- Physical computing
Physical computing, in the broadest sense, means building interactive
physical system s by the use ofsoftware andhardware that can sense and respond to the analog world. While this definition is broad enough to encompass things such as smart automotive trafficcontrol system s or factoryautomation process es, it is not commonly used to describe them. In the broad sense, physical computing is a creative framework for understandinghuman being s' relationship to thedigital world. In practical use, the term most often describes handmadeart , design orDIY hobby projects that usesensor s andmicrocontroller s to translate analog input to asoftware system , and/or controlelectro-mechanical devices such asmotor s,servo s,lighting or other hardware.Examples
Physical computing is used in a wide variety of domains and applications.
In museums
The
Exploratorium , a pioneer ininquiry based learning , developed some of the earliest interactive exhibitry involving computers, and continues to include more and more examples of physical computing andtangible interface s as associated technologies progress.In art
In the art world, projects that implement physical computing include the work of
Scott Snibbe ,Daniel Rozin ,Rafael Lozano-Hemmer andJonah Brucker-Cohen .In product design
Physical computing practices also exist in the product and interaction design sphere, where hand-built
embedded system s are sometimes used to rapidlyprototype new digital product concepts in a cost-efficient way. Firms such asIDEO are known to approachproduct design in this way.In commercial applications
Commercial implementations range from consumer devices such as the
Sony Eyetoy or games such asDance Dance Revolution to more esoteric and pragmatic uses such asmachine vision used in the automation of quality inspection along a factoryassembly line .Exergaming can be considered a form of physical computing. Other implementations of physical computing includevoice recognition , which senses and interprets sound waves via microphones or other soundwave sensing devices, andcomputer vision , which applies algorithms to a rich stream ofvideo data typically sensed by some form ofcamera .Haptic interfaces are also an example of physical computing, though in this case the computer is "generating" the physical stimulus as opposed to "sensing" it. Bothmotion capture andgesture recognition are fields that rely on computer vision to work their magic.In scientific applications
Physical computing can also describe the fabrication and use of custom sensors or collectors for scientific experiments, though the term is rarely used to describe them as such.
External links
* [http://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/ Physical Computing] , [http://itp.nyu.edu/ Interactive Telecommunications Program] ,
New York University
* [http://itp.nyu.edu/~dbo3/physical/physical.html Physical Computing] by Dan O'Sullivan
* [http://www.tigoe.net/pcomp/ Physical Computing] , Tom Igoe's collection of resources, examples, and lecture notes for the physical computing courses at ITP.
* [http://www.nastypixel.com/instantsoup/ Physical Computing] , A path into electronics using an approach of “learning by making”, introducing electronic prototyping in a playful, non-technical way. (Yaniv Steiner , IDII)
* [http://www.arduino.cc/ Arduino] , a highly popular open source physical computing platform
* [http://www.bluemelon.org/index.php/Products/BM7505_BluePD_programmable_Pure_Data_router BluePD BlueSense] . a physical computing platform by Blue Melon. This platform is visually programmable using the popular (open source) Pure Data system.
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