Constructing with Movement: Kinematics - Semantic Scholar
Constructing with Movement: Kinematics Leonhard Oschuetz, Daniel Wessolek, Wolfgang Sattler Interaction Design / Product Design, Faculty of Art & Design Bauhaus University Weimar Geschwister-Scholl-Str. 15, 99423 Weimar, Germany {leonhard.oschuetz, daniel.wessolek, wolfgang.sattler}@uni-weimar.de ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
This paper describes Kinematics: a novel construction toy for children consisting of both active (shape-changing or rotating) and passive building blocks. In comparison to similar systems, the active components of Kinematics do not require programming or recording. This allows children to focus on reassembly and direct observation of the resulting movement from simple changes made to a constructed structure.
The term digital manipulatives coined by Mitchell Resnick et al. [1] refers to “computationally-enhanced versions of traditional children’s toys”. A popular and recent example is Topobo by Hayes Raffle and Amanda Parkes [2,3]. Topobo is now commercially available in limited numbers.
The gameplay of Kinematics is similar to classic construction games; by re-combining different elements, one can assemble increasingly complex structures. The shape-changing/rotating feature of the active blocks results in movement of the whole structure. The geometric shapes of these blocks are cubes, cuboids, cylinders, and triangular prisms. Plug-and-socket connectors (TRRS jacks) hold the blocks together and are the pivot points for rotating. They also provide data and power lines. Through simply rotating a single element, or putting it in a different position within the structure, the child can directly and intuitively manipulate the resulting movement. We propose Kinematics as a playful, intuitive, and haptic way of learning about motion in the physical world.
Figure 1: Prototype of Kinematics
Author Keywords
The history of construction games reaches back to the Thuringian educator and student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852), who designed the Fröbelgaben (Froebel Gifts) and invented the Kindergarten. The Froebel Gifts were intended for children’s self-directed play [4].
Digital Manipulative, Education, Toy, Learning, Children, Modular, Robotics, Programming by Demonstration, Tangible Interface ACM Classification Keywords
K.3.1: Computers and Education: Computer Uses in Education. H.1.2: Models and Principles: User/Machine Systems. H.5.2: Information Interfaces and Presentation: User Interfaces.
In 1987-1988 the company belonging to german inventor Artur Fischer, Fischerwerke Artur Fischer GmbH & Co. KG, sold a construction kit called Computing Experimental [4] that included electronic components and motors. Another example is the LEGO Mindstorm series (commercially available in 1998) named after Seymor Papert’s book Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas (1980)[5].
General Terms
Design
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. TEI 2010, January 25–27, 2010, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Copyright 2010 ACM 978-1-60558-841-4/10/01...$10.00.
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Figure 3: Illustration of movement
Figure 2: Construct and Play
RELATED WORK / DIGITAL MANIPULATIVES
There are two main interaction concepts for computationally enhanced construction games, one being the concept of programming the digital manipulatives in advance, as with LEGO Mindstorms. In this case one must use a piece of software on a Personal Computer to program a desired behavior. These systems are modeled by analogy to professional ways of building robots and autonomous interactive structures. A downside to this concept is the need for an additional device for programming the toy, what leads to a not-so-intuitive interaction. The other interaction concept is the record-and-play analogy used in Topobo. Here one can build a structure, activate recording mode, manually twist the structure, and activate the playback mode. This can be seen as a more direct interaction, though similar to the programming analogy.
Figure 4: Kinematics DESIGN & FUNCTIONAL MODEL
Kinematics combines the underlying idea of the Froebel Gifts with the plug-and-socket principle to maintain the structure’s stability in a state of motion.
The Kinematics concept Construct and Play follows a different approach: instead of programming the movement, the shape-changing/rotating blocks move as soon as they are powered, and for that reason, one is able to directly construct with self-moving parts. A child can instantly observe the resulting difference, two artificially separated aspects are re-combined, form and inherent motion (see Figure 2).
A simple Kinematics structure consists of at least three building blocks: A yellow Power Block to provides the whole system with electric power. The Power Block has an ON/OFF button in order to disconnect the power from the system without having to disassemble the structure. A red Brain Block to send the signals for movement of the shape-changing/rotating blocks (Kinematic Block). A Kinematic Block to generate kinetic energy, resulting in motion. In our system we define only the Kinematic Blocks as "active". All other blocks are defined as "passive".
258
We briefly describe each of the elements in order to provide a better understanding of the overall system and its possibilities.
Figure 5: Kinematics in use
There is no predefined order of construction with the elements of Kinematics; it does not matter where one puts the Power Block, for example, as long as it is present in the system. An almost infinite number of combinations are possible in keeping with this concept, from our understanding, the key principle of construction games like Froebel Gifts or LEGO bricks. The design goal was to keep things as simple as possible and thus make space for unrestricted creativity. The TRRS (tip, ring, ring, sleeve) jacks are the plug-and-socket connections that provide power and data lines and serve as the pivot point of each connection. A system of four magnets on each side of the connection add support to the structure and enable precise 90-degree-rotation of the connections by a child.
Figure 7: The different elements of Kinematics Kinematic Block
The Kinematic Block is the element creating kinetic energy resulting in motion. At this point in time we propose two kinds of Kinematic Blocks: one shape-changing cuboid (cuboid to parallelepiped), and a rotating block in the shape of a cylinder. Kinematic Blocks are each driven by an integrated servomotor and have a plug on one side and a socket on the other (see Figure 8).
A functional model was initially made from an Arduino Duemilanove [6] and a prototypical Kinematic Block hosting a servomotor. By rotating backward and forward, the motor changes the shape of the cuboid to a parallelepiped (see Figure 6).
Figure 8: Kinematic Blocks - Directions of movement Brain Block
The red Brain Block in the shape of a cube hosts a micro controller (Arduino Pro Mini). It has a plug on each of the four sides through which it passes the control data through the system.
Figure 6: Functional Model Kinematics THE KINEMATICS SYSTEM
Kinematics is a system for intuitive learning about key principles of the physical world, i.e. movement, balance, and gravity.
Power Block
The yellow Power Block also has the shape of a cube or cuboid, and provides power to the system. It has an ON/OFF button and has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery inside. This block is the heaviest in the system and can thus be used to set the center of gravity of the structure. It has a plug and/or socket on at least one side. A System can host more than one Power Block.
The system consists of controlling, inhibiting, connecting, power-storing, and kinematic elements (Brain Block, Connection Block, Stop Block, Power Block, Kinematic Block). From these elements a child is able to construct a vast number of kinetic structures (see Figure 7).
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planned for the near future using rapid prototyping techniques. There is the possibility of introducing a greater number of components, while testing parts for their durability. The value of ‘suggested model builds’ could also be looked at. Kinematics should be introduced to a group of children age five to thirteen years of age. Can children from a wide age category create and sculpt their fantasy constructions? Are they enabled to play intuitively with Kinematics as an educative, barrier free tool?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Jamie L. Ferguson for her help with proofreading. Figure 9: Rendering of Kinematics
Connection Block
Connection Blocks exist in different shapes: cube, halfcube, triangular prism, cuboid, or other basic threedimensional forms. The Connection Blocks give "flesh to the bone" in construction of structures. These elements also serve as connections for the power and data lines, and have plug-and-socket connectors. Stop Blocks
The black Stop Blocks inhibit the data line and provide only a power line. This enables construction using different Brain Blocks (e.g. providing different control data) and thereby incorporating different motion sequences in one system.
Figure 11: Constructing a dog REFERENCES
1. Resnick, M., Martin, F., Berg, R., Borovoy, R., Colella, V., Kramer, K., Silverman, B., Digital manipulatives: new toys to think with. In Proc. SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, pages 281-287, 1998. 2. Topobo. http://www.topobo.com 3. Raffle, H., Parkes, A. and Ishii, H. Topobo: A constructive assembly system with kinetic memory. in Human Factors in Computing (CHI) ‘04, ACM, 2004. 4. Leinweber U., Baukästen - Technisches Spielzeug vom Biedermeier bis zur Jahrtausendwende. VMA VerlagDrei Lilien Edition, Wiesbaden, Germany (1999), 3235. 5. Professor Seymour Papert’s Homepage http://www.papert.org/
Figure 10: Endless possibilities
6. Arduino: an open-source electronic prototyping platform http://arduino.cc/
CONCLUSION
Kinematics is a prototype construction toy for children following the concept of Construct and Play and is an ongoing project. A large, working, Kinematics kit is
260
INTRODUCTION
This paper describes Kinematics: a novel construction toy for children consisting of both active (shape-changing or rotating) and passive building blocks. In comparison to similar systems, the active components of Kinematics do not require programming or recording. This allows children to focus on reassembly and direct observation of the resulting movement from simple changes made to a constructed structure.
The term digital manipulatives coined by Mitchell Resnick et al. [1] refers to “computationally-enhanced versions of traditional children’s toys”. A popular and recent example is Topobo by Hayes Raffle and Amanda Parkes [2,3]. Topobo is now commercially available in limited numbers.
The gameplay of Kinematics is similar to classic construction games; by re-combining different elements, one can assemble increasingly complex structures. The shape-changing/rotating feature of the active blocks results in movement of the whole structure. The geometric shapes of these blocks are cubes, cuboids, cylinders, and triangular prisms. Plug-and-socket connectors (TRRS jacks) hold the blocks together and are the pivot points for rotating. They also provide data and power lines. Through simply rotating a single element, or putting it in a different position within the structure, the child can directly and intuitively manipulate the resulting movement. We propose Kinematics as a playful, intuitive, and haptic way of learning about motion in the physical world.
Figure 1: Prototype of Kinematics
Author Keywords
The history of construction games reaches back to the Thuringian educator and student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852), who designed the Fröbelgaben (Froebel Gifts) and invented the Kindergarten. The Froebel Gifts were intended for children’s self-directed play [4].
Digital Manipulative, Education, Toy, Learning, Children, Modular, Robotics, Programming by Demonstration, Tangible Interface ACM Classification Keywords
K.3.1: Computers and Education: Computer Uses in Education. H.1.2: Models and Principles: User/Machine Systems. H.5.2: Information Interfaces and Presentation: User Interfaces.
In 1987-1988 the company belonging to german inventor Artur Fischer, Fischerwerke Artur Fischer GmbH & Co. KG, sold a construction kit called Computing Experimental [4] that included electronic components and motors. Another example is the LEGO Mindstorm series (commercially available in 1998) named after Seymor Papert’s book Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas (1980)[5].
General Terms
Design
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. TEI 2010, January 25–27, 2010, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Copyright 2010 ACM 978-1-60558-841-4/10/01...$10.00.
257
Figure 3: Illustration of movement
Figure 2: Construct and Play
RELATED WORK / DIGITAL MANIPULATIVES
There are two main interaction concepts for computationally enhanced construction games, one being the concept of programming the digital manipulatives in advance, as with LEGO Mindstorms. In this case one must use a piece of software on a Personal Computer to program a desired behavior. These systems are modeled by analogy to professional ways of building robots and autonomous interactive structures. A downside to this concept is the need for an additional device for programming the toy, what leads to a not-so-intuitive interaction. The other interaction concept is the record-and-play analogy used in Topobo. Here one can build a structure, activate recording mode, manually twist the structure, and activate the playback mode. This can be seen as a more direct interaction, though similar to the programming analogy.
Figure 4: Kinematics DESIGN & FUNCTIONAL MODEL
Kinematics combines the underlying idea of the Froebel Gifts with the plug-and-socket principle to maintain the structure’s stability in a state of motion.
The Kinematics concept Construct and Play follows a different approach: instead of programming the movement, the shape-changing/rotating blocks move as soon as they are powered, and for that reason, one is able to directly construct with self-moving parts. A child can instantly observe the resulting difference, two artificially separated aspects are re-combined, form and inherent motion (see Figure 2).
A simple Kinematics structure consists of at least three building blocks: A yellow Power Block to provides the whole system with electric power. The Power Block has an ON/OFF button in order to disconnect the power from the system without having to disassemble the structure. A red Brain Block to send the signals for movement of the shape-changing/rotating blocks (Kinematic Block). A Kinematic Block to generate kinetic energy, resulting in motion. In our system we define only the Kinematic Blocks as "active". All other blocks are defined as "passive".
258
We briefly describe each of the elements in order to provide a better understanding of the overall system and its possibilities.
Figure 5: Kinematics in use
There is no predefined order of construction with the elements of Kinematics; it does not matter where one puts the Power Block, for example, as long as it is present in the system. An almost infinite number of combinations are possible in keeping with this concept, from our understanding, the key principle of construction games like Froebel Gifts or LEGO bricks. The design goal was to keep things as simple as possible and thus make space for unrestricted creativity. The TRRS (tip, ring, ring, sleeve) jacks are the plug-and-socket connections that provide power and data lines and serve as the pivot point of each connection. A system of four magnets on each side of the connection add support to the structure and enable precise 90-degree-rotation of the connections by a child.
Figure 7: The different elements of Kinematics Kinematic Block
The Kinematic Block is the element creating kinetic energy resulting in motion. At this point in time we propose two kinds of Kinematic Blocks: one shape-changing cuboid (cuboid to parallelepiped), and a rotating block in the shape of a cylinder. Kinematic Blocks are each driven by an integrated servomotor and have a plug on one side and a socket on the other (see Figure 8).
A functional model was initially made from an Arduino Duemilanove [6] and a prototypical Kinematic Block hosting a servomotor. By rotating backward and forward, the motor changes the shape of the cuboid to a parallelepiped (see Figure 6).
Figure 8: Kinematic Blocks - Directions of movement Brain Block
The red Brain Block in the shape of a cube hosts a micro controller (Arduino Pro Mini). It has a plug on each of the four sides through which it passes the control data through the system.
Figure 6: Functional Model Kinematics THE KINEMATICS SYSTEM
Kinematics is a system for intuitive learning about key principles of the physical world, i.e. movement, balance, and gravity.
Power Block
The yellow Power Block also has the shape of a cube or cuboid, and provides power to the system. It has an ON/OFF button and has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery inside. This block is the heaviest in the system and can thus be used to set the center of gravity of the structure. It has a plug and/or socket on at least one side. A System can host more than one Power Block.
The system consists of controlling, inhibiting, connecting, power-storing, and kinematic elements (Brain Block, Connection Block, Stop Block, Power Block, Kinematic Block). From these elements a child is able to construct a vast number of kinetic structures (see Figure 7).
259
planned for the near future using rapid prototyping techniques. There is the possibility of introducing a greater number of components, while testing parts for their durability. The value of ‘suggested model builds’ could also be looked at. Kinematics should be introduced to a group of children age five to thirteen years of age. Can children from a wide age category create and sculpt their fantasy constructions? Are they enabled to play intuitively with Kinematics as an educative, barrier free tool?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Jamie L. Ferguson for her help with proofreading. Figure 9: Rendering of Kinematics
Connection Block
Connection Blocks exist in different shapes: cube, halfcube, triangular prism, cuboid, or other basic threedimensional forms. The Connection Blocks give "flesh to the bone" in construction of structures. These elements also serve as connections for the power and data lines, and have plug-and-socket connectors. Stop Blocks
The black Stop Blocks inhibit the data line and provide only a power line. This enables construction using different Brain Blocks (e.g. providing different control data) and thereby incorporating different motion sequences in one system.
Figure 11: Constructing a dog REFERENCES
1. Resnick, M., Martin, F., Berg, R., Borovoy, R., Colella, V., Kramer, K., Silverman, B., Digital manipulatives: new toys to think with. In Proc. SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, pages 281-287, 1998. 2. Topobo. http://www.topobo.com 3. Raffle, H., Parkes, A. and Ishii, H. Topobo: A constructive assembly system with kinetic memory. in Human Factors in Computing (CHI) ‘04, ACM, 2004. 4. Leinweber U., Baukästen - Technisches Spielzeug vom Biedermeier bis zur Jahrtausendwende. VMA VerlagDrei Lilien Edition, Wiesbaden, Germany (1999), 3235. 5. Professor Seymour Papert’s Homepage http://www.papert.org/
Figure 10: Endless possibilities
6. Arduino: an open-source electronic prototyping platform http://arduino.cc/
CONCLUSION
Kinematics is a prototype construction toy for children following the concept of Construct and Play and is an ongoing project. A large, working, Kinematics kit is
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