"Seeing solids" via patterns of light
Ben Leduc-Mills, Halley P. Profita, Michael Eisenberg · 2012
This paper describes pilot tests of a prototype device for 3-dimensional input called the UCube; briefly, this device permits spatial input to be conveyed "by hand", by turning on (or off) elements of a volumetric array of lights whose positions are then sent to a desktop computer. The purpose of the UCube is to allow users--especially students and novices with little experience of 3D design--to create a wide variety of three-dimensional shapes without the need for complex modeling software. In this paper, we describe tests of the UCube with middle-school students, focusing on the ability of students to visualize and model solid forms employing the device. We use the results of these pilot tests to ground a wider-ranging discussion of (a) how the device itself might be further developed, and (b) more general issues in designing systems for interactive three-dimensional input and fabrication.