Introduction to Physical Computing

what is an interface?

Skin-On Interfaces

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuEhqHvE1qU&t=6s&ab_channel=MarcTeyssier

https://marcteyssier.com/projects/skin-on/

LINES - an Interactive Sound Art Exhibition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP36xoPXDnM&ab_channel=VoicesofU

Puzzle Facade

https://vimeo.com/79616059

HäirIÖ: Human Hair as Interactive Material

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JV2D7gJ5HI&ab_channel=HybridEcologies

FingerRing - simple way to play multichannel sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klD_suu74wc&t=2s&ab_channel=SoundArtistRU

what is the physical interface?

In this context, physical interfaces often associated with physical computing.

Physical Computing is an approach to computer-human interaction design that starts by considering how humans express themselves physically. 

In physical computing, we take the human body and its capabilities as the starting point and attempt to design interfaces,

both software and hardware, that can sense and respond to what humans can physically do.

communications in Physical Computing:

sensing signals-> computing and sending commands -> and executing.

and this kind of communication is very familiar to us:

For example, we use our ear to listen and then sending signals to our brain to decode and computing what's the responses

and send the command to our vocal cord to output the responses.

if we duplicate what happened above in physical computing it would look like this:

I use the mic to detecting the overall sound volume it is too loud I will start beeping via a speaker.

Let's break it down:

first, the mic converts the air vibrations into electric pulses --> send to microcontrollers -->

where we program it to send out electrical pulses to the speaker if the received electric signal from the mic reaches certain limits

--> the speaker converts the electrical pulses into a beep.

and a lot of sensors are operating at the same principle:

for example, a light sensor LDR(light-dependent resistor) decreases electrical resistance with respect to receiving light on the component's sensitive surface.

and a button can close the circuit to let electricity float through or open the circuit to disconnect.

to sum up:

in order to create a physical interaction, we need to have an understanding of how a computer can sense physical action.

When we act, we cause changes in various forms of energy.

Speech generates the air pressure waves that are sound. Gestures change the flow of light and heat in a space.

Electronic sensors can convert these energy changes into changing electronic signals that can be read and interpreted by computers.

In physical computing, we learn how to connect sensors to the simplest of computers, called microcontrollers,

in order to read these changes and interpret them as actions.

Finally, we learn how microcontrollers communicate with other computers in order to connect physical action with multimedia displays.

Basic electronic components and sensors