A nice visualization technique for highlighting the physical actions one takes when doing everyday tasks.
I see a lot of potential for extending this technique toward visual data-mining of user experiences for patterns across different interaction technologies and contexts.
What would it be like to reach into a screen and manipulate virtual objects as in the real world. Beyond is a novel collapsible input device for direct 3D manipulation. When pressed against a screen, Beyond collapses in the physical world and extends into the digital space of the screen, such that users can have an illusion that they are inserting the tool into the virtual space.
This interface is inhabiting an interesting space between manipulation rooted in the virtual and manipulation rooted in the physical. I don’t have much to say about it now, but I plan to read the paper and contemplate it.
I’ve been on a “making computers spatially-aware” kick lately. It’s been a theme lately I guess with all the motion-control gaming stuff and the increasing awareness of g-speak. I ran across the a TheLab@MediaMolecule blog post about making a DIY 3D scanner using a structured light technique (see the images below). If you could do this in real-time, then you have a depth-sensor ala Project Natal. It will have to go on the backburner for now, should focus on the dissertation first.
