Tangibles: Technologies and Interaction for Learning

With recent developments in computing and networking, new kinds of interfaces, such as tangible interfaces, and consequently new forms of interaction with technology, have emerged. ‘Tangibles’ generally refer to interfaces where computational power is embedded in everyday artefacts or customized objects, which can be wirelessly networked or linked to various forms of digital representation. The emergence of increasingly small microchips and digital sensing technologies means that embedding technology in both artefacts and the environment is becoming more commonplace. In the field of human–computer interaction (HCI) this group of technologies may be described as graspable interfaces (e.g. Fitzmaurice et al., 1995), tangible interaction (e.g. Ullmer and Ishii, 2001) and tangible bits (e.g. Ishii and Ullmer, 1997). Shaer and Hornecker’s (2010: 4) definition offers a useful description for the purposes of this chapter: ‘Interfaces that are concerned with providing tangible representations to digital information and controls, allowing users to quite literally grasp data with their hands’ and thus physically manipulate associated representations. There are three key categories of systems that sit under this umbrella term: constructive assembly kits, token and constraint systems and interactive surfaces. Interaction with tangibles depends on the manipulation of physical artefacts and/or physical forms of action, offering the opportunity to build on our everyday interaction and experience with the world, exploiting senses of touch and physicality. A key feature of these technologies is the high level of flexibility in design and the degree to which the design space is extended. This applies to the objects themselves – for example, their shape, size, colour, weight and texture; to the actions that can be placed upon them – for example, they can be impactive, requiring physical contact with an artefact (e.g. grasp and grip) or non-impactive (e.g. gesture); and to the associated digital information. Digital information, in the form of sound, narration, images, text or animation, can be flexibly combined with 20