1992 – Durrell Bishop's Marble Answering Machine

In 1992, Durrell Bishop, then a student at the Royal College of Art, came up with an original answering machine design that is considered as one of the first tangible user interfaces (TUIs). The machine spits out a marble each time an incoming voice message is recorded. The order of the marbles indicates the order in which the messages arrived. Messages can be played back by putting a marble in a small dent. If the message is for somebody else it can be placed on a small dish to the side that […]

In 1992, Durrell Bishop, then a student at the Royal College of Art, came up with an original answering machine design that is considered as one of the first tangible user interfaces (TUIs). The machine spits out a marble each time an incoming voice message is recorded. The order of the marbles indicates the order in which the messages arrived. Messages can be played back by putting a marble in a small dent. If the message is for somebody else it can be placed on a small dish to the side that can be labeled with names of different persons. The telephone itself also has a small receptor area for the marbles and by placing a message there, the original caller gets called back. See the video. Sources: Yvonne Jansen (2014) Physical and Tangible Information Visualization, p.12. R. Polynor (1995) The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Left image from DocStock, right image by Matt Jones.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Active physical visualization Tags: answering machine, design, marble, tangible user interface

2018 – Stretch Orchestra Marble Run

A connected exercise pad made with textile sensors responds to your interaction by inviting you to experience physical activity data in a playful way; a giant marble run, to elicit a childlike feeling of wonder and satisfaction. The installation is part of research project using materials to explore the experience of systems and technologies designed to aid behaviour change. In collaboration with intelligent textiles innovators Footfalls and Heartbeats the interactive installation proposes a […]

A connected exercise pad made with textile sensors responds to your interaction by inviting you to experience physical activity data in a playful way; a giant marble run, to elicit a childlike feeling of wonder and satisfaction. The installation is part of research project using materials to explore the experience of systems and technologies designed to aid behaviour change. In collaboration with intelligent textiles innovators Footfalls and Heartbeats the interactive installation proposes a felt experience of data generated by technology products designed to support wellbeing. The research suggests that digital health technologies alter the ways we perceive our bodies and explores tangible alternatives to encourage healthy behaviours. “So many devices aimed at encouraging healthy behaviours flash up persuasive messages that actually work by giving us ‘the guilt’. I wanted to create a system where the sensory experience and physicality of materials could motivate us by provoking a positive feeling in response to your physical activity”. Sources: Marion Lean, Textile Design Researcher http://marionlean.co.uk/Methods-Collaboration-Interactive-installation Supported by EPSRC Get a Move On network https://getamoveon.ac.uk/events/stretch-orchestra

Added by: Marion Lean. Category: Interactive installation Tags: exercise, marble, textile

2018 – The Long Run: Marble Runs Convey Cost of Health Care

An artwork that represents the cost of health care for different age groups, based on the time it takes for a marble to fall. Each of the 7 runs represents a different decade of life, and the length of the runs presents the average cost of care to the UK's National Health Service, for a person in that year of their life. Each run is constructed from medical equipment. It was commissioned by the British Medical Association and the British Medical Journal to mark the NHS's 70th Birthday on the 5 […]

An artwork that represents the cost of health care for different age groups, based on the time it takes for a marble to fall. Each of the 7 runs represents a different decade of life, and the length of the runs presents the average cost of care to the UK's National Health Service, for a person in that year of their life. Each run is constructed from medical equipment. It was commissioned by the British Medical Association and the British Medical Journal to mark the NHS's 70th Birthday on the 5 July 2018, and installed at their headquaters for a month. The artwork was created by Tom Chambers and Theo Papatheodorou, experts in computational art, and founders of the Random Quark creative technology studio, working with digital artist and expert in physical computing Jesse Wolpert. Sources: Will Stahl-Timmins (2018) Creating a marbellous installation for the NHS’s 70th birthday. Images Richard H Smith.

Added by: Will Stahl-Timmins. Category: Active physical visualization Tags: health, interactive, marble, marble run, timed