MIT is Pleased to inFORM You...

inFORM

The fine folks over at the Tangible Media Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a very intriguing "self-aware computer" that can manipulate physical space in front of a computer.

This change of physical space is achieved through motorized pins on a pinboard, and the movements that are to be replicated by the pins are directed by the use of the Microsoft Kinect. The Kinect maps 3D objects and the movements are translated to the pinboard. This translation allows users to physically move objects that are placed on the pinboard! Users can utilize inFORM to play games such as checkers or chess, and even create physical representations of graphs made on a computer. This technology has great potential to improve virtual interaction.

Here is an excellent video that demonstrates the advancement in technology inFORM has made.