Vision is a component of a perceptual system whose function is to support purposeful behavior. In this project we studied the perceptual system that supports the visual perception of surface properties through manipulation. Observers were tasked with finding dents in simulated flat glossy surfaces. The surfaces were presented on a tangible display system implemented on an Apple iPad, that rendered the surfaces in real time and allowed observers to directly interact with them by tilting and rotating the device. On each trial we recorded the angular deviations indicated by the device's accelerometer and the images seen by the observer. The data reveal purposeful patterns of manipulation that serve the task by producing images that highlight the dent features. These investigations suggest the presence of an active visuo-motor perceptual system involved in the perception of surface properties, and provide a novel method for its study using tangible display systems
In this paper, we explore the use of tangible user interfaces in the context of prototyping digital game design. Traditional approaches to game design use a combination of digital and non-digital prototyping techniques to identify core game mechanics and object placements when designing levels followed by a labourious process where the non-digital prototypes are translated into digital counterparts in a game engine. The presented system aims at reducing the need for non-digital prototypes by providing an easy to use interface that doesn’t require technical expertise and results in a playable digital prototype in a modern game engine. The presented system uses Augmented Reality markers as the tangible interface to facilitate specific functionality in a modern game engine. A preliminary user study is presented to understand the current strengths/weaknesses of this approach. Our hypothesis is that our system would improve the game design experience for users with respect to usability, performance, creativity support and enjoyment as we firmly believe that the process of designing games should also be an enjoyable process.