Collaborators: Greg Saul, Cheng Xu

2010 We describe a family of interactive devices made from paper and simple electronics: Paper Robots, Paper Speakers and Paper Lamps. We developed construction techniques for these paper devices and the Paper Factory software with which novice users can create and build their own designs. The process and materials support DIY design and could be used with low-cost production and shipment from an external service.
2009 Paper devices are small paper interactive objects that use nitinol shape-memory alloy wire for actuation, gold leaf printed circuits, embedded microchips for control, and paper outer shells for form and structure. Paper devices offer a convenient domain to investigate how new material technologies and software processes can be used to co-create designs in a dialogue between an end user and a designer. We describe our manufacturing techniques and outline our first efforts to employ a genetic algorithm that enables end-users to create custom designs.

2010 Interactive Paper Devices: End-user Design & Fabrication, Saul G, Xu C, Gross, MD, Proc. ACM Tangible Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI), Boston, 205-212. [pdf]

2009 Co-designed Paper Devices, Saul, G and Gross MD, Workshop on Material Computing and Programmable Reality, Conference on Human Factors (CHI) [pdf]