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Sketching interfaces are emerging as an effective approach to bridge the gap between creative thinking and computation power. While computers are now indispensable tools for providing various scientific and engineering solutions, they are not yet fully integrated into design process, especially the very early stages of design, where pencil and paper still reign. This is because current user interfaces are too cumbersome for rapid exploration necessary in these early stages. With the recent development of tablet hardware, such as TabletPCs that couple a tablet device and a CPU, sketch-based interfaces will gain increasing popularity in design and interaction.
Specifically, in architectural design designers prefer to sketch on
paper in the early stages of conceptual design. At that point the design process
is characterized by ambiguity, imprecision, and fuzzy intention, all difficult
to express using the current Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools, which impose
constraints of preciseness and are counterintuitive to use. Yet designing on paper
also possesses serious limitations, most notably that simple corrections or
operations such as a change of view require a completely new drawing. The
objective of this research project is to achieve an effective middle ground
between paper and computer. With a gift from Microsoft Research, we are
leveraging the newly developed Tablet PC that combines display with a tablet
device, serving as both an input and a computing device. Our main objective
is the development of a system that supports a sketch representation of an
early-stage conceptualization and its later smooth and easy transition to more
formal and precise design stages.
This project and the 3D scanning project together
target for next generation digital design tool.
My report
on Eurographics Workshop on Sketch-Based
Interfaces and Modeling 2005.
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