Tangible Objects: Modeling in Style
Daniel Chien-Meng May, Bent Bruun Kristensen, Palle Nowack · 2001
Pervasive computing is transforming the world by embedding computation all around us. We are increasingly pushed towards a convergence of information space, physical space, and conceptual space. Because we are a society that relies on models for our functioning, this new world requires us to revise our underlying approach to how we model our spaces and artifacts. Our design for this converging world must incorporate notions such as art and culture, architecture and physical space, as well as information and software. This paper introduces the concept of tangible objects: physical objects with computational power that support not only functional activities, but conceptual, artistic and social needs. Tangible objects exist in habitats and interact with each other through associations. Emergent behavior is a basic feature of tangible objects because of the dynamic nature of associations. We end by outlining the initial TangO research program and the steps ahead.