The TRANS-DOCK Docking System Expands the Interaction Capabilities of Pin-Based Shape Displays
A team of MIT Media Lab engineers propose a method to expand what a single shape display can do with passive mechanical transducers.
Engineers from MIT’s Tangible Media Group have developed an augmentation platform that can change the way pin-based shape displays are configured, moving past simple static linear motion. While there have been a variety of shape displays over the years, their interactivity is limited to that design only due to its limited hardware configuration. MIT’s TRANS-DOCK platform removes the hardware limitations and expands their interaction capabilities for both the inputs and outputs.
The team based the TRANS-DOCK design around inForce, an earlier 10 x 5 force shape display that provides real-time variable haptic feedback depending on the way humans press on the 3D-printed cube-shaped pins. They added to the inFORCE by incorporating docking mechanical transducers (or mechanical motion transmitters), which enhances the interactivity of the hardware. The pin tips on the display were equipped with magnetic interlocking joints, which the engineers then outfitted with a joint docking system that can be used with different swappable transducers.
The researchers created several transducers that change everything from display size to motion capabilities, including a Resolution Changing Transducer that can adjust pin resolutions from a 10mm to 20mm pitch. This structure maintains a uniform distance between the pins while the entire display alters sizes.
There's also a Balloon Display Transducer, which actuates arrays of balloons using syringes to inflate them with air, providing an organic and flexible transformation, plus a Bending Pin Transducer that can control the bending angle of the pins, and a Movable Plane Transducer that can be held and positioned in 3D space.
The team states they can even build application-specific transducers for any number of use cases to demonstrate the versatility of the TRAS-DOCK system, ranging from boxing, racing and pinball transducers for gaming and entertainment to surgery and CPR simulators for medical training.