Knowledge of today for the design of tomorrow

The vision of ubiquitous and tangible computing is a world filled with a plethora of objects beneath which lie vast amounts of computational power. This poses new design challenges in the attempt to bridge the physical and digital worlds. This paper describes a study of mundane electronic devices in order to understand what makes physical interactions and physical-logical mappings natural and comprehensible. We are looking particularly at how these principles exploit our innate human understanding of the physical world to allow fluid, natural interaction. Our aim is to exploit the design knowledge and experience embodied in these existing devices in order to re-apply it to novel device design. An initial collection of interaction principles is presented, which offers a new way to understand natural interaction with tangible controls. We hope the findings will enable us designing a richer engaging experience with novel devices. Tangible user interface, ubiquitous computing, consumer appliances, physical interaction, fluidity, affordances. 1