My work with Hans and Umbach on physical computing and embodied interaction took an interesting turn recently, down a path I hadn’t anticipated when I set out to pursue this project. My initial goal with this independent study was to develop the skills necessary to work with electronics and physical computing as a prototyping medium. […]
Author Archives: Dane
Hans and Umbach: Establishing a Language of Embodied Interaction for Design Practitioners
March 21, 2010 – 7:58 pm
Gleaming The Cube: Design Principles for Bringing the Outdoors Indoors
March 20, 2010 – 12:28 am
I’ve been working on my capstone project for two semesters now, trying to figure out a way to introduce a slice of the outdoor experience to the inside world. Playing, recreating and simply being outside is something that is extremely important to me, and based on conversations with my research participants, important to them as […]
Hans and Umbach: WiiChuck Pong
February 27, 2010 – 4:08 pm
Hans and Umbach recently had a huge breakthrough that they wanted to share with you. A few weeks ago they built the Monski Pong example from Tom Igoe’s Making Things Talk book, substituting a few potentiometers for the arms of their non-existent Monski monkey (and non-existent flex sensors). They learned a lot in the process, […]
Hans and Umbach: Prototyping In Light
February 24, 2010 – 10:03 am
Hans and Umbach took some time out from their work to help me with my capstone project, where I’m trying to help people maintain a connection with the outdoors when they work inside for a living. In particular I’ve been studying how sunlight plays with indoor architectural spaces, and how the shapes of cast light […]
Hans and Umbach: Arduino Party!
February 17, 2010 – 4:01 pm
Our good friend Lorelei needed some electronics help the other day, so Hans and Umbach invited her over for a fun-filled Arduino Party. She’s prototyping a force-sensing coaster that encourages people to drink plenty of water throughout the day, and the first step towards that goal is getting a force sensor to communicate with her […]
Hans and Umbach: Tragedy!
February 9, 2010 – 9:53 pm
We have some sad news to report on the Hans and Umbach side of things. Umbach was soldering the other day, putting together our second Arduino Proto Shield from Adafruit, when he burned himself pretty bad on his soldering iron. Don’t worry, he’s a healer! You see, Umbach keeps his soldering iron to the left […]
Your Workflow is the Battlefield
January 31, 2010 – 10:43 pm
There’s been quite the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Apple iPad not supporting Flash. Personally, I welcome this new landscape of the web, where a future without Flash seems not only bright but possible indeed. That said, what is unfolding here is of considerable gravity, and will likely determine the future of the […]
Hans and Umbach: “You know how grip works.”
January 30, 2010 – 10:33 am
Over winter break, Kate and I were fortunate enough to attend the British Advertising Awards at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. One commercial from Audi in particular really stuck with me, because of its clear reference to our highly sophisticated ability to navigate and interact with our physical surroundings. With the Hans and Umbach […]
Hans and Umbach: Soldering and Building
January 27, 2010 – 11:50 am
Phew, have we got a treat for ya’ll! Last night Hans was able to tame the wild beast that is Adobe Premiere Pro, and compiled some videos of Umbach (or was it Hans?) building some stuff with Arduino. First up, the boys soldered together an Arduino Proto Shield kit from Adafruit. You can witness their […]
Hans and Umbach: Atoms Are the New Bits
January 27, 2010 – 1:02 am
Needless to say, Hans and Umbach are extremely excited about this new article in Wired magazine, which champions a trend of garage tinkerers and other DIYers acting in concert to bring the world its next generation of products. Just as the internet democratized digital publication, so will new prototyping technologies democratize physical production. We’d better […]
