Hyunjoo Oh

Cube-in: A Learning Kit for Physical Computing Basics

We present Cube-in, a kit designed to help beginners learn about fundamental concepts in physical computing. Through play and observation, Cube-in users can investigate digital and analog signals, inputs and outputs, and mapping between inputs and outputs before they work on electronics and construct circuits. By simplifying interaction methods, Cube-in provides an accessible entry point to key physical computing concepts.

Paper mechatronics: a design case study for a young medium

Paper Mechatronics is a novel interdisciplinary design medium for children, enabled by recent advances in craft technologies: the term refers to a reappraisal of traditional educational papercrafts in combination with accessible mechanical, electronic, and computational elements. We present a design case study--building computationally-enhanced paper flowers--and discuss the iterative design process involved in the creation. We also describe a workshop we conducted with teenagers to evaluate paper mechatronics as a creative learning activity for children. We conclude with a discussion of future directions.

FoldMecha: Design for Linkage-Based Paper Toys

We present FoldMecha, a computational tool to help non-experts design and build paper mechanical toys. By customizing templates a user can experiment with basic mechanisms, design their own model, print and cut out a folding net to construct the toy. We used the tool to build two kinds of paper automata models: walkers and flowers.

FoldMecha: Exploratory Design and Engineering of Mechanical Papercraft

We present FoldMecha, a computer-aided design (CAD) system for exploratory construction of mechanical papercraft. FoldMecha enables students to (a) design their own movements with simple mechanisms by modifying parameters and (b) build physical prototypes. This paper describes the system, as well as associated prototyping methods that make the construction process easier and more adaptable to widely different creations. The paper also discusses a week-long workshop that we held with six teenagers using FoldMecha. The teens successfully designed and built their own mechanisms, and adapted them to a variety of creations. Throughout the workshop, they progressively achieved an advanced level of skill and understanding about mechanical movements.

Crafting Mechatronic Percussion with Everyday Materials

We present a kit comprising cardboard mechanical components and a custom printed circuit board, designed to support novices in building computational percussive instruments with everyday materials. We set three design criteria: accessibility, adaptability, and expressivity. We conducted two workshops with experts and novices to assess the usability of our kit and observe the variety of constructions that users make. The kit enabled both experts and novices to build working instruments and to explore creative experimentation with different materials and objects.

A Study to Empower Children to Design Movable Tactile Pictures for Children with Visual Impairments

3D Printing has shown a great potential to print tactile picture books, in order to cultivate emergent literacy for children with visual impairments. However, currently available 3D design tools are hard to learn, resulting in children to be excluded from the participatory design of tactile pictures. Also, existing 3D design software lacks of functionality to incorporate mobility and rich textures, which is critical aspect of the effective tactile picture. In this paper, we review our formative studies, presenting a hands-on design process for children to empower their own creativities into 3D tactile pictures design, and to engage them to bring other materials to enhance touch experiences.

Awareable steps: functional and fashionable shoes for patients with dementia

Awareable Steps is designed to assist self-alert and security monitoring for those suffering from Alzheimers disease. Using vibration motors, the shoes alert a patient who is inactive for 20 minutes. Also, family or caregivers can track the patients location via mobile services such as Find iPhone or Find My Android Phone. Our design decisions are based on three themes: problem solving for specific users, fashion and aesthetics, and accessible technology.

PEP (3D Printed Electronic Papercrafts): An Integrated Approach for 3D Sculpting Paper-Based Electronic Devices

We present PEP (Printed Electronic Papercrafts), a set of design and fabrication techniques to integrate electronic based interactivities into printed papercrafts via 3D sculpting. We explore the design space of PEP, integrating four functions into 3D paper products: actuation, sensing, display, and communication, leveraging the expressive and technical opportunities enabled by paper-like functional layers with a stack of paper. We outline a seven-step workflow, introduce a design tool we developed as an add-on to an existing CAD environment, and demonstrate example applications that combine the electronic enabled functionality, the capability of 3D sculpting, and the unique creative affordances by the materiality of paper.

Paper mechatronics: present and future

Creative iterative development over the past several years has generated an extensive set of computational tools, learning resources, and materials in the realm of paper mechatronics - an educational craft and design approach that weaves computational and mechanical elements into established traditions of childrens construction with paper. Here, we both reflect upon our past and recent work of paper mechatronics, then look to the near- to medium-term future to speculate upon both the emerging trends in technology design and expanding learning potential of this medium for children along material, spatial, and temporal dimensions. We summarize lessons learned through various childrens workshops with our materials; and we use these lessons as a foundation upon which to create a wide variety of novel tools and activities in educational papercrafting. We speculate upon the frontiers of this work based on current convergences and shifts in tangible creative computational media.

From Papercraft to Paper Mechatronics: Exploring a New Medium and Developing a Computational Design Tool

Paper Mechatronics is a novel interdisciplinary design medium, enabled by recent advances in craft technologies: the term refers to a reappraisal of traditional papercraft in combination with accessible mechanical, electronic, and computational elements. I am investigating the design space of paper mechatronics as a new hands-on medium by developing a series of examples and building a computational tool, FoldMecha, to support non-experts to design and construct their own paper mechatronics models. This paper describes how I used the tool to create two kinds of paper mechatronics models: walkers and flowers and discuss next steps.