Spatial Sketch: Bridging Between Movement & Fabrication (PDF 500k) - A paper presented at the 2010 Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction conference in Cambridge, MA. The abstract is as follows:

Spatial Sketch is a three-dimensional (3D) sketch application that bridges between physical movement and the fabrication of objects in the real world via cut planar materials. This paper explores the rationale and details behind the development of the Spatial Sketch application, and presents our observations from user testing and a hands-on lamp shade design workshop. Finally we reflect upon the relevance of embodied forms of human computer interaction for use in digital fabrication.

This project was developed as part of the Igarashi Design Interface Project, together with Juncong Lin.

Light x Sound invites adults and children alike to interact, play, and create with light. As participants enter the installation space they are presented with a series of coloured light pens and invited to draw, write, and trace to produce imagery and sound in physical space.

The original idea stems from Herbert Simon's metaphor of an ant walking on a beach. Although when looking at an ant from above their path seems very complex, Simon suggests it stems from simple local interactions such as 'see a rock, turn left'.

If we imagine that the rock could be your foot or mine, and replace the ant with some device like a robot, then that is essentially 'interactivity'. My interest is in finding the richness, complexity, and creativity in such interactions.

The project received generous funding from the Exploratory Software Project here in Tokyo. For more information or to download it and give it a try, check out the Alchemy website.