© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Hiroshi IshiiTangible Media Group MIT Media Laboratory

Tangible Bits Next Generation HCI

April 23, 2006CHI 2006 Workshop Montreal, Canada

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

What drives Design?• Technology Driven Design

– begin with an innovative technology, apply it in an application/field

• Need Driven Design– identify an existing problem/set of problems,

shape process around solving these problems

• Concept / Vision Driven Design– define a new concept, design artifacts

which embody that concept, and test it

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Defy Gravity (= Pixels)

GUI TUI

• Visual Tactile

• General Special Purpose Purpose

• Remote Direct and Control Collaborative

Manipulation

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Abacus: Origin of Tangible Bits

Hiroshi ISHII, born 2/4/56 Alisa ISHII, born 9/1/04

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Painted Bits (GUI) andTangible Bits (TUI)

Graphical User Interface• Intangible representation

(pixels on a screen) +• Generic input devices as “remote-

controllers”

Tangible User Interface• Tangible representation as interactive

control mechanism to manipulate the information and computation

• Continuity between physical and digital representation in design

Urp running on the Sensetable

Xerox Star

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

1. Computational coupling of tangible representations to underlying digital information and computation

2. Embodiment of mechanisms for interactive control with tangible representations

3. Perceptual coupling of tangible representations to dynamic intangible representations

TUI Key Properties

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Models of GUI and TUI

GUI

digital information

remotecontrol

input

output

pixels

sound

physical

digital intangiblerepresentation

digital information

output

physical

digital

e.g. video projection of digital shadow

e.g. building model

Input/output

control

tangiblerepresentation

intangiblerepresentatio

n

TUIComputational coupling of tangible representations to underlying digital information and computation

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

• Double Interactions Loop – immediate tactile feedback

• Persistency of tangibles

• Coincidence of Input and Output Spaces

• Special Purpose vs. General Purpose

• Space-Multiplexed Input

TUI Contributions

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

TUI’s Double Interaction Loops

GUI TUIinformation / computation

physical

digital

tangiblerepresentation= control

intangiblerepresentation(video/audio feedback)

sensing

2nd loopthrough digital computation

display

1st loopwith immediate tactile feedback

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Seamless transitions of attention between Center and Periphery

• to grasp & manipulate bits in the center of user's focus by coupling bits with physical objects and surfaces, and

• to be aware of bits at the periphery using ambient display media such as light, sound, airflow, and water movement.

graspable media

Center

Periphery

Foreground

Background

ambient media

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Invisible interface?extension of body - good fit

• customize• personalize• adapt• co-evolve

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Visiblecenter of focus - goal of task• Critical representation of task• Ball has to be always visible in the foreground

with a table as reference• You need an interface (paddle) to

control the ball

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Visual Thinking• Seeing• Drawing• Imagining

Robert McKim “Thinking Visually”

© 2006 MIT Media Laboratory, Hiroshi Ishii

Tangible Thinking Mechanical Representation of Knowledge