michelle li » thesis

Masters Thesis Exhibited: Memorables

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:07:36 +0000

After 2 intense months, my Masters class finally presented and exhibited our thesis projects. It was wonderful to see everyone’s hard work come to fruition. I was delighted to receive such positive feedback from viewers and to watch them physically interact and play with the real models I had created. More details of the project is available here.

Microsoft’s Tangible Vision

admin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:03:45 +0000

I found a video from Microsoft Research envisioning applications for touch interfaces. What I found really neat was the similarity of the bowl idea to my marble player, in which media storage devices are thrown in and images are projected onto the sides (@1:30 in the video).

Keyboard Modification

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:53:04 +0000

I took apart a keyboard to figure out the combination of signals required for various different keystrokes. By connecting switches to trigger a certain combination, a keystroke can then be sent to the PC as input to be processed by the computer program.

Inspiration: Bubblegum Sequencer

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:27:16 +0000

Bubblegum Sequencer is another inspirational tangible device allowing one to create drumloops by physically organizing gumballs a grid of holes.

Technical Explorations

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:57:38 +0000

To implement a working model of my memory marbles as proof of concept, I looked into various possible technologies for the detection of marbles and transfer/reading of data. RFID and Bluetooth were the most common and appropriate technologies for an ideal implementation. I ventured out to the Hong Kong RFID Centre in Shatin to take a look at the various forms (tags and readers) and uses in real applications. It was quite interesting, but the smallest RFID tags were still too big to be used with marbles (1.75cm diameter). Additionally, since RFID tag and reader must be placed parallel of each other for proper data transfer, tags inside a mable may end up sitting perpendicular to a reader because of the rolling nature of marbles resulting in no tag detection.

Due to project time constraints, I have decided to simulate a working interactive model using micro-controllers and switches to communicate between the physical model and PC. Switches installed in the physical model will be triggered by marbles that are inputted, and signals will be sent to a keyboard interface to activate a particular keystroke. A program running on the PC will then receive the keystroke as input and output audio and visual displays.

General technical overview of the actual implementation versus the ideal implementation.

Interaction Model & Rapid Prototyping

admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:04:20 +0000

I conducted further interviews focused on memory recording, organizing, and sharing. In one instance, my interviewee showed me all her memory devices – PDA, cellphone calendar, appointment book – but her problem was that she always forgot to consult them to check for important dates/appointments. Thus, I realized that a reminder system is another important feature for these Baby Boomers.

An interaction model of the Memory Marbles system.

I did some rapid prototyping to communicate my interaction concept and to give a better idea of the forms and scale of the model/system. Marbles can be carried and transported around in a pouch. On the memory player, once the marbles are enclosed inside the dome, the information can be read from the marbles and transmitted from the dome.

Likewise, to record memories from the PC to marbles, placing a dome over top the marbles will activate a wireless communication between the computer and marbles.

Inspiration: Math Marbles

admin — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:15:03 +0000

In researching various forms of play, uses and applications involving marbles, I came across a nifty marble calculator. Not only does it really add binary numbers, the playful visualization and sounds make it a wonderful little contraption. Brilliant!

Memories Scientifically Visualized

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:33:28 +0000

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org

For the past few weeks I have been thinking about memory as my thesis project aims to design around memory recording, sharing, and recollection. Thus, it was quite interesting to read that scientists have just recently captured images of memories being formed at which point new proteins are created at brain synapses. This provides a step forward in helping to understand the mechanism of long-term memory as well as the memory-related diseases and impairments.

Toy Street

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:17:49 +0000

In search of marbles I had to forage the streets of Hong Kong. Mainstream toy stores nowadays like Toys ‘R Us only stock the new, high-tech, “in” toys, but when I ask if they have simple marbles their automatic answer is “no.” I eventually found out about Tai Yuen Street, aka Toy Street, in Wan Chai that brings me into a bustling world of local street markets filled with the sounds of everyone trying to sell their wares. Lined along the sidewalk behind the street stalls are the toy stores stocked with old-style and simple toys like Play-Doh, wind-up robots and… marbles! The marble designs were quite homogeneous and plain, as opposed to all the wide varieties available to me as a kid (I remember boulders, godfathers, and peawees!), but nonetheless they were marbles I could use in my prototyping.

Marble Interactions

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:34:41 +0000

Exploring marble games and contraptions and different forms for my Memory Marbles.

Sketching out possible interactions with Memory Marbles.