PegBlocksBen Piper, Matthew Karau, Beto Peliks and Hiroshi Ishii / 2001
Pegblocks are networked tactile transducers. As users manipulate the array of
pegs, sliding them back and forth, motion is converted to electricity and converted
back into motion through out the rest of the network. The resulting movements
of the pegs is not determined by any one individual input but by the networked
group as a whole.
Each peg is coupled to an electric dynamo/motor. The dynamo/motor can act in two
modes: it can generate electricity from motion and convert electricity inton motion.
As the peg is moved back and forth electric energy is generated and converted
back into motion through out the rest of the network.
Pegblocks extend the notion of Distributed Shared Physical Objects of inTouch
to explore re-configurable, haptic communication network, integrating representations
using peg patterns that were impossible in inTouch. They allow simultaneous touch
of multiple human hands to be extended over space, as well as asynchronous exchange
of peg patterns.
Pegblocks is based on an early prototype developed by Ben Piper as a class project
in a Physics and Media class taught by Prof. Neil Gershenfeld, MIT Media Lab,
in the fall of 1999. This original prototype was built out of Lego bricks and
was intended as a means of two way haptic communication.