LAB+WEEK+7+PROTOTYPE+METHODS


 * Write four paragraphs to define the term 'physical computing'. (4 paragraphs) **

Physical computing is a way to understand how humans can communicate through computers. Normally we use a computer set up with a mouse, screen etc and create an environment virtually through which we test new designs. With physical computing the human body can be used to play out experiments and tests.

In the first video “Sixth Sense Projection Technology Demo”, the test subject has what look like thumbnails, on his fingers to allow doing tasks that a computer normally would. The human body essentially becomes a computer.

This video is a gesture based physical computing meaning allows individuals to test virtually what spatial orienting and motion would be in real world situations. It is very interactive and requires a lot of human input.

This ‘sixth sense projection’ the video is simulating, makes human like a robot in projecting its actions on surfaces, making the surfaces look like computer screens. For example, when the subject is holding the book, the eyes simulate a scanner that tells them the rating of the book to judge whether it is worth buying.


 * Here are two links to videos describing new authoring devices for prototyping, which include software and technical information. Write two paragraphs each describing their prototyping methods, and describing what they are enabled to do. **

The first video shows the design for an interactive map on a handheld GPS navigator. In the video, prototyping methods included setting up analog sensors which then displayed information onto a computer screen to determine different shots of the map. The sensors allowed the designer to create a physical representation of the design before it was actually constructed.

The design in the second video is for a bicycle helmet that can detect head movements in order to activate a left and a right turn signal for cyclists. Sensors are used to capture and fine-tune the motions that the sensors pick up, using computer software. The designers go through multiple trials and tests to get rid of as many errors as possible, if not all. The prototyping methods for this bicycle helmet allowed for a simulation, through sensors, of actions a regular helmet would endure. They determined the actual movements made by the human body so that it can be read by the computer and interpreted as the movement that initiates either the left or right signal.