Physical Computing: Hand, Body, and Room Sized Interaction

Abstract

Embedding computation in the built environment is changing how people experience, understand, and interact with their physical surroundings. In order to explore this effect of tangible and ubiquitous computing, we have developed an interdisciplinary course that focuses on the design of computationally-enhanced artifacts and environments. This talk will describe our physical computing course, and show some of the prototypes that students built.

BIO Ken Camarata is a PhD student and member of the CoDe Lab at Carnegie Mellon University where his research focuses on tangible interactive construction kits and craft for children. Previously Ken studied and worked as a lecturer at the Design Machine Group in the Department of Architecture, University of Washington (UW) in Seattle where he worked with students from art, architecture, computer science, engineering,and information sciences to design and build computationally-enhanced artifacts and environments. Student work from the course has been exhibited in the Gallery at the Cornish School of Art and papers describing the course have appeared in the International Conference of the Learning Sciences and the International Journal of Architectural Computing.