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RecipesforBuildingMateriallyDiverse,FunctionallyTransparentandExpressiveElectronics
HannahPernerWilson
ThesisProposalfortheDegreeofMasterofScienceinthePrograminMediaArtsandSciencesattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,Fall2010
Advisor_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
LeahBuechley,AssistantProfessorHigh‐LowTech,MITMediaLab
Reader_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
MitchelResnick,LEGOPapertProfessorofLearningResearchLifelongKindergarten,MITMediaLab
Reader_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
NeriOxman,AssistantProfessorMediatedMatter,MITMediaLab
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ABSTRACT Technologyhasbecomeincreasinglycomplexandubiquitousinourlivesandwhileconsumerelectronicsmaybewelldesignedandfunctionaltheyarebothaestheticallyandfunctionallyimpersonal.Thestandardizedapproachwehavetakentoprototyping,buildingandmanufacturingelectronicshasshapedthelookandfeelofelectronicartifacts.
E‐Textiles,thecombinationofelectronicsandtextiles,hasshownusthatbyintroducinganewpaletteofmaterialsandtoolsforbuildingelectronicswecanbuildagreaterdiversityofartifactsthatarenotonlyaestheticallyintriguingbutalsofunctionallynovelandoftentheresultofapersonalencounterwithelectronics.InattributingthediverseresultsofE‐Textilessolelytothenewpaletteofconductivefabricsandthreadsinvolvedinmakingthemweoverlooktheimpactthattheshiftinprocesshashadonelectronics‐namelyashiftfromtheestablishedpracticeofassemblingelectronicsfromakit‐of‐parts,toaprocessofcraftingelectronics.
Inapplyingcraftpracticetoelectronicsweallowforamoreindividual,continuousanddirectapproachtomanipulatingcircuitryandcomponents.ThisapproachrequiresbothmanualskillandanintimateknowledgeofthematerialsinvolvedthatpopularbreadboardingandPCBdesigntechniqueslack.Whilethereismuchbenefitintheefficiencyandspeedwithwhichwecanprototypeanddesignelectronicsfromakit‐of‐parts,weareultimatelyconstrainedtothesystemwithinwhichthepartsfunction.ByintroducingaKitofNoPartsapproachtocraftingelectronicsfromadiversepaletteofmaterialsandtoolsIbelievethatwewillbeabletocreateagreaterdiversityofelectronicartifactsthataremoreunderstandableandpersonal.
Mythesisexplorestechniquesthatallowustocrafttechnologyfromanewpaletteofmaterialsandtools.Iintroducerecipesthatfunctionasintroductionsaswellasdetailedreferenceresourcesinallowingustobeginbuildingfromthisnewpaletteofmaterialsandtools.Iwillpaygreatattentionthattheserecipesarereadasnon‐rigidlearningopportunities,thattheyintroducepartialsolutionsandhandoverthecontroltothemaker,ratherthanimposingtheverykindsofconstraintsI’mtryingsohardtoavoid.
Theserecipeswillbedocumentedonawebsiteanddisseminatedthroughworkshops.Iwillevaluatemythesisonhoweasilyandintuitivelyworkshopparticipantsareabletoworkwiththenewsetofmaterialsandbuildelectronicsthatarebothfunctionallyandaestheticallyexpressiveoftheirindividualcraftprocess.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................2
RELATEDWORK .....................................................................................................................................5
PROBLEM ..................................................................................................................................................6ResearchQuestion ................................................................................................................................................ 6
APPROACH................................................................................................................................................6TheKitofNoParts .............................................................................................................................................. 7
HYPOTHESES...............................................................................................................................................................8MaterialDiversity ................................................................................................................................................. 8FunctionalTransparency .................................................................................................................................. 8Expressivity.............................................................................................................................................................. 8
DELIVERABLES........................................................................................................................................9Recipes ....................................................................................................................................................................... 9Website ....................................................................................................................................................................10Workshops..............................................................................................................................................................10
EVALUATION......................................................................................................................................... 10MaterialDiversity ...............................................................................................................................................11FunctionalTransparency ................................................................................................................................11Expressivity............................................................................................................................................................11
RESOURCES ........................................................................................................................................... 11
TIMEFRAME......................................................................................................................................... 11
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................... 12
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INTRODUCTION
Todaythemajorityofconsumerelectronicsaremass‐manufactured.Standardizationandakit‐of‐parts[10]approachtoproductionhavemadelarge‐scalemanufacturingfast,efficientandaffordable.Materialsaremadeworkable,theirflawsremovedtorenderthemuniformandpredictable.Componentsaredesignedtobepartofacoherentsystemofpartsandtosuitselectproductionmethodssuchasinjectionmoldingandvacuumforming.Thismethodofstandardizedproductionor‘workmanshipofcertainty’[Pye,1968],allowsustobuildtechnologiesthataremorecomplexthananyonehumancouldevermakethemselves.Theresultsofthisprocessdemonstratethepowerofblackboxing[Pugin,1853]anddivisionoflaborbuttheresultsalsoillustrateagrowingignorancetowardshowtechnologylooks,feelsandfunctions.
“Inparticulartherehasbeenapronounceddevelopmentintheideaofabuildingasakitofpartswhoseindividualfunctionsaretestedandknown,whosecostandperformancehasbeensetandwhoseusecanbespecifiedinonecountryandusedinanotherandeveryoneconcernedknowswhattoexpect.“[CraftandtheTuringTestforpracticalthinking,PeterDormer,TheCultureofCraft,1997]
Constructionkitsmaketechnologyaccessible.Assystemsofmodularpartstheylowertheentrybartoscience,engineeringandtechnologydisciplinesandallowustobuildourowntechnologies.Theirmodularityallowsforthemtobeassembledandalmostaseasilydisassembledinordertoiteratethroughaseriesofdesigns.Butthismodularitycomesatthecostofconstraint.Thepartsofaconstructionkitfunctioninsidemodularsystemsandassuchthedesignsrealizedwiththesekitsarelimited.
Craftontheotherhandisassociatedwithbuildingasaformofpersonalexpression.Craftmaterialsaremoreoftenpraisedfortheiraesthetic,decorativeandmaterialqualities,thantheirabilitytoconveytechnologicalconcepts.Wegenerallyconsidercraftedartifactstobelimitedonlybytheskilled‘workmanshipofrisk’[Pye,1968]andthepersonalknowledge[Dormer,1997]oftheindividualcraftsperson.Whilecrafthascometoembracetechnologyforproduction[AnnSuttonquotedinDormer,1997,p145],communitybuildingandsocialnetworking[Torray,2009][Rosner,2010],therearefewapproachesthathavebroughtusaframeworkinwhichtocrafttechnologyitself.
“Acraftobjectoftenrevealsmuchabouttheskillandthetechnologyusedtomakeit.Therelationshipbetweencraftprocessandproductislikelytobe,ifnotquitetransparent,thenatleastrelativelyaccessibletomostofus.Thereispleasurefromwearingorusingsomethingwhosecreationwecanbothadmireandunderstand.Inaworldwherewehavelosttouchwiththebusinessofmakingthings,thecraftobjectrestoresforustheconnectionbetweenmakingandusing.Bycontrast,designconceals.Notonlydowenotunderstandhowdesignedobjectsaremade,wedonotunderstandhowtheywork.”[HelenRees,Patternsofmaking:thinkingandmakinginindustrialdesign,TheCultureofCraft,1997]
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RELATED WORK Iseethefollowingfourfieldsofrelatedworkmostrelevanttomyproposal:(1)Learning‐by‐doing(2)DoItYourself(DIY),(3)craftand(4)materialsintechnology.
Mostnotableeducationapproachestolearning‐by‐doingincludeFriedrichFröbel’sselectionofmaterialsthatpromotehands‐onlearninginKindergarten[Kafaietal.,2010],JeanPiaget’sconstructivisttheoryofknowingandSeymourPapert’sintroductiontocomputersasinstrumentsforlearning.MitchResnickcombinestheeducationalvalueofmakingthingswiththedesignofconstructionkits[Resnick&Silverman,2005]forkidsthatincludethePICOCricketandLegoMindstorms.JaySilverproposesaMakerMethodology[Silver,2009]that“catalyzesparticipantsintocreatingtheirownworld”.
Outsideofeducation,kitsareoften‘plugandplay’buildingblocksformakingthings.Phidgets[Greenberg&Fitchett,2001]andArduinoareexamplesoftoolkitsthatenablesensingthephysicalworldandcontrollingitfromacomputer.O’Reilly’sMakeandCraftmagazinesandblogssupportaDIYcommunitythatmakethingsthemselves,especiallytechnology.Instructablesisawebsiteforpostingstep‐by‐stepinstructionsonhowtomakethingsyourself,includingtechnology.
Craftispossiblytheoldestfieldthatsignifiestheimportanceofmakingthingsaswellastherelevanceof‘handmade’objects.RelevantwritingsoncraftincludeWilliamMorris,DavidPye,PeterDormerandMalcolmMcCullough.
AsanemergingdisciplineE‐Textilesisagreatexampleforillustratinghowtakinganewmaterialapproachtobuildingelectronicsshapesthelookandfeelofresultingartifacts.RehmiPostandMaggieOrth[Orthetal.,1998]didmuchpioneeringworkattheMediaLabinvestigatingconductivetextilestoproduceconductivetracesandsensorstobeusedinwearabletechnology.Morerecentlye‐textilekitsarealsofindingtheirwayintoeducationandDIYcommunities,allowingindividualstobuildtheirowne‐textileprojects.E‐textilekitsincludetheLilyPadArduino[Buechley&Eisenbery,2009],theTeeboard[Nagaietal.,2009]andtheFabrickit[Papadopoulos&Eveland2010].ThispersonalpracticeofE‐textiles,facilitatedthroughkits,hadresultedinanewcommunityofindividualsbuildingandthinkingaboutelectronics[Buechley,2010].MyownpreviousworkissituatedinthefieldofE‐textilesandincludesalibraryofhandcraftedtextilesensors[Fig.1]andanonlinedatabaseofDIYe‐textiletechniques[17].
Figure1.Imagesoftextilesensorsmadefromconductiveandresistivefabrics,threadsandyarns.
fromlefttoright)Crochetpotentiometers,fabrictiltsensor,neoprenebendsensor,stitchedstrokesensor.
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PROBLEM Thetrendtoblack‐boxtechnologyhasledtoarangeofproductsthatarevastlyunintelligibleandinaccessibletousasendusers.Wehaveceasedtoponder,letaloneunderstand,theinnerworkingsofthedevicesweown.Weexpressourselvesthroughthetechnologiesweuse,andarelimitedbywhatisonoffer.Inordertocustomizeourdeviceswebuyskinsandapplystickersbutwedon’tapproachthecustomizationofourtechnologiesasmakers.
Whilethekit‐of‐partsapproachtobuildingelectronicsfromaselectionofdiscretecomponentsallowsustoquicklyandefficientlyiteratethroughaseriesofsolutions,thisapproachultimatelyinfluences,impactsandconstrainshowwebuildelectronicsandthekindsofelectronicartifactswebuild.
Craftisanapproachtobuildingthatreliesheavilyontheskill,knowledgeandmanualdexterityofanindividualcraftspersontowork‘raw’materialsintoresultingartifacts.Inthecraftprocessthereismuchroomforlearningandinterpretingmaterialpropertiesandapplyingthisunderstandinginordertoworkthematerialsintotheirdesiredform.Crafthascometoembracetechnologyasatoolbutwehavenotyetfullyexploredtheaffordancesofapplyingthecraftprocessinorderto‘crafttechnology’.
Research Question
InthespiritofE‐Textiles,howcanwecontinuetocraftelectronicsfromamorediversepaletteofmaterialsandtoolsinordertopromoteastyleofbuildingelectronicsthatismoreexpressive,morediverseandmoreintelligibletotheuserthanassemblingwithinasystemofparts?
APPROACH Inordertobreakfromstandardizedproductionprocessesandthekit‐of‐partsapproachtobuildingIproposeaKitofNoParts.TheKit‐of‐No‐Partsapproachallowsforrichunderstandingsanddesignexplorationsthatconstructionkitsofpre‐manufacturedpartscannotoffer.Ratherthanconsistingofselectcomponentsandconfinedtoasystem,theKit‐of‐No‐Partsismadeupofrecipesthatallowustoworkwithawiderangeofrawmaterialsandexistingcomponents,eliminatingtheneedforstandardsaswellasthinkingintermsofdiscreteparts.
Figure2.IllustrationoftheKit‐of‐No‐Partsapproach.
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AKit‐of‐No‐Partsallowsustocreateelectronicsthataremateriallydiverse,functionallytransparentandexpressive[Fig.2].
Acontinuousprocessofbuildingelectronics,oflearningandapplyingknowledge,standsincontrasttocurrentapproacheswheretasksaredividedandknowledgeisdistributedandpackagedindiscretepartsthatcantheneasilybeassembled[Fig.3left].Craftisaskilledprocess,inwhichmaterialsaredirectlymanipulatedunderthecontrolofthecraftsperson,assuchitisacontinuousprocessofacquiringandapplyingskills,tailoredanddrivenbythequalitiesandpropertiesofmaterials.AsdescribedbyHelenReesinherquotecitedintheintroduction,“craftedartifactsrevealmuchabouttheskillandtechnologyusedtomakethem”.Ibelievethatbyapplyingacontinuousapproachtocraftingelectronicstheresultingartifactswillbeequallytransparentandmoreeasilyunderstoodbytheuser[Fig.3right].
Figure3.left)Illustrationofdifferentprocessofmaking.right)IllustrationoftheKit‐of‐No‐Partsapproach,
highlightingthecontinuousprocess.
The Kit-of-No-Parts
Circuitsaremadeupofcomponentsthatincludeaprocessor,memory,input(sensors),output(actuators)andtheconnectionsbetweenthesecomponents(traces).WithinthescopeofmythesisIwanttofocusonsensors,actuatorsandtraces,asillustratedinFigure4.Althoughthisselectionmightinitiallyappearasomewhatconfined,takingalookatthefieldofE‐textilesrevealsthatsuchafocusallowsforahugevarietyanddiversityinprocessandoutcome.
Figure4.IllustrationofmyfocuswithintheKit‐of‐No‐Partsapproach.
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InordertobetterdemonstratethefocusillustratedinFigure4thefollowingimages[Fig.5]showadiversevarietyofcircuitryandsensorsmadefromaKit‐of‐No‐Parts.
Figure5.Examplesofcircuitsbuiltfromadiversepaletteofmaterialsandtools.toprow)Woodandvinyl‐cutcoppertape.middlerow)paperandconductivepaint.bottomrow)Laserengravedwood,conductive
paintandepoxy.
Hypotheses TheKit‐of‐No‐Partsapproachtobuildingcircuitsresultsinelectronicartifactsthataremorediverse,transparentandindividual.
Material Diversity
Themakerhasmorecontroloverthematerialsandtoolsthanwithstandardizedproductionprocesses.
Functional Transparency
Theprocessismoreintuitiveandunderstandablethanassemblingthepartsofakit.
Expressivity
AKit‐of‐No‐Partsallowsforgreatercustomizationandpersonalexpression.
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DELIVERABLES Figure6summarizesthedeliverablesIwillproduce,startingwithdevelopingKit‐of‐No‐Partsrecipes,documentingthemonawebsite,organizingtwoworkshopsandevaluatingtheresultingartifacts.
Figure6.Illustrationsummarizingthestagestorealizingmythesisproposal.
Recipes
InsupportoftheKit‐of‐No‐PartsapproachtobuildingelectronicsIwilldevelop,refineanddocumentrecipesforbuildingsensors,actuatorsandtraces.Irefinegoodrecipesthroughaprocessofsourcingmaterials,testingtheirelectricalproperties,designingsolutions,buildingsamples,testingtheseanddocumentingeverything.Therecipeswillbestructuredsuchthattheydonotdocumentcompletecircuits,thattheysolvepiecesorsubparts.Therecipesareintendedtoberesourcescontainingvaluableinformationthataidthebuilderinrealizingtheirdesigns,notininformingthedesignsthemselves.Whiletherecipesofferdetailedinformation,listingandspecifyingingredients(materialsandtools),theydosoinordertohandovercontroltothemaker,ratherthanconstrainthem.Themoreinformationthemakerhas,themoretheyareabletomakeinformeddecisionsthatcandifferfromtherecipestheyinitiallymighttakeaslearningopportunities.Whilefollowingrecipesstrictlymightinitiallyaidpeopleinthelearningprocess,allowingthemtodeveloptheirowntacitknowledgeofthematerialsandtools,ideallytheywilltransitiontocallingupontherecipesasreferenceresourcesandideallyalsocontributingrecipesoftheirown.
InstructuringmyapproachtoconceivingofrecipesthatwillallowustoworkwithanewsetofmaterialsandtoolsIhavemappedoutaspace[Fig.7right]ofselectconductivematerialsandtoolprocessesthatIhavechosentostartwith.Thismappingwillaidmeinmaintaininganoverviewofthematerials,toolsandconstraints(focus:sensors,actuators,traces)thatIwillbeworkingwith.
ThetechniquesIplantodevelopandwrite‐upasrecipesinvolvenewmaterialcombinations,newworkflowsandnewuseoftools.TechniquesthatI’minterestedtofurtherexplore,derivedfrommyinitialexplorationsofthedesignspace,include:
‐Havingtheshapesofnaturalobjects,suchasseashellsandplantparts,influenceandinformthedesignoftheelectronics.Thisapproachmightincluderecipesforcopperplatingandadheringcomponentstonaturalobjects(examplesofcopperplatedshellsandleavesalreadyexistinjewelry).
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‐Theinclusionofcommonconductiveobjectssuchasnails,paperclips,sodacansandcoal.Recipesheremightincludesolutionstomakingconnectionsbetweenvariousmetals,shapesandsurfaces.
‐Beingabletosculptthree‐dimensionalcircuits.Solutionsheremightinvolverecipesthatdescribeworkingwithaconductiveclay‐likematerial(metalclayexistsinjewelryandthesilverparticlesintheclaybecomesfusedandconductuponfiring)orbeingabletochiselawayatablockofconductivematerial.
Figure7.left)Illustrationdepictingtheframeworkforrecipes.right)Exampleofthestep‐by‐step
documentationofarecipe,inthiscaseofaneoprenebendsensor.
Website
Therecipeswillbedocumentedonawebsiteinenoughdetailsothattheycanbereplicatedbynovices.Documentationwillincludedetailedwrittenhow‐toinstructions,step‐by‐stepphotographsandvideos,diagrams,templates,linkstoresourcesandcodewhereapplicable.Thewebsitewillserveassupportfortheworkshopaswellasaresourceforindividualsinterestedinlearningthetechniques.
Workshops
Iwillorganizeandadvertisea2‐dayworkshopand,dependingonhowdemandingtherecipesthatIdevelopare,acceptamaximumof5‐10participants.Theworkshopwillbeadvertisedunderageneralthemeinordertoallowparticipantstocomeupwithalargevarietyofprojectideas.TheworkshopwillintroduceparticipantstotheKit‐of‐No‐Partsapproachbyintroducingthemtotherecipesdocumentedonthewebsite.Overthecourseoftwodays,participantswillbuildtheirownelectronicartifacts.Iwilldocumenttheprocessthroughphotographs,questionnairesandwrittenobservations.
EVALUATION Inordertogatherinformationaboutworkshopparticipants’backgrounds,theirpreviousexperienceswithmakingthings(bothelectronicsandother),theirexperienceduringtheworkshopandhowtheworkshopimpactedtheirviews,approachesandunderstandingofelectronicsandelectronicartifacts,IwillhandoutCOUHESapprovedpreandpostworkshopquestionnaires.InevaluatingtheKit‐of‐No‐PartsapproachIwill
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primarilylookatthequestionnaires,thedocumentationandtheworkshopresults.Iwillevaluatetheartifactsfrombothworkshopsusingthethreepointsoutlinedbymyhypothesis.
Material Diversity
Areweabletobuildelectronicsfromanewanddifferentsetofmaterialsthanpreviously?Dotheresultingartifactsshowagreatervarietyinmaterials,colors,shapes,texturesandfunctionalities?
Functional Transparency
Istheprocessmoreintuitiveandunderstandablethanassemblingstandardparts?Whatdoparticipantsunderstandoftheprocessandtechnologiesinvolvedintheprocess?Howmuchmore‘transparent’andunderstandable(ifatall)areartifactsresultingfromtheKit‐of‐No‐Partsapproach?Cansomebodyexaminingtheartifactanddiscernmoreaboutitsfunctionalitythantheycouldofasimilarcommercialproduct?
Expressivity
DoestheKit‐of‐No‐Partsallowforgreatercustomization?Areparticipantsabletobuildartifactsthatwouldnotbeabletobuildotherwise?Whatkindsofthingsdotheybuild?Inwhatways(ifatall)dotheyfeellimited?
RESOURCES IndevelopingthetechniquesandproducingexampleartifactsIwillmakeuseofexistingMediaLabresourcesthatmayincludetheHigh‐LowTech[8]andFabLab[5]inventoriesaswellasscreen‐printing,castingandkilnfiringfacilities.
TIME-FRAME
DELIVERABLE NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY
RESEARCH X
RECIPES X X X
WEBSITE X X X X X
WORKSHOP X
EVALUATION X X
WRITING X X
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REFERENCES 1. A.Pugin,TheTruePrincipalsofChristianArchitecture(London,H.G.Bohn,1853)2. CristenTorrey,ElizabethF.Churchill,andDavidW.McDonald,“Learninghow:thesearchforcraft
knowledgeontheinternet,”inProceedingsofthe27thinternationalconferenceonHumanfactorsincomputingsystems(Boston,MA,USA:ACM,2009),1371‐1380.
3. DanielaK.Rosner,“Mediatedcrafts:digitalpracticesaroundcreativehandwork,”inProceedingsofthe28thoftheinternationalconferenceextendedabstractsonHumanfactorsincomputingsystems(Atlanta,Georgia,USA:ACM,2010),2955‐2958.
4. DavidPye,TheNatureandArtofWorkmanship,Revised.(FoxChapelPublishing,1995).5. FabLabtoolinventory:http://fab.cba.mit.edu/content/tools/6. GraceNgaietal.,“TheTeeBoard:aneducation‐friendlyconstructionplatformfore‐textilesand
wearablecomputing,”inProceedingsofthe27thinternationalconferenceonHumanfactorsincomputingsystems(Boston,MA,USA:ACM,2009),249‐258.
7. HandcraftingTextileInterfacesfromaKit‐of‐No‐Parts(Accepted,tobepublished,TEI2011)8. High‐LowTechinventory:http://hlt.media.mit.edu/wiki/9. JaySilver,“Awakeningtomakermethodology:themetamorphosisofacuriouscaterpillar,”in
Proceedingsofthe8thInternationalConferenceonInteractionDesignandChildren(Como,Italy:ACM,2009),242‐245.
10. Kit‐of‐parts:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit‐of‐parts11. LeahBuechleyandMichaelEisenberg,“FabricPCBs,electronicsequins,andsocketbuttons:techniques
fore‐textilecraft,”PersonalUbiquitousComput.13,no.2(2009):133‐150.12. MaggieOrth,RehmiPost,andEmilyCooper,“Fabriccomputinginterfaces,”inCHI98conference
summaryonHumanfactorsincomputingsystems‐CHI'98(presentedattheCHI98conferencesummary,LosAngeles,California,UnitedStates,1998),331‐332.
13. MalcolmMcCullough,AbstractingCraft:ThePracticedDigitalHand(TheMITPress,1998).14. MitchelResnickandBrianSilverman,“Somereflectionsondesigningconstructionkitsforkids,”in
Proceedingsofthe2005conferenceonInteractiondesignandchildren(Boulder,Colorado:ACM,2005),117‐122.
15. Papadopoulos&Eveland,Fabrickit,2010:http://www.fabrick.it/16. PeterDormer,TheCultureofCraft(ManchesterUniversityPress,1997).17. Satomi&Perner‐Wilson,2010,HowToGetWhatYouWant:http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/18. SaulGreenbergandChesterFitchett,“Phidgets:easydevelopmentofphysicalinterfacesthrough
physicalwidgets,”inProceedingsofthe14thannualACMsymposiumonUserinterfacesoftwareandtechnology(Orlando,Florida:ACM,2001),209‐218.
19. YasminB.Kafaietal.,“Fröbel'sforgottengift:textileconstructionkitsaspathwaysintoplay,designandcomputation,”inProceedingsofthe9thInternationalConferenceonInteractionDesignandChildren(Barcelona,Spain:ACM,2010),214‐217.