tions, interpret them, and produce a result by
effecting changes in the real world.
I hypothesize that through the provision of concrete inputs and concrete outputs, the abstractness
of programming is reduced, and demonstrating to
the novice that setting up a sequence of instructions for delayed execution is possible. If this concept is grasped by the novice programmer, then
the first steps to becoming a seasoned programmer
have been taken.
Our initial design consisted of transparent cubes,
approximately 400mm square. Embedded inside the
such as discarded CDs and lengths of abandoned
electrical wiring.
[ 3] Bell, G., Blythe,
M. and Sengers,
P. “Making by
Making Strange:
Defamiliarization and
the design of domes-tic technologies.”
ACM Transactions
on Computer-Human
Interaction 12, 2
(2005):149–173.
surfaces were low-cost magnets, sold in the retail
sector as part of home-intruder detection systems.
So-called “reed” sensors accompany the magnets,
consisting of two ferro-magnetic “fingers” that
make contact in the presence of a strong magnetic
field. In our design the sensors were embedded in a
separate sensing surface. By varying the combinations of the magnets, the sensing surface detects
which cubes have been placed at predetermined
positions. Attached is a low-cost computing device
that receives the combinations, interprets them,
and sends commands to a toy robot.
Since our initial design, we have progressed
through a number of iterations. The second design
incorporated colorful foam blocks, and in the third
design we investigated the use of natural materi-
als, shaping soft rock using hand tools. The fourth
design investigated the use of recycled materials
to other people face-to-face? And what about
my uncle? Our culture’s dependence on technol-
ogy has arguably complicated his experience
of blindness—can we turn that around and use
all that we’ve learned to make technology more
accessible to those with a disability? On sec-
ond thought, where is that power switch…
AbOut the AuthOr Andrew Cyrus Smith is a
senior researcher at the CSIR Meraka Institute, a
unit of the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR), South Africa. He is currently
researching the use of handcrafted artifacts as
alternatives to the computer keyboard and mouse.
Potential beneficiaries of his research are the computer illiterate in
developing regions.
September + October 2010
DOi: 10.1145/1836216.1836225
© 2010 ACM 1072-5220/10/0900 $10.00
