entretags/blog

There has been a great excitement about Application Programming Interfaces (API). Indeed, they have helped Web 2.0 services develop rapidly and have facilitated the creation of mash-ups of data from various sources. The most used one is with no doubt the GoogleMaps api, indeed we can see the maps everywhere, but there are still lots of unknown “open APIs” available on the web (that don’t require license or payment for royalties). One way of finding out what APIs are available is to look at the Programmable Web website. It keeps track of the number of APIs and what people are doing with them. It pays to have a look…

How could we use other senses to gather information?

Feelspace

The Feelspace belt has vibrators attached, which are governed by heading information from an electronic compass: the one vibrator pointing north is active. Thereby, the belt user is constantly provided with tactile heading information relative to the earth’s magnetic field. If, for instance, the user is directed to west, the vibrator on his right hip vibrates.

König et al. | University of Osnabrück | 2005
http://feelspace.cogsci.uos.de/en/index.html

The interesting in these projects is the way objects come together to bring or build new information.

Tablet Whacking

The Tablet Whacking is a way to link wireless mobile devices by bumping them together. It is not just a way to expand small screens but also to share information among devices.

have a look in Tablet Wacking video >>
Ken Hinckley | Microsoft Research | 2006
http://research.microsoft.com/users/kenh/

Block Jam

Blocks of sound information come together to build a music. A block of bass sound here. A block of drum sound there. And a block of piano sound next to it. What do you get when you put them together? Your original creation. What do you get when your friends join in to mix things up?
A collaborative and interactive digital music experience.

Sony | 2006
http://www.sony.net/Fun/SonyDesign/2003/BlockJam/index.html

Nowadays we use to access and manage data manly through displays, but how rich can other approaches be!

Tactophone

This mobile telephone prototype uses an active 3D surface to animate and display shapes. The phone interface allows for interaction with location based information “on the go” and “In the pocket”.

Oren Horev | IDII | 2006
http://people.interaction-ivrea.it/o.horev/morph

Flash bag

The size of this memory stick changes depending on the amount of data it holds. When the device is about to blow up you will see an error message on your screen: “There is not enough free space”. When switched off the flashbag remains pumped up, so you can estimate how much data can be transferred into it.

by Dima Komissarov | ArtLebedev | 2006
http://www.plusminus.ru/flashbag.html

What about if couples could communicate through those symbolic presents they use to exchange? Like that cute teddy bear that stands on the shelf…

The PlayPal is acctually designed for children to share multimedia experiences and virtual co-presence. When a child at one location moves one doll’s hands, the remote synchronized doll moves its hands in the same way. The dolls alone communicate only by gestures. Each child has a set of tokens that are used as the dolls’ accessories. When a token is placed in a doll’s hands, it functions as a different communicating tool.

Bonnanni et al. | MIT Media Lab | 2006
http://web.media.mit.edu/~amerigo/playpals.htm