Design and implementation of a relief interface

Tangible representations of virtual content allow for sensory-rich interactions with computers through real-world objects. However, these objects are commonly static handles, with limited capabilities to present changing information through their form. This thesis presents a human-computer interface able to generate physical 3D shapes and sense user input through them. It consists of an array of sensors and actuators to deform a malleable surface. We define this type of system as a relief interface. This thesis documents the hardware and software design and proposes a set of pressure-based gestures, which are evaluated through applications for geospatial exploration, surface modeling and multilayer viewing.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Leithinger, Daniel

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hiroshi Ishii.

• Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/57899

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/57899