Interweaving Computation and Craft

I enjoy weaving computation with craft materials in ways that bring interactivity and programmability to traditional craft projects. I take much delight in tile mosaics that change patterns when I brush against them, or pendants that change color depending on how many friends I have around me.

We are all very creative beings, and we learn best when we are engaged in playful activities that tickle our minds. I love creating things and activitites that children use to explore their own interests. Integrating crafts with computer science is one good way to strengthen our creative reflexes.


image of 5x5 tiles with birdwatcher

Think of a tile mosaic, the kind that you might find tastefully adorning a garden path. Now, imagine the patterns changing as you walk, or as squirrels playfully dance across them. Smart Tiles point towards this new kind of craft. They are programmable, so you can change how they behave; and interactive, so they can change color when gently tapped.

closeup image of 10x10 tiles


image showing a dog with LED on nose and switch on tummy - unlit image showing a dog with LED on nose and switch on tummy - nose lights up when tummy is pressed
Check out sewing circuits, a construction kit that children can use to learn about circuits through sewing. Each kit contains a patch of fabric, a fabric switch, LEDs, conductive thread, and a battery. Learn how to put your own kit together here, or purchase one from Aniomagic. image showing a Craft Tech electronic sewing kit

The Pendantif is a programmable pendant that incorporates a microcontroller, switch, and multi-color LED; the LED softly illuminates a plastex "stone", and also doubles as a color sensor. While the pendant itself may be used in a variety of ways, our first instantiation of the object currently simply changes, gradually, between two colors that were "picked up" from everyday objects. The color change incorporates intermediate combinations of colors between the two points in the color spectrum retrieved by the user. image showing pendantif, glowing blue image showing pendantif, glowing red

MusicQuanta movie




These pages have been designed to be accessible from desktop, handheld, and audio computers.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. EIA-0326054 and REC0125363. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).


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