David Merrill: Toy tiles that talk to each other

Traducător: Roxana Anamaria Bita Corector: Mihaela Geaman

I want to start out by asking you to think back to when you were a kid,

As vrea sa incep cu rugamintea sa va amintiti de copilarie,

playing with blocks.

cand va jucati cu cuburi.

As you figured out how to reach out and grasp,

Pe masura ce ati invatat sa le apucati,

pick them up and move them around,

sa le ridicati si sa le miscati de colo-colo,

you were actually learning how to think and solve problems

de fapt ati invatat cum sa ganditi si sa rezolvati probleme

by understanding and manipulating spatial relationships.

intelegand si manipuland relatiile spatiale.

Spatial reasoning is deeply connected

Perceptia spatiului este profund legata

to how we understand a lot of the world around us.

de cum intelegem o mare parte din lumea inconjuratoare.

So, as a computer scientist

Asa ca, in calitate de cercetator IT

inspired by this utility of our interactions with physical objects --

inspirat de aceasta utilitate a interactiunilor noastre cu obiectele fizice --

along with my adviser Pattie, and my collaborator Jeevan Kalanithi --

impreuna cu consultantul meu Pattie, si colaboratorul meu Jeevan Kalanithi --

I started to wonder -- what if when we used a computer,

am inceput sa ma intreb -- ce-ar fi daca atunci cand folosim un calculator,

instead of having this one mouse cursor that was a like a digital fingertip

in loc de acest unic cursor de mouse care seamana cu un deget digital

moving around a flat desktop,

miscandu-se pe un ecran plat,

what if we could reach in with both hands and grasp information physically,

ce-ar fi daca am putea sa intindem ambele maini si sa apucam informatia,

arranging it the way we wanted?

aranjand-o cum vrem noi?

This question was so compelling that we decided to explore the answer,

Intrebarea aceasta a fost atat de fascinanta incat am hotarat sa cercetam raspunsul

by building Siftables.

construind Siftables.

In a nutshell, a Siftable is an interactive computer

Pe scurt, un Siftable e un calculator interactiv

the size of a cookie.

de marimea unui biscuite.

They're able to be moved around by hand,

Ele pot fi manuite usor,

they can sense each other, they can sense their motion,

se pot percepe reciproc, isi pot percepe miscarea una alteia,

and they have a screen and a wireless radio.

si au un ecran si un radio wireless.

Most importantly, they're physical,

Cel mai important e ca sunt palpabile,

so like the blocks, you can move them just by reaching out and grasping.

deci, precum cuburile de joaca, le poti misca doar apucandu-le.

And Siftables are an example of a new ecosystem

Si Siftables ofera exemplul unui nou ecosistem

of tools for manipulating digital information.

de instrumente de manipulare a informatiei digitale.

And as these tools become more physical,

Pe masura ce aceste instrumente devin mai palpabile,

more aware of their motion, aware of each other,

mai constiente de miscarea lor, constiente unul de celalalt,

and aware of the nuance of how we move them,

si constiente de nuantele actiunii noastre asupra lor,

we can start to explore some new and fun interaction styles.

putem incepe sa exploram stiluri noi si distractive de a interactiona.

So, I'm going to start with some simple examples.

Voi incepe cu cateva exemple simple.

This Siftable is configured to show video,

Acest Siftable e configurat sa prezinte imagini video,

and if I tilt it in one direction, it'll roll the video this way;

iar daca il inclin intr-o directie, ruleaza filmul asa,

if I tilt it the other way it rolls it backwards.

daca il inclin in cealalta parte, ruleaza inapoi.

And these interactive portraits are aware of each other.

Aceste portrete interactive sunt constiente unul de celalalt.

So if I put them next to each other, they get interested.

Deci, daca le pun unul langa altul, devin interesate.

If they get surrounded, they notice that too,

Daca sunt inconjurate, vor observa si asta,

they might get a little flustered.

si pot deveni putin confuze.

And they can also sense their motion and tilt.

Isi pot simti de asemenea miscarea si inclinarea.

One of the interesting implications on interaction, we started to realize,

Ne-am dat seama ca una din implicatiile interesante ale interactiunii

was that we could use everyday gestures on data,

este ca putem folosi gesturi obisnuite sa manipulam datele,

like pouring a color the way we might pour a liquid.

cum ar fi sa turnam o culoare cum am turna un lichid.

So in this case, we've got three Siftables configured to be paint buckets

In cazul acesta, avem trei Siftables configurate ca galeti de vopsea

and I can use them to pour color into that central one,

si le pot folosi sa torn culoare in cel din centru,

where they get mixed.

unde se vor amesteca.

If we overshoot, we can pour a little bit back.

Daca scapam prea mult, putem turna putin inapoi.

There are also some neat possibilities for education,

Exista de asemenea posibilitati interesante pentru educatie,

like language, math and logic games

cum ar fi jocuri de limba, matematice si logice

where we want to give people the ability to try things quickly,

prin care vrem sa dam oamenilor posibilitatea de a incerca lucruri rapid,

and view the results immediately.

si de a vedea rezultatele imediat.

So here I'm --

Deci aici am --

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

This is a Fibonacci sequence that I'm making with a simple equation program.

Acesta e un sir Fibonacci pe care il fac cu un program simplu de ecuatii.

Here we have a word game that's kind of like a mash-up between Scrabble and Boggle.

Aici avem un joc de formare a cuvintelor, un fel de combinatie intre Scrabble si Boggle.

Basically, in every round

Practic, in fiecare tura

you get a randomly assigned letter on each Siftable,

primesti o litera la intimplare pe fiecare Siftable,

and as you try to make words it checks against a dictionary.

si pe masura ce incerci sa formezi cuvinte, ele sunt verificate cu un dictionar.

Then, after about 30 seconds, it reshuffles,

Apoi, dupa cam 30 de secunde se reseteaza literele,

and you have a new set of letters and new possibilities to try.

si ai un nou set de litere si noi posibilitati de incercat.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

Thank you.

Multumesc.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

So these are some kids that came on a field trip to the Media Lab,

Acestia sunt niste copii care au venit in excursie la Laboratorul Media,

and I managed to get them to try it out, and shoot a video.

si am reusit sa ii conving sa le incerce si sa filmez un material.

They really loved it.

Le-a placut la nebunie.

And, one of the interesting things about this kind of application

Iar unul din aspectele interesante ale acestui tip de aplicatie

is that you don't have to give people many instructions.

este ca nu trebuie sa le dai oamenilor multe instructiuni.

All you have to say is, "Make words,"

Tot ce trebuie sa zici este "Fa cuvinte,"

and they know exactly what to do.

si ei stiu exact ce sa faca.

So here's another few people trying it out.

Aici sunt alti cativa oameni incercandu-le.

That's our youngest beta tester, down there on the right.

Acesta e cel mai tanar tester beta al nostru, jos in dreapta.

Turns out, all he wanted to do was to stack the Siftables up.

Se pare ca tot ce a vrut el sa faca a fost sa puna Siftables-urile unul peste altul.

So to him, they were just blocks.

Deci pentru el erau doar cuburi.

Now, this is an interactive cartoon application.

Aceasta e o aplicatie de animatie interactiva.

And we wanted to build a learning tool for language learners.

Am vrut sa construim un instrument pentru cei care invata limbi.

And this is Felix, actually.

Iar acesta este Felix.

And he can bring new characters into the scene,

El poate introduce noi personaje in scena,

just by lifting the Siftables off the table that have that character shown on them.

doar ridicand de pe masa acele Siftables care afiseaza personajele.

Here, he's bringing the sun out.

Aici introduce soarele.

Video: The sun is rising.

Video: Soarele rasare.

David Merrill: Now he's brought a tractor into the scene.

David Merrill: Acum a introdus un tractor in scena.

Video: The orange tractor.

Video: Tractorul portocaliu.

Good job! Yeah!

Foarte bine! Da!

DM: So by shaking the Siftables and putting them next to each other

Miscand Siftables-urile si asezandu-le unul langa altul

he can make the characters interact --

el poate face personajele sa interactioneze --

Video: Woof!

Video: Ham!

DM: inventing his own narrative.

DM: creandu-si propria naratiune.

Video: Hello!

Video: Buna!

DM: It's an open-ended story,

DM: E o poveste cu final deschis,

and he gets to decide how it unfolds.

iar el decide cum se va desfasura.

Video: Fly away, cat.

Video: Zboara, pisico!

DM: So, the last example I have time to show you today

DM: Ultimul exemplu pe care am timp sa vi-l arat azi

is a music sequencing and live performance tool

este un instrument de creat si interpretat muzica live

that we've built recently,

pe care l-am construit recent,

in which Siftables act as sounds

si in care Siftables au rolul de sunete

like lead, bass and drums.

cum ar fi ritm, bas si tobe.

Each of these has four different variations,

Fiecare dintre acestea are patru variatiuni diferite,

you get to choose which one you want to use.

tu alegi pe care vrei sa o folosesti.

And you can inject these sounds into a sequence

Si poti injecta sunetele intr-o succesiune

that you can assemble into the pattern that you want.

pe care o poti asambla dupa ce tipar vrei.

And you inject it by just bumping up the sound Siftable against a sequence Siftable.

Introduci sunetele atingand Siftable-ul de sunet de un Siftable de succesiune.

There are effects that you can control live, like reverb and filter.

Exista efecte pe care le poti controla live, cum ar fi reverberatia si filtrul.

You attach it to a particular sound and then tilt to adjust it.

Il atasezi de un anumit sunet si apoi il inclini pentru a-l ajusta.

And then, overall effects like tempo and volume

Urmeaza efectele generale precum tempoul si volumul

that apply to the entire sequence.

care se aplica intregii secvente

So let's have a look.

Hai sa vedem.

Video: (Music)

Video: (Muzica)

DM: We'll start by putting a lead

DM: Vom incepe cu un ritm

into two sequence Siftables, arrange them into a series,

in doua Siftables de succesiune, le aranjam intr-o serie,

extend it, add a little more lead.

o extindem, mai ajustam ritmul.

Now I put a bass line in.

Acum pun o linie de bas.

Video: (Music)

Video: (Muzica)

DM: Now I'll put some percussion in.

DM: Acum adaug putina percutie.

Video: (Music)

Video: (Muzica)

DM: And now I'll attach the filter to the drums, so I can control the effect live.

DM: Iar acum voi adauga filtrul la tobe, pentru a controla efectul live.

Video: (Music)

Video: (Muzica)

DM: I can speed up the whole sequence

DM: Pot grabi intreaga secventa

by tilting the tempo one way or the other.

inclinand tempoul intr-o parte sau in alta.

Video: (Music)

Video: (Muzica)

DM: And now I'll attach the filter to the bass for some more expression.

DM: Acum voi atasa filtrul de bas pentru mai multa expresie.

Video: (Music)

Video: (Muzica)

DM: I can rearrange the sequence while it plays.

DM: Pot sa refac secventa in timp ce canta.

So I don't have to plan it out in advance, but I can improvise,

Deci nu trebuie sa fac planul in prealabil, pot improviza,

making it longer or shorter as I go.

prelungind sau scurtand melodia din mers.

And now, finally, I can fade the whole sequence out

Acum, in sfarsit, pot sa estompez intreaga secventa

using the volume Siftable, tilted to the left.

folosindu-ma de Siftable-ul de volum, inclinat in stanga.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

Thank you.

Va multumesc.

So, as you can see,

Dupa cum vedeti,

my passion is for making new human-computer interfaces

pasiunea mea este crearea de noi interfete om-calculator

that are a better match to the ways our brains and bodies work.

care se potrivesc mai bine cu modul in care functioneaza creierul si corpul nostru.

And today, I had time to show you one point in this new design space,

Iar azi, am avut timp sa va arat o coordonata a acestui nou spatiu de design,

and a few of the possibilities that we're working to bring out of the laboratory.

si cateva din posibilitatile pe care incercam sa le scoatem din laborator.

So the thought I want to leave you with

Gandul pe care as vrea sa-l retineti

is that we're on the cusp of this new generation of tools

este ca suntem la granita cu aceasta noua generatie de instrumente

for interacting with digital media

de interactiune cu mijloacele digitale,

that are going to bring information into our world

care vor aduce informatia in lumea noastra

on our terms.

dupa regulile noastre.

Thank you very much.

Va multumesc foarte mult.

I look forward to talking with all of you.

Astept cu nerabdare sa discut cu voi toti.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)