Bottles as a minimal interface to access digital information

ABSTRACT

We present the design of a minimal interface to access digital information using glass bottles as "containers" and "controls". The project illustrates our attempt to explore the transparency of an interface that weaves itself into the fabric of everyday life, and exploits the emotional aspects of glass bottles that are both tangible and visual. This paper describes the design of the bottle interface, and the implementation of the musicBottles installation, in which the opening of each bottle releases the sound of a specific instrument.

REFERENCES

• 1: Hiroshi Ishii , Brygg Ullmer, Tangible bits: towards seamless interfaces between people, bits and atoms, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.234-241, March 22-27, 1997, Atlanta, Georgia, United States [doi>10.1145/258549.258715]
• 2: Hiroshi Ishii , H. R. Fletcher , J. Lee , S. Choo , J. Berzowska , C. Wisneski , C. Cano , A. Hernandez , C. Bulthaup, musicBottles, ACM SIGGRAPH 99 Conference abstracts and applications, p.174, August 08-13, 1999, Los Angeles, California, United States [doi>10.1145/311625.311976]
• 3: Joseph Paradiso , Kai Yuh Hsiao, Swept-frequency, magnetically-coupled resonant tags for realtime, continuous, multiparameter control, CHI '99 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, May 15-20, 1999, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [doi>10.1145/632716.632848]
• 4: Weiser, M. The Computer for the 21st Century, in Scientific American, 265 (3), 1991, pp. 94-104.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Theory and methods

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Style guides
      H.5.5 Sound and Music Computing
          Subjects: Systems

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Human Factors

Keywords:
aesthetic interface, containers, controls, interaction design, tangible interface, ubiquitous