David A. Mellis

Shared reality: physical collaboration with a virtual peer

We describe a novel interface, in which a human and embodied conversational agent share a seamlessly integrated virtual and physical environment. This type of interface, in which objects are passed from the real to the virtual world, has potential applications in unsupervised learning, collaborative work, and entertainment. We introduce Sam, our first implementation of such an interface, which allows children to engage in natural storytelling play with real objects, in collaboration with a virtual playmate who shares access to those real objects.

Making cultures: empowerment, participation, and democracy - or not?

Making has transformed from a fringe and hobbyist practice into a professionalizing field and an emerging industry. Enthusiasts laud its potential to democratize technology, improve the workforce, empower consumers, encourage citizen science, and contribute to the global economy. Yet critics counter that in the West, making often remains a hobby for the privileged and seems to be increasingly co-opted by corporate interests. This panel brings together HCI scholars and practitioners active in making, handwork, DIY, crafts, and tool design to examine and debate the visions that come from maker cultures.

Case studies in the personal fabrication of electronic products

This paper investigates the use of digital fabrication for the individual production and customization of electronic devices. We present two products -- a pair of speakers with laser-cut parts and a computer mouse with a 3D-printed enclosure -- and describe their making and modification by workshop participants. The speakers target a general audience, engaging a diversity of skills and backgrounds. The mouse aims at designers, exploring the application of 3D modeling skills to the production of electronic devices. We use the case studies to discuss general implications of digital fabrication for technology production and education: enabling collaboration and iteration through open-source hardware, enhancing the products of educational technologies and experiences, and increasing the diversity of and personal connections to electronic products. The case studies also suggest opportunities for further research into tools, materials, and people.

Do-it-yourself cellphones: an investigation into the possibilities and limits of high-tech diy

This paper describes our do-it-yourself cellphone and our use of it to investigate the possibilities and limits of high-tech DIY practice. We describe our autobiographical approach -- making the phone and using it in our daily lives -- and our work disseminating the cellphone in workshops and online. This informs a discussion of the implications of technology for DIY practice. We suggest an understanding of DIY as an individuals ability to combine existing technologies into a desired product, enabled and limited by ecosystems of industrial actors and individuals. We distinguish different pathways into high-tech DIY practice, consider the relationship between prototyping and production, and discuss the effect of technology on DIYs relevance and tools, and on notions of transparency. We conclude by reflecting on the relationship between DIY and empowerment: the extent to which making devices gives people control over the technology in their lives.

FAB at CHI: digital fabrication tools, design, and community

This workshop explores the implications and opportunities of digital fabrication for the field of human-computer interaction. We highlight five themes: design tools and interfaces, online collaboration around physical objects, prototyping in the interaction design process, hands-on learning, and unique, personalized artifacts. For each, we provide an overview and a survey of related work. The workshop seeks to foster a network of researchers and others working in these and related areas. It explores potential research directions and ways that the CHI community can make a positive impact on design, craft, and maker culture.

Living wall: programmable wallpaper for interactive spaces

The Living Wall project explores the construction and application of interactive wallpaper. Using conductive, resistive, and magnetic paints we produced wallpaper that enables us to create dynamic, reconfigurable, programmable spaces. The wallpaper consists of circuitry that is painted onto a sheet of paper and a set of electronic modules that are attached to it with magnets. The wallpaper can be used for a multitude of functional and fanciful applications involving lighting, environmental sensing, appliance control, and ambient information display.

Engaging Amateurs in the Design, Fabrication, and Assembly of Electronic Devices

This paper explores personal fabrication as a means of engaging new audiences in the creation of electronic devices, which play an ever-increasing role in our lives but which most people have little involvement in creating. We describe a six-session workshop in which eight participants made wifi-connected devices through the design and fabrication of custom printed circuit boards. We explore the implications of using components and processes analogous to those in commercial products, as opposed to the limited set of higher-level building blocks found in toolkits for hobbyist electronics. We highlight unique advantages and challenges of a personal fabrication approach. We explore the role of attitudes in identifying a suitable audience for these activities. We discuss insights into commercial electronic products offered by personal fabrication and explore its role in a world of mass-produced electronic devices. Finally, we suggest opportunities for future tools and technologies.

Collaboration in open-source hardware: third-party variations on the arduino duemilanove

This paper looks at collaboration in open-source hardware: physical goods whose digital design files are shared for others to make or modify. Through research into nine variations on the Arduino Duemilanove (an electronic circuit board) and interviews with their developers, we explore the process and outcome of open-source hardware development. We find a structure that differs substantially from that of most open-source software projects, involving many small-scale collaborations rather than a centralized process. We discuss three possible reasons for this structure: differing component selections, the investment required for prototyping, and the lack of software collaboration tools.

Fab FM: the design, making, and modification of an open-source electronic product

This paper explores the ways in which digital fabrication allows for the small-scale manufacture and individual customization of consumer electronic products. We present Fab FM, an open-source FM radio that integrates an electronic circuit board, laser-cut wood, and fabric. We describe a workshop in which participants designed and built their own Fab FM variants, modifying the form, materials, and behavior of the radio. Drawing from this experience, we discuss three themes: the issues involved in working across design domains, the ways in which design can serve as source code, and the difference between open- source and hackable. We present potential business models for Fab FM, and discuss the possibilities that digital fabrication offers for a more diverse landscape of high-tech products.

The Toastboard: Ubiquitous Instrumentation and Automated Checking of Breadboarded Circuits

The recent proliferation of easy to use electronic components and toolkits has introduced a large number of novices to designing and building electronic projects. Nevertheless, debugging circuits remains a difficult and time-consuming task. This paper presents a novel debugging tool for electronic design projects, the Toastboard, that aims to reduce debugging time by improving upon the standard paradigm of point-wise circuit measurements. Ubiquitous instrumentation allows for immediate visualization of an entire breadboards state, meaning users can diagnose problems based on a wealth of data instead of having to form a single hypothesis and plan before taking a measurement. Basic connectivity information is displayed visually on the circuit itself and quantitative data is displayed on the accompanying web interface. Software-based testing functions further lower the expertise threshold for efficient debugging by diagnosing classes of circuit errors automatically. In an informal study, participants found the detailed, pervasive, and context-rich data from our tool helpful and potentially time-saving.