#morphing table

MIT Tangible Group: Kinetic Blocks

Two years ago, the Tangible Media Group (MIT) presented the inForm display - a dynamic shape display - that can render 3D content physically using movable pins.

Last week, Philipp Schoessler, Daniel Windham, Daniel Leithinger, Sean Follmer and Hiroshi Ishii published a new paper called "Kinetic Blocks - Actuated Constructive Assembly for lnteraction and Display" and introduced a much more advanced sucessor: Kinetic Blocks.

Pin-based shape displays not only give physical form to digital information, they have the inherent ability to accurately move and manipulate objects placed on top of them. In this paper we focus on such object manipulation: we present ideas and techniques that use the underlying shape change to give kinetic ability to otherwise inanimate objects. First, we describe the shape display’s ability to assemble, disassemble, and reassemble structures from simple passive building blocks through stacking, scaffolding, and catapulting. A technical evaluation demonstrates the reliability of the presented techniques. Second, we introduce special kinematic blocks that are actuated and sensed through the underlying pins. These blocks translate vertical pin movements into other degrees of freedom like rotation or horizontal movement. This interplay of the shape display with objects on its surface allows us to render otherwise inaccessible forms, like overhangs, and enables richer input and output.

Still mindblowing. Can't wait for the first consumer devices. See more of the kinetic blocks in the video below:

Morphing Table inFORM

Well, what can I say... The Future is here. This is one of the most amazing artifacts from the future I've seen in a long time. 

Think about the potential and what you can do with it when they increase the resolution and the strength of the blocks (carbon composites, graphene... whatever). I definitely share the astonishment of Kevin Kelly:

Wow, it's the beginning of..... something in our future. There must be a science fiction name for a full body controlled virtually. It's a demo of....

Be sure to watch the video and read the whitepaper:

**UPDATE****UPDATE****UPDATE****UPDATE****UPDATE**

The MIT Media Lab inForm Team (Daniel Leithinger, Sean Follmer, Alex Olwal, Akimitsu Hogge, Hiroshi Ishii / 2013) has now its own website.

Project Description:

Past research on shape displays has primarily focused on rendering content and user interface elements through shape output, with less emphasis on dynamically changing UIs. We propose utilizing shape displays in three different ways to mediate interaction: to facilitate by providing dynamic physical affordances through shape change, to restrict by guiding users with dynamic physical constraints, and to manipulate by actuating physical objects. We explore potential interaction techniques and introduce Dynamic Physical Affordances and Constraints with our inFORM system, built on top of a state-of-the-art shape display, which provides for variable stiffness rendering and real-time user input through direct touch and tangible interaction. A set of example applications demonstrates how dynamic affordances, constraints and object actuation can create novel interaction possibilities.

 Project video: