Design Visualization Based on a Machine Readable Physical Model

This paper describes recent work on mapping from an abstract intelligent physical modelling system to a virtual modelling environment f o r design visualization. But the paper also addresses related questions: Why is there a current revival of interest in these techniques? What is diflerent now? Why use abstract representations? What were these systems fo r in the first place? And, what might be their new role in thejuture? 1. Background There has been a recent worldwide revival of interest in machine readable physical models that are rapidly re-configurable spatial interaction devices for 3D visualization input with an immediacy accessibility for non experts [I]. Originally called ‘intelligent physica