mmarin – Tangible Interfaces

Megan Marin (Rigid/Flexible Textiles)

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 01:49:19 +0000

Textiles present one of the most interesting opportunities for investigating the challenges of programmable matter. In particular, many actuators are coarse or clunky. So, what if we could explore actuation at the scale of a single fibre? What if actuators could be woven into a textile or embroidered onto an existing piece of fabric? What if a coating could create rigidity in a material that is inherently flowing? This material and scale presents unique possibilities for improved integration between actuators and everyday materials.

Textiles are a ubiquitous technology that is only recently being explored as a medium for augmentation. There are many possibilities, but the technology is still difficult. To focus, consider the desired interaction – what is input, output? Is it slow-changing or need real-time feedback? How does it scale with multiple garments? Multiple people wearing multiple garments? Is this a product in itself or a platform for development?

-Dan

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Digital Shadows

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 20:01:40 +0000

Digital Shadows is a tangible interfaces that allows people in different places to create a collaborative shadow puppet show.

Each participant can join using their webcam and simple household objects (paper, fabric, lamps, etc.) in order to generate to the system sketched below.

Take a look at this video for the imagined experience and this video for the testing process.

For a more in depth explanation, take a look at these system details.

The software includes a series of gesture-activated interactions including multiplication, scaling, and mirroring, that allow physical objects to be digitally manipulated as shown in the short clips below.

Multiply:

https://courses.media.mit.edu/2016fall/mas834/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/11/2_Function.mp4

Scale:

https://courses.media.mit.edu/2016fall/mas834/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/11/3_Function.mp4

Mirror:

https://courses.media.mit.edu/2016fall/mas834/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/11/4_Function.mp4

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Collaborative Plants

Wed, 05 Oct 2016 19:10:10 +0000

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Megan Marin

Wed, 21 Sep 2016 13:03:26 +0000

I’m a designer and writer fascinated with experimental and speculative design projects, practices, and perspectives. I have an undergraduate degree in industrial design and am currently pursuing a graduate degree in the history and philosophy of design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. That being said, I like to make things but also think critically about what I make. To me, one of the fundamental aims of design is to translate that which is unwieldy, unknown, or unreal into something that can be sensed and perceived at the human scale – an abstract idea that I look forward to exploring in this class.

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