Mark D. Gross

Ambiguous intentions: a paper-like interface for creative design

Interfaces for conceptual and creative design should recognize and interpret drawings. They should also capture users’ intended ambiguity, vagueness, and imprecision and convey these qualities visually and through interactive behavior. Freehand drawing can provide this information and it is a natural input mode for design. We describe a pen-based interface that acquires information about ambiguity and precision from freehand input, represents it internally, and echoes it to users visually and through constraint based edit behavior.

The Electronic Cocktail Napkin—a computational environment for working with design diagrams

Abstract The Electronic Cocktail Napkin is an experimental computer-based environment for sketching and diagramming in conceptual design. The projects goal is to develop a computational drawing environment to support conceptual designing in a way that leads smoothly from diagrams to more formal and structured representations of schematic design. With computational representations for conceptual designs, computer-supported editing, critquing, analysis, and simulation can be employed earlier in the design process, where it can have a greater impact on outcomes. The paper describes the Electronic Cocktail Napkin program-its recognition and parsing of diagrams and management of spatial constraints, its drawing environment, and two experimental query-by-diagram schemes for retrieving information from architectural databases.

roBlocks: a robotic construction kit for mathematics and science education

We describe work in progress on roBlocks, a computational construction kit that encourages users to experiment and play with a collection of sensor, logic and actuator blocks, exposing them to a variety of advanced concepts including kinematics, feedback and distributed control. Its interface presents novice users with a simple, tangible set of robotic blocks, whereas advanced users work with software tools to analyze and rewrite the programs embedded in each block. Early results suggest that roBlocks may be an effective vehicle to expose young people to complex ideas in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Computational Support for Sketching in Design: A Review

Computational support for sketching is an exciting research area at the intersection of design research, human–computer interaction, and artificial intelligence. Despite the prevalence of software tools, most designers begin their work with physical sketches. Modern computational tools largely treat design as a linear process beginning with a specific problem and ending with a specific solution. Sketch-based design tools offer another approach that may fit design practice better. This review surveys literature related to such tools. First, we describe the practical basis of sketching — why people sketch, what significance it has in design and problem solving, and the cognitive activities it supports. Second, we survey computational support for sketching, including methods for performing sketch recognition and managing ambiguity, techniques for modeling recognizable elements, and human–computer interaction techniques for working with sketches. Last, we propose challenges and opportunities for future advances in this field.

Interactive fabrication: new interfaces for digital fabrication

We present a series of prototype devices that use real-time input to fabricate physical form: Interactive Fabrication. Our work maps out the problem space of real-time control for digital fabrication devices, and examines where alternative interfaces for digital fabrication are relevant. We conclude by reflecting upon the potential of interactive fabrication and outline a number of considerations for future research in this area.

Digital clay: deriving digital models from freehand sketches

Abstract During the initial stages of design, it is not uncommon to find an architect scribbling furiously with a thick pencil. Later in the design process, however, one might not be surprised to encounter the same individual in front of a computer monitor, manipulating three dimensional models in a series of activities that seem completely divorced from their previous efforts. Armed with evidence that sketching is an effective design method for creative individuals, we also recognize that modeling and rendering applications are invaluable design development and presentation tools, and we naturally seek a connection between these methodologies. We therefore present Digital Clay, a working prototype of a sketch recognition program that interprets gestural and abstracted projection drawings and constructs appropriate three dimensional digital models. Argile digitale: la derivation de modeles digitaux a partir d’esquisses main-libre Durant les phases initiales de la conception, on trouve souvent l’architecte en train de barbouiller furieusement avec un crayon epais. Plus tard dans le processus de design, cependant, on ne s’etonnera pas de rencontrer le meme individu devant le moniteur d’un ordinateur, en train de manipuler des modeles trois dimensionnels lors d’une serie d’activites semblant completement separees de ses efforts precedents. Ayant des preuves que le dessin est une methode effective de conception pour des individus createurs, nous reconnaissons aussi que les outils electroniques servant a faire de la modelisation et des dessins de synthese (“rendering”) sont aussi utiles lors du developpement et la presentation du design. Naturellement, nous cherchons une connection entre ces methodologies. Nous presentons donc Argile Digital, un prototype fonctionnel d’un programme qui reconnait les esquisses et qui interprete les dessins de projection abstraits, et construit des modeles trois-dimensionnels appropries.

Intentions in and relations among design drawings

Abstract Designers use drawings to explore alternatives and to test ideas. We report here on two studies on design and drawing. The first study of design drawing symbols aims to determine whether and to what extent it is possible to infer, interpret, or even guess what a designer was thinking about by looking at the drawings she has made. In the second study we examined a collection of drawings for the design of a house to investigate the systems of design transformations. Drawings are characterized by drawing style, projection type, and key elements. We analyzed the relationships among the drawings and developed a notation system for documenting these relationships.

Annotating and sketching on 3D web models

This paper reports on our progress and findings in building a Web annotation system for non-immersive 3D virtual environments. Over the last two years, we developed and tested two systems for collaborating designers to comment on virtual 3D models. Our first system, Redliner [12] lets design team members browse and leave text annotations on surfaces in three-dimensional models. Experience with Redliner, including two user evaluations in different settings, led us to develop Space Pen [13], a second annotation system with improved interaction capabilities. It goes beyond the post-it note metaphor, allowing users to draw in and on the virtual environment.

Demonstrating the electronic cocktail napkin: a paper-like interface for early design

We demonstrate the Electronic Cocktail Napkin, a pen based interface for conceptual design. The project goal is to support design by recognizing, interpreting, and managing drawings, and to serve as an interface for knowledge-based critiquing, simulation, and information retrieval. We demonstrate the Napkin’s facilities for end-user programmable recognition and interpretation, drawing management, and multi-user collaboration. We show applications of the Napkin: (1) indexing visual databases and (2) a front end to a local area network design program.

Navigational blocks: navigating information space with tangible media

The Navigational Blocks project demonstrates a tangible user interface that facilitates retrieval of historical stories in a tourist spot. Orientation, movement, and relative positions of physical Blocks support visitor navigation and exploration in a virtual gallery. The Navigational Blocks system provides a physical embodiment of digital information through tactile manipulation and haptic feedback. The simple cubic form of the Blocks is easy to understand and therefore easy to use to manipulate complex digital information. Electromagnets embedded in the Blocks and wireless communication encourage users to quickly rearrange the Blocks to form different database queries.