We need to think beyond the screen and find ways to present
information and ideas in a way that people can interact with in a
more exciting way, according to MIT Media Lab's Hiroshi Ishii.
Speaking at The Economist's Technology Frontiers event,
he described the birth of astronomy and the subsequent
invention of the orrery, a mechanical
representation of the solar system. "It is one of my favourite
physical devices in terms of how it presents knowledge and
information," said Ishii. He also talked about the abacus, where
information is physicaly embodied with beads. Children can grab it
and it can become a train, a musical instrument or a tool to
scratch your back. "How do we present ideas so people can interact
with them and understand?"
For Ishii, we need to involve the body. "These days computers
dominate. Everything is pixels, intangible." He described looking
at information on a screen as if it is something at the bottom of
the sea -- "you can see but you can't touch". People must depend on
a remote control like a mouse or a keyboard.
Ishii's work focuses on trying to bring information up to the
"surface of the water", exposing portions to the physical domain.
This is what he refers to as "tangible bits": physical embodiments
of digital information. This is necessary to make computation more
"legible". He said: "Today's computation is so complex --
everything is hidden in a black box."
Some of the projects Ishii showed on stage were extraordinary.
One of the first examples was MusicBottles -- glass bottles which
played classical music when you opened their lids. He also showed
Brush, which looks like a regular paintbrush and can be wiped
over real-world objects to "pick up" their colour, and movement.
They can then paint this back onto a canvas using "digital ink".
The tool inspires children to become creators.
Topobo is a robotic
construction kit with "kinetic memory". Children can assemble
robots using a range of different modular components build around a
central body. They can then press a record button on the body and
manipulate their robot through a sequence of motions using their
hands. The robot learns that sequence and can play it back at the
touch of a button.
Ishii specialises in vision-driven research, which means not
having to think about the cost or the market. He said: "Many
research projects are driven by technology, but the technologies of
today go into landfill next year. Applications will be obsolete in
10 years. Vision is very strong and survives our lifespan."
When asked whether he was interested in creating touchscreen
devices with haptic feedback, he said that he wasn't interested. "A
touchscreen is still a screen fundamentally. My lifespan is running
out so I need to focus on the most crazy, edgy stuff -- not
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