Step-By-Step Tutorial & Shopping List (.pdf)
Github – Tutorial Project Files
This project is a set of instructions on how to build a very simple, tangible digital interface for an interactive video exhibition. The user can hold, touch and examine physical pieces, and then insert them into the interface, to start up videos related to each piece.
The example project here is generic– the pieces are simple geometric volumes, with corresponding descriptive videos. This is a useful, quick and inexpensive tutorial on how to start building such exhibits. Preferably the user has access to “maker” tools, like a 3D printer, laser cutter, and simple hand tools.
The same strategies and technologies can then be used to build another project with a specific theme, determined by the exhibition designer (you). The physical pieces can be replaced with other artifacts, or 3D printed “tangibles”. The related videos can be designed or selected to support the interaction and theme.
We used these exact techniques to design and build an interactive museum exhibition. The user could hold and touch 3D printed replicas of fragments of a Roman frieze (a decorative sculpture), and place them into a table, like a puzzle, triggering narrative videos describing the artifacts. The technology used was extremely inexpensive, yet robust enough for a permanent installation.
This is an open-source project, so feel free to copy and alter it as you see fit—just share your work with others!
