#tangible user interface

A prototyping tool for z-actuating shape-changing displays.

Week 5 at MIT Media Lab!

Greetings world,

My apologies for such sparse activity. My research internship at the MIT Media Lab has consumed so much of my time! It is amazing that I am actually working here. Here is a summary of what has happened these past few weeks.

I arrived on the day of Sunday, June 6th at the Burton-Connor dorm at MIT. After that first step out of the cab, everything changed. A way to describe that first week was I was  running across a river on nothing but a thin wire. That week, I met everyone in my research group, getting use to walking around Cambridge, and starting my first week at the Media Lab. I was placed as an intern working at the Tangible Media Group. I remember the first day I met the faculty advisor of the group, Prof. Hiroshi Ishii. Ya I met all the post docs and graduate students at the lab, but meeting him was a league of its own. Here I stand in front of the father of human-computer interaction and the inventor of the tangible-user interface. I was so amazed that this man was so excited to meet me and work in the lab this summer. I felt that he had high hopes for me and knew I would do a great job this summer.

I felt so excited to work. Nothing was going to bring my mood down. Then I realized what my research project was about. I am currently working on the AnnoScape project, which is a system that allows remote collaboration system for designers and architects to annotate 3D and 2D content. A better way to understand is imagine a system that connected a network of devices. This network allowed people to draw on 3D models and the drawing was broadcasted and received in real time. This system sounded amazing and its implications could lead to a huge impact in the design world. The only problem was that I was designated to actually implement an improved AnnoScape system. One that had the synchronous network and a new software architecture that can be integrated on the iPad. So my job here is to devise this network system on both a desktop and iPad. 

This seemed like no big deal, except I knew nothing about network programming, software development, nor iOS programming. I was really just a dude who new how to program in c++ and opencv. Now I see where MIT gets the saying of going to school here is like drinking water from a fire hose. The first three weeks felt EXACTLY like that. With a lot of surveying, hacking, and praying, I was able to manage the basic client-server network model and integrated the system on a desktop, an iPad, and my laptop. Now I am actually designing the UI for the new AnnoScape system! 

Only being here for 5 weeks, I have accomplished and learned so much. I believe that my current success on this project has really shown people in my research group that I am at the top of my game and I have what it takes to be a graduate student at the Media Lab. I have learned a lot about creativity and design and I plan on continuing to learn about design. I plan on also building iOS apps and really learning about mobile application development. There is just so much to learn and I have barely scratched the surface. 

I promise to post more frequently and show you all updates of my work.