Paul Freiberger, for believing in me and re-opening the doors for second and third rounds; and Bill Verplank, for his continuing guidance and the idea of the rotation-constraint instrument. Ron MacNeil, my initial research advisor, for opening the doors to the Media Lab and introducing the concept of “design” into my intellectual vocabulary. UROPs Chris Fuchs, Chris Lopes, Tom Rikert, Dylan Glas, Minpont Chien, and Craig Wisneski for their work on the transBOARD, metaDESK, and ambientROOM prototypes. Special thanks to ChrisL and Min for their hard work on Tangible Geospace. Fellow Tangible Media graduate students Matt Gorbet, Scott Brave, and Andrew Dahley, for their camaraderie and collaboration, as well as fellow D+I students, for breathing life and energy into the space and having patience with me during my times of large writings. Suguru Ishizaki, for much-valued discussions and guidance during my first months at the Lab. David Small, Lisa Strausfeld, Earl Rennison, and Suguru Ishizaki, for providing a living bridge into the work and passion that was the VLW. Durrell Bishop, whose work first inspired my interest in physical objects as digital interface. Thad Starner, for much-valued computer vision assistance and many stimulating discussions along the way. Jennifer Glos, for her collaboration with POEMs. David Morgan, for his interest and input along the way. Betty Lou McClanahan, Linda Peterson, Santina Tonelli, and Laurie Ward, for their guidance and support on innumerable details large and small. Hannes Vilhjálmsson, for his companionship, support, and long nights of rich discussion. My family and especially parents, for their unwavering love, support, and guidance in pulling everything into perspective ________________________________________________ Models and Mechanisms for Tangible User Interfaces 4 Contents ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................................ 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................................... 4 CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................... 5 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 MOTIVATION ............................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 THESIS SCOPE AND OVERVIEW .................................................................................................... 9 2 RELATED WORK....................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 MODELS .................................................................................................................................. 11 2.2 INSTANCES .............................................................................................................................. 13 2.3 MECHANISMS .......................................................................................................................... 14 3 FIRST PROTOTYPES................................................................................................................. 16 3.1 TANGIBLE INFOSCAPES AND THE METADESK ........................................................................... 16 3.2 POEMS................................................................................................................................... 18 3.3 TANGIBLE GEOSPACE AND THE METADESK ............................................................................. 21 3.4 THE TRANSBOARD................................................................................................................. 24 3.5 THE AMBIENTROOM............................................................................................................... 27 4 TUI MODELS............................................................................................................................... 31 4.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 31 4.2 TUI “TANGIBLES:” PHYSICAL OBJECTS, INSTRUMENTS, SURFACES, AND SPACES........................ 32 4.3 GUI WIDGETRY AS TUI METAPHOR .......................................................................................... 37 4.4 THE OPTICAL METAPHOR ......................................................................................................... 41 4.5 CONTAINERS AND CONDUITS.................................................................................................... 45 4.6 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 47 5 TUI MECHANISMS .................................................................................................................... 49 5.1 MOTIVATION ........................................................................................................................... 50 5.2 MECHANISMS FROM COMPUTER NETWORKING .......................................................................... 51 ________________________________________________