Name: Shape-shifting tech will change work as we know it
Uploaded: 2016-02-09T16:03:20Z
Duration: 9 min 12 s
Description: What will the world look like when we move beyond the keyboard and mouse? Interaction designer Sean Follmer is building a future with machines that bring information to life under your fingers as you work with it. In this talk, check out prototypes for a 3D shape-shifting table, a phone that turns into a wristband, a deformable game controller and more that may change the way we live and work.

Prof. Hiroshi Ishii served as my advisor during my time in the MIT Media Lab. Daniel Leithinger and I worked in Prof. Ishii's Tangible Media Group, where we collaborated with the rest of the TMG team on tangible interfaces and especially what Prof. Ishii calls "radical atoms," or shape changing user interfaces. Prof. Ishii has been leading the push towards Tangible Bits for 20 years at the Media Lab, and it was an honor to work with him.


What will the world look like when we move beyond the keyboard and mouse? Interaction designer Sean Follmer is building a future with machines that bring information to life under your fingers as you work with it. In this talk, check out prototypes for a 3D shape-shifting table, a phone that turns into a wristband, a deformable game controller and more that may change the way we live and work.

Shape-shifting tech will change work as we know it

Human-computer interaction researcher and designer

Digital devices remain physically static, even as their software grows more dynamic and complex. Now, new technologies are letting information literally rise from screens, creating 3D surfaces that can be touched, molded, and physically shared. A prototype table with 900 moving pins lets users manipulate data and objects from afar, while phones morph into wristbands or controllers on demand. This revolution could let computers finally match the dexterity and adaptability of our hands.