Urp

2001

Hiroshi Ishii (US) (JP)

Jason Alonso
John Underkoffler
Daniel Chak
James Patten (US)
Gian Pangaro
Gustavo Santos
Ben Fielding Piper
Tangible Media Group

"Urp" is a tangible urban-planning workbench based on the "I/O Bulb" concept. The I/O bulb is conceived as a light bulb that gives new digital meaning to surfaces in architectural space and to the manipulation of objects within its beam. Using I/O bulbs to project real-time computer simulations onto physical models makes it possible to understand and directly manipulate digitally rendered urban spaces in a world contiguous with the space of one's own body.

Originally developed by Dr. John Underkoffler in 1998, the I/O bulb creates high resolution, bidirectional light flows. It collects photons from physical surfaces, and uses knowledge about a particular domain, such as urban planning, to interpret the light patterns. It then responds with digitally-controlled light output, which is projected back onto the physical space.

In "Urp", physical architectural models are placed on a table illuminated with I/O bulbs and shadows are cast according to a computer simulation. By adjusting the clock, it is possible to track the shadow movements and sun reflections. In addition, air currents around the buildings are rendered visible and a wind gauge can be used to measure the wind speed at any point.

Using I/O bulbs to project real-time computer simulations onto physical models makes it possible to understand and directly manipulate digitally rendered urban spaces in a world that is contiguous with one's own body.

Instead of the original computer vision technology, this installation uses new magnetic field-sensing technology to track tagged objects such as building models.

When designing tangible interfaces, it is important to consider which elements should be given physical form and which elements should be rendered as digital images. The key to a successful interface lies in hiding the boundary between the digital and physical worlds. The digital shadows (video projections) cast by the physical models in "Urp" represent one solution to this problem. If we were to replace all of the hundreds and thousands of light bulbs in an architectural space with I/O bulbs, what kind of interaction design would be possible?

The I/O bulb, as the core concept in this project, has demonstrated the potential for new digital interactions that occur not only on the tabletop, but within architectural space itself.