Another push towards tangible data with MIT

It looks like the Kinect is making a splash in a lot of different markets lately. With the help of this tech, MIT has developed a way to interact with objects without being in their presence.

MIT’s Tangible Media Group is opening doors to translating 3D data into physical representations. The new device, InForm, uses pins to represent pixels assembled on a table, and turns data from a Kinect motion sensor into movement of those pins. These pins can extend around 4 inches from their assembled board, and will move in real time according to the information received from the Kinect.

With this gadget, the user can manipulate the movement of the pins to interact with an object sitting on them. And this isn’t limited to hand gestures, as the provided video shows. Users can use baskets, toys, and even books with the Kinect sensor to move the pins, in addition to projecting data to the pins, such as graphs and games. There is a projector assembled above the pins to add color to the movements, and makes an interactive game surface.

This another step towards the Radical Atoms the group is working for, moving digital information into the physical world.

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