A Framework for Tangible User Interfaces
Boriana N. Koleva, Steve Benford, Kher Hui Ng, Tom A. Rodden · 2003
This paper extends our understanding of tangible user interfaces (TUIs) by considering the different ways in which physical and digital objects can be computationally coupled. It proposes a framework based around the degree of coherence between physical and digital objects. Links between physical and digital objects are described in terms of a set of underlying properties (transformation, sensing, configurability, lifetime, autonomy, cardinality and link source). We use our framework to classify a representative selection of existing TUI systems. This classification raises key implications for the field of tangible computing. In particular our focus on enriching physical-digital links highlights the need to consider the asymmetry of these links, issues surrounding their configuration and the need to represent their nature to developers and users.