I was inspired to this idea while reading Doug Bowman’s comprehensive text on the origin and state-of-the-art 3D User Interfaces. Doug Bowman in his text mentions Hinckley’s work on Passive Real-World Interface Props, where a person makes use of physical props to manipulate 3D models on the screen in front of the user. With an almost synonymous dialog happening between the user and the natural world, these graspable passive interface props were found to work to a large extent.

Switching gears a bit to a different context, the state-of-the-art virtual reality head-mounted displays today are able to produce immersive imagery for the users but have an acute problem with providing haptic feedback to the users. At most, these VR headsets seem to stretch to right now are generic remote controllers on user’s hands that can take in navigational input and provide vibration feedback, as a result leading to weak experiences or breaking the immersion altogether. I’d like to propose a pneumatic system that can switch physical prop configurations as per the situational VR context.

Scenario: Consider a user walking in a virtual world has a wrist band on his hands that is imitated physically by the pneumatic system by morphing into a physical wrist band on the user’s hands. As the user approaches a certain location in the virtual world, the context entails a stick/sword for a task, the shape which is then acquired by shifting the air from the wrist-band configuration to the physical stick/sword configuration. As the VR narrative unravels further, the present scene dictates a box to be held by the user and another air-pressure switching takes place to inflate a box configuration for the user to hold physically, and so on.

Such tangible VR props will not only be essential to provide appropriate haptic feedback for VR users but will also be able to take us beyond generic remote controllers or passive interface props for better immersion. The design of the system will also allow to establish correspondence between real and virtual worlds (for better feedback and handling information, external audience or multi-user participation etc.), something that was attested recently by Jaron Leiner of VR fame.

A clever design of the simultaneous context-configuration play can exhibit a lot of versatility in shapes that match and even provide dynamic feedback with texture, pressure constraints etc. for the user.

However, in terms of implementation currently, the type of configurations/shape changes either will have to be quite close to the previous state or the number of different configurations will have to be limited (in the former case, assuming the system works on the principle that the configurations are all bags that have the required shape already and just need to be inflated — so when inactive, the system stores the deflated shapes in a small housing or so)

Bean Bag

Hard Top Coffee Table with soft base

Coffee Table

Simple Stool

Store as a thin tall unit

Modular Furniture – Adaptable Bean Bag – with internal compartmentalisation to allow for shape change and create hard and soft surfaces using air flow for multi purpose uses

Skype – Subject 1

Skype – Subject 2

2nd person hugs the actualtion pillow

1st person receives hug

Hugging is scientifically known to help release the chemical Oxytocin, which makes people feel happier and alleviate stress.

Living alone far away from your family and friends, A remote hug is a nice way to wish somebody for their birthday, or offer some consolation to an upset family member.

The Pneumatically controlled Blanket Bean bag functions like a normal chair. But upon actuation from the other end (by hugging a similar pillow). The bean bag expands pneumatically to envelop and apply pressure around the back and chest of the user.

jamBoard: foldable, adaptive, pneumatic Skateboard

What is jamBoard ?

jamBoard is a pneumatically activated skateboard which can transform from a folded board to a full-sized skateboard upon pneumatic actuation. The key idea is to have the jamBoard fit into a person’s backpack, occupying less space and to weigh not more than the weight of the wheels. It is also adaptive in a sense that it adapts to provide suspension to the rider based on his/her body weight and riding pattern. In addition, jamBoard aides the rider in steering by sensing the intended steering direction from the feet of the user.

Construction 

jamBoard construction

jamBoard has inflatable balloons sandwiched between two jamSheets. The jamSheets are flexible and foldable when not jammed. The balloons disappear when not inflated. The pressure inside the balloons is used to modulate the suspension and hence insulate the user from the roughness of the terrain. The pressure differential in the balloons predicts user’s intended steering direction. Under the lower jamSheets is a PneUIduino board that performs sensing and control of the jamBoard.

Super interesting! I wonder if the movement of the user (after for example, a jump) could create the pressure that is released by the valves? Part of the challenge here is how to let pneui quickly change the pressure, perhaps the user can assist in some intelligent way.

What is the point in having different tables for different purposes? Would it not be more convenient if we can get by with one table that can serve multiple purposes?

For those of us with limited space in our homes, it can be difficult to justify a coffee table and dinner table. If there was a way that one piece of furniture could serve multiple purposes, it would save us space. That is the motivation behind the flowering table.

Inspired by nature, and origami. The flowering table can change forms depending on function. It can flower from an end table to a coffee table, to a dinner table. In its most compact form, the table would fold into an end table, this allows it to sit inconspicuously in the corner of the room or to allow ease of storage. From there, it can unfold itself (or flower), to serve as a coffee table. If you are having guests over for dinner, and you need the use of a larger table, the flowering table could also flower into a large dinner table that can easily accommodate a large number of guests.

Nice! Why stop there? Could this table be more than a table?
You may find this interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8giE7i7CAE

Crazy cool! How do you think an element of computation here would be used? Considering the length of the first project (2 weeks) – is there a scaled down version of this that would be equally cool?

1) Providing touch feedback for touch screens

Touch screens are flat and lack touch feedback. In particular, touch screens rely exclusively on visual feedback to convey meaning to the user. Providing touch feedback could make it easier for users to interact with a phone or tablet. While not scientific, I find it helpful to compare my speed and comfort while typing on a tablet vs. typing on a keyboard with physical buttons. I hate typing on a tablet.

The idea is to build a prototype for a tablet that provides touch feedback with pneumatics. If the tablet shows a button,  the button would rise to indicate that users can press on it. Since pneui is not transparent, I believe it’s best to prototype this idea with a projector that casts an image on a panel.

2) A jamming camera tripod or light fixture

I have a light that is clamped to my desk . Positioning it properly is a nightmare. Spring based mechanisms are just not flexible or accurate enough for this situation. A similar problem is that of positioning a tripod to a desired composition. Both of these mechanical components could be replaced by a jamming interface. The tripod, for instance, would be flexible until users press a button when the desired composition is found, after which the tripod would jam an freeze in the current setup.

What if common hand tools could react to the way in which we try to use them, to become better at what they recognize as a new intended functionality? This project aims to explore some of those possibilities.

These sets of tools have the same interface (handles) and basic interaction mode (whacking, shoveling) but serve different purposes and functions. The tool could sense subtle changes in the interaction and infer the intended functionality, morphing to better suit it.

Functional recognition and adaptation could be activated by the context of the interaction (hitting a large flat hard surface (ax), hitting a pointy hard surface (nail), hitting a large soft surface (dirt)), but could also be informed by the nature of the user’s action (sideways whacking, vertical whacking, digging.) These two ways of recognizing functionality are often complimentary. Consider another example, an eating utensil that senses either when the user is sipping from it (action) or when they are pouring fluid into it (context), and reacts by becoming more concave to better function as a fluid-holding drinkable vessel (These two functions – holding fluid and being easy to sip from – are distinct but commonly found together in useful human artifacts).

The images above show the possible pneumatic behaviors of architectural elements. The ground and ceiling could gain the data/ information from human and atmosphere; then react upon them. The parts could be inflated  and deflated due to the functional use(seats, table etc ) or emotional use(grief, joy etc) as shown in the image, soft landscape 001. The pneumatic ground becomes an active field with ongoing interaction.

pneumatic behavior of space

pneumatic wearable – behavior as communication/ exchange of data