Touch Wire

Publications/Presentations

  • Saenz, M., Strunk, J., Chu, S. L., & Seo, J. H. (2015). Touch Wire: Interactive Tangible Electricity Game for Kids. Ninth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, Stanford, California, USA. [Peer-reviewed Poster/Demo] link
  • Seo, J. H., Arita, J., Bumatay, A., & Smith, B. (2014). Soft Toy for Mobile Devices. Austin Mini Maker Faire. Austin, TX. [Juried Demo/Workshop]
  • LaFayette, C., Seo, J. H., Adenuga, Y., Aldriedge, S., Arita, J., Bumatay, A., & Hervey, C. (2014). STEAM Pavilion: SoftLab Visualization. USA Science & Engineering Festival. Wachington D.C. [Invited Conference Presentation]

Project Description

Touch Wire is an educational application for tablets that utilizes tangible components to teach children about wiring and electricity. It is designed to help kids ages 8 and up build and understand simple circuits that they can interact with. It combines the ease of use of a touchscreen with the more visceral feedback of the tangible interactive components.

A big obstacle to introducing young children to building electrical systems is the tedious and sometimes difficult task of wiring. A child can quickly grow frustrated when the wiring between components becomes complex or messy. We aim to remedy this situation by handling the creation of wires between components through touch events on the tablet. Wires will be created by dragging between terminals, emulating the experience of the real world without the tedium and dexterity wiring tends to demand.

  • Researchers: Michael Saenz, Joshua Strunk, Jinsil Hwaryoung Seo
  • Former Collaborator: Marcos Alfonso
  • Year: 2013-2-15

More Photos