Beyond Pixels

Hiroshi Ishii, faculty

Professor of media arts and sciences Ishii believes user interface is poised for another breakout—into a world of what he calls “radical atoms,” in which physical forms can be generated and reconfigured as easily as pixels on a screen. His Tangible Media Group has created inFORM, a system where input channeled from a motion-sensing device reproduces real-time movements in physical pixels on a tabletop. With inFORM, users can already create dynamic models of algebraic equations and manipulate physical objects from a distance.