Shape-shifting tech will change work as we know it | Sean Follmer

What will the world look like when we move beyond the keyboard and mouse? Interaction designer Sean Follmer is building a future with machines that bring information to life under your fingers as you work with it. In this talk, check out prototypes for a 3D shape-shifting table, a phone that turns into a wristband, a deformable game controller and more that may change the way we live and work.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at www.ted.com/translate
Follow TED news on Twitter: / tednews
Like TED on Facebook: / ted
Subscribe to our channel: / tedtalksdirector

[@patrickroelant5171]

imagine this with higher pixels and more exact data, it would be mind boggling

[@aravindkm2012]

Meh wont be as game changing since someone made this but with a head set called META 2

[@a.poovasanthan9577]

It just a beginning , future it can be developed

[@galhillel39]

i can already see in like 20 years when this table with squars will get looked at as 8-bit version

[@NinjaOnANinja]

+gal hillel Are you kidding? It is already 8-bit.

[@galhillel39]

+NinjaOnANinja well yeah but ya know what i mean

[@NinjaOnANinja]

gal hillel Of course : )

[@iliketrains0pwned]

+gal hillel And by then it looks like something from an N64 game

[@Crobat3trainer]

That smart table was pretty cool

[@guitygro1138]

For his outro, he should have dropped the mic and played the song, "Let's Get Physical" as he walked off the stage

[@42tancho]

It's cool, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this exact demo with the ball some years ago. Not sold on it to "change work as we know it", but could be cool to walk on in VR.

[@NeonsStyleHD]

Needs a higher resolution.

[@Laura.K.]

This is just so wonderful. What an age we live in.

[@bsher2115]

it's the age of science 😇 I think that the industrial revolution has just began 🏁

[@Laura.K.]

Beter Michel I am just so happy :)

[@bsher2115]

Demi Saint You are watching the world behind your big,dark and old glasses, take it off or change it as fast as you can; so you can at least see some white spots here or there in your life.

[@MrDrBendy]

+SleeplessPanda We will all try to delete the memory of those that suffered to attain 'progress', but the file will remain, and then, multiply.

[@UnusVita]

+MrDrBendy I think that you have fundamentally misunderstood this post. There is nothing about appreciating the progress that has been made that ignores or erases the wrongs of the past. That we live in a better world than has ever existed does not mean that anyone thinks that we have achieved perfection or that we have come this far without cost.

[@justinwhite2725]

As a kinesthetic learner, I am excited by the ability to 'feel' a dataset that would otherwise be more difficult for me to understand just by looking at it

[@roidroid]

Sure is a lot of people in the comments who don't understand just how truly powerful *tactile interfaces* are. You're taking it for granted just how useful they are already in your everyday life. I can do a significant amount of my non-computer work with my eyes closed, because my environment is rich with tactile cues, i don't have to look at everything. Do you know how hard it would be to change gears on your car, if your hand was numb? You'd have to take your eyes off the road everytime. You can type without looking, but you can't type without looking if you can't feel the edges of the keys on your keyboard. What if everything you did on the computer was like that, if you could feel the edges of every button you click, if you could grab a window and feel the edge of it, feel it's resistance as you move it to the other side of your workspace. These sorts of things greatly speed up everything you do on a computer, a 50minute task turns into a 10 minute task.

[@LaughterCraft]

I get the desire for tactile feedback and advancing it, but having little carbon toothpicks poke out the side of your phone when you get a text doesn't sound like the right solution. Can't deny the solution looks cool, though. I was really impressed by that black wristband that kept transforming. It's almost like this tech is at it's 'low resolution' point in history, much like how 8-bit graphics evolved into stuff like GTA V. Can't wait to see what the next thirty years of these advancements looks like. Will most certainly be indistinguishable from magic.

[@MrYllie]

Agreed. I see huge potential in this technology and I feel exactly like you so about the "resolution" metaphor :)

[@JustOneAsbesto]

My body is FULL of rich dexterity. Like, bursting.

[@felixshengyang]

I feel like it's more realistic to work and communicate through holograms than built a user interface like this that is precise enough to handle sophisticated content

[@wadenkrampf0815]

I'm looking forward to new ways to interact with devices, because I believe there is lots of room for improvement. I'm not sure if these ideas and prototypes will lead there, but it's good that this kind of research is done.

[@thomascameron2612]

And then you spill a drink of water on it. :/

[@AiChiomi]

+Thomas Cameron No problem there. I own a waterproof keyboard for over 4 years now and wash it on a regular basis.

[@jordanc.m.6735]

fantasticly therapeutic, I just want to see more

[@bobstephens5599]

Don't look at the mole don't look at the mole

[@LoLHowTo]

Moley moley moley

[@IWouldLikeToRemainAnonymous]

+LoLHowTo holy moley

[@adriancreates3086]

+Bob Steve Me: Mole? What mole? [looks again] Oh shi-

[@alba279]

+Bob Steve Thanks a lot man xD

[@Chronomatrix]

Wonderful!

[@TheRealFOSFOR]

I remember "inventing" a future home with this exact idea. The floor would be made out of small squares, maybe 100x100mm or such and you could program them to rise to any level. So you could dynamically make furniture like tables or chairs as you please. This was like 15 years ago... Not such a great idea, but I was young and not that smart atm.

[@DataReaperAi]

Perhaps you should look into creating that idea you had long ago. With the reasearchers and developers already putting in the hard work to manifest the prototypes. To simply pick up from their work and customize it to your own design is easier than has been in human history ever before. Personally I like your idea sir.

[@WASDsweden]

Great research, the early stages of something possibly big.

[@RA-fp8fv]

omg, this is amazing! the things we see in sci fi are finally coming to life

[@ShawnRavenfire]

Imagine having an entire house like this. You could remodel, change the color of the walls, the number of rooms, the placement of furniture, all instantly.

[@Noonmark]

helpful table friend!!

[@fungussa]

VR will rapidly eclipse the need for this course-grained, expensive, cumbersome, relatively-inflexible tech

[@moople9066]

But we need a way to interact with the vr environment, so this is great. (Just add a ton more "pixels")

[@hungh0]

+fungussa I think you mean AR, ah la holo lens though something like this could still have use, especially if you get the resolution up, as an interactive table though it also suffers from the fact that you can't render a sphere with it, you couldn't make a tree with it, you could render a hemisphere but nothing more kind of useful as mobile game buttons, but you could also just, you know, build extra buttons for games in new phones without having THE chunkiest phone cover best use for this would probly be to add real physicality to AR or VR projections

[@devins7457]

We need to start somewhere. This innovated, will enhance VR

[@pyr666]

+fungussa unlikely. you aren't going to create useful VR without haptic feedback

[@plavix221]

+Jasper Stedman thERE IS a way to do that. Ultrasonic transducers. Focusing ultrasound beams onto spots of your skin. works already. see Ultrahaptics. They can be micromachined onto large surfaces.

[@Saschabrix]

Awesome!

[@davidjhyatt]

This may sound stupid but I can picture an amorphous blob material (think t-1000) that reacts to electric current, then a few power transmission devices like the ones that will soon replace electric cords controlling subtle physical reactions in the material to make it behave how we want. So my floor can regroup to become a couch, or intruder stopper, or bring me things, clean up my house, be a play thing... etc... Big idea. I remember when I first saw someone (on Ted) demonstrate the first multi touch display, this is akin to that. Great work!

[@MrYllie]

YES! Just imagine walls that could shift shape (and colour) creating a shelf or a painting wherever you like in the room. And then being able to resize and move it around easily to your liking. The implementations are truly endless!

[@davidjhyatt]

Or even the whole house! Need a guest room? Need a larger dining room? "Ok google" lol

[@MrYllie]

David Hyatt Wow, that's actually really clever!

[@richardred4396]

great visionary talk

[@gigli110110]

Great .

[@Fiercesoulking]

The last part was kinda intressting because it pointed in the direction which the smartphones in earth-final-conflict could do. Video able smartphones which display could flex.(pull in)

[@MechNinji]

That is very interesting, with enough work I think it could really become a big thing.

[@Xentrick]

I see a lot of comments saying VR will eclipse the need for this but think of this working in concert with VR. Haptic controls and feedback in an environment, furniture and devices that change in response to the VR interaction. This is holodeck tech.

[@Firestar-rm8df]

This tech is fundamentally limited to a 2d board which makes it almost useless for replicating a 3d environment

[@vjeraturk]

5:56 this should as well be used as asistive technology for the blind

[@benderossett1543]

That sounds like a perfect example of using this technology. Blind people already are feeling bumps to read, why not have bumps that communicate they've received a text message, or even communicate it to them using rising and lowering squares.

[@bitsinmyblood]

Awesome proof of concept!

[@vishaljee6041]

Great Idea! I love you world for your ever perpetuating surprises

[@MrDbenbow]

So cool! I love the future!

[@panpiper]

I see absolutely nothing of use in this technology that could not be done better using virtual reality. You can move the 'object' in virtual reality much more easily than you can with the device portrayed in this video. That device cannot do most of what you can in fact do in traditional CAD software, let alone what you can do in VR.

[@mikskywalker]

+Peter Cohen What he has is a prototype. A proof of concept. Surely you can see the benefits of having the ability to physically manipulate things on the other side of the planet, not necessarily in the exact same arrangement and accuracy of the prototype?

[@dimepia123]

+Peter Cohen hand job through skype

[@JustOneAsbesto]

+Peter Cohen Virtual reality can allow you to physically manipulate objects over the internet?

[@panpiper]

+derty qwerty 42N Nothing you outlined there cannot be done with current software. How anyone would think that a physical system of rods will make that 'more' doable than VR or other software is quite bizarre to me.

[@panpiper]

+Dante Yes, touch would be useful, but it is NOT useful if the whole thing is projected physically by a series of rods projecting from the bottom. That has got to be the kludgiest notion I have ever seen proposed. A pair of haptic gloves, maybe with force feedback actuators built in would do this far more effectively and with much greater flexibility.

[@bogdanyer]

utility does not cover cost and size. it looks pretty neat though, i see it being used only in pretencious tech companies, too rich campuses and new science museums, but not in a daily life.

[@AnimeSummit]

+bogdanyer It's not about the "product" it's about the concept of the technology.

[@lesand5484]

i can see it used in some years... think about the concept with the wristband changing to a remote control of something.. samsung had comcept artworks that try to do just that

[@MrYllie]

Hmm, that's how they viewed computers in the 50's/60's. Computers were these enormous machines meant only for big corporations but as the technology improved, became smaller, cheaper and easier to manufacture they slowly found their way into our everyday lives. I believe this technology has the same potential to become part of future buildings and furniture.

[@Blueeyesthewarrior]

+bogdanyer For now perhaps, but soon we will live in a world where these technologies will be the way we live, and they will permeate our world. Its about knowing that we should start thinking about how we can apply these technologies as they emerge, rather than as an afterthought when they are commercial.

[@codymaines]

+MrYllie Same thing was said about the internet, would only be affordable for universities and military.

[@SamyHacker]

this reminds me of big hero 6

[@christopherdahl992]

A so, so, so, so interesting talk.

[@ablanchi]

"Hang on guys, my phone is humping my fucking couch, I gotta take care of this"

[@miasmus]

All the people saying that VR will render this tech useless have clearly forgotten that haptic feedback is one of the most important components of human-machine interaction, and waving your hands around in the air will only get you so far.

[@ሕያው]

ashutosh kumar they are already developing tech that will allow tactile feedback on bionic prosthetics. It doesn't seem to far fetched that they can't implement that within VR and AR.

[@brianpfft]

mindblowing

[@VulcanOnWheels]

I've been wondering if we've come far enough, to make something like the Touch Bar on the Apple MacBook Pro, but with raised areas, where needed.

[@lukmankazeem2188]

keen to see where your impassioned strides lead. A Polymorphing surface of endlessness... Yes in possibilities. yall making moves out here, like dayummmm

[@OldsXCool]

Everything always comes down to video games. Wow! Look at this amazing new tech with endless possibilities.......ooooo now we can have physical buttons that just appear on a smartphone for playing crappy phone games. Yay!

[@sibusisondaba4354]

I see a lot of people talking about VR and blah blah. VR won't autonomously configure your workspace to suit whatever requirements you may have. Imagine a desk that can put everything away when you leave. This tech has major potential at much higher 'resolution' and more sophisticated algorithms

[@deepakpurohit6970]

amazing

[@shrunkensimon]

2:32 Spazo pixel in the middle

[@Epicdio01]

On the phone part with the smaller thing can that be made into a suit and bed lol

[@jimmysgameclips]

I want the crazy mid air steps from Elephants Dream (it's a short film) that arrive under your feet as you step into mid air

[@JaredJanes]

I have a feeling that VR/AR is going to be a far more cost effective approach to this type of user experience.

[@washulis]

i can't handle - this is so cool.

[@jonathanturnbull2617]

best thing I have seen lately

[@pseudovibes98]

6:08 the guy laughing lol

[@MonkeyspankO]

This will be very powerful when miniaturized, tactical interface on a smart phone for example.

[@MrYllie]

Excellent idea man! That could create texture to buttons for instance. Or even 3D objects, offering a 3rd dimension to graphics throughout the system - not to mention the cool games you could make!

[@MonkeyspankO]

MrYllie thats exactly what i meant! micro raised hundreds of little, whatever they are, they give you haptic feedback and that you can use to fine tune your interface.

[@schmelerlogan]

Use fabric of somekind to make the tiles have curvature and you can build scenery like holograms on it.

[@Acetopy2]

The internet of things isn't the best concept in I.T. It seems like a security risk to me to connect things unnecessarily to the internet, having more devices in a network creates more entry points for hackers, who wouldn't want to hack someones toaster?

[@kobayashimaru8114]

I love it. Reminds me of the situation display in X-men. But I envision this as a very primitive version of what could one day be accomplished at the nano level. That is, less like the X-men table and more like the T-1000 or the aliens in A.I.

[@LewugaBenson]

this is revolutionary!!

[@nickwiththepick2881]

I Knew the kinect was usefull!

[@tengkuizdihar]

The environment one tho, super neat. If those guys know how to make this thing as cost effective as possible, i see it as a good opportunity for a company. Why not r8?

[@Epicdio01]

They need to put the lights in the model making machine so we dont get confused cause of the shadows

[@cultibotics]

Wanted: linear actuators with a larger stroke/circumference ratio.

[@roidroid]

A problem is that it's expensive to make all of those actuators (900+!). Any design which uses a lot of actuators gets expensive very fast. Even if they're only $2 each, that's $1800 in actuators alone :(. I've been trying to make cheaper actuators, so that tables like this would be cheaper to make. At the moment i'm trying to make solenoids outof aluminium foil, instead of copper. If you've seen anything that could help, or is up this alley, feel free to send it my way (just hit reply).

[@placidofalqueto5334]

Have you done any progress?

[@heniv181]

Ah, now I know from where they got that interface from in Man of Steel.

[@willfrank961]

I think if they laid a very flexible cloth on top and attached it to each "node" it would improve the experience markedly.

[@holyofallsnapx4168]

bro this is crazy!!

[@mixey01]

Imagine getting your hand stuck between the bars of the shape-shifting table

[@m8oneguy913]

This reminds me of the future.

[@Desert2GardenLV]

There is a shape shifter on his forehead

[@eSKAone-]

cool, but needs a much higher resolution

[@stickygrenade]

This is just like the hologram kryptonian used in that Superman movie

[@AlexParkYT]

This is such an amazing concept. Yes it is primitive, but the potential... :P

[@VishalJangid1]

Use some type of membrane over there to make it more that of a shape shifting thing..😁

[@robopoet]

It might make a cool board game

[@christiansacchi]

I would code a Game Of Life for this device

[@dwaynelester9549]

I have a theory that trumps every thing that science has done to date and will advance us immediately into advanced technology that will allow us to do things with physics that we have only seen in the movies. but this is still pretty cool

[@JoeIdolChannel139]

Thanks for the Indonesian sub! :)

[@katherinekardash5800]

oh wow

[@singularitybound]

This is actually a lot like the Kryptonian computers in the new superman movie.

[@Yunakura]

It would be really awesome once the tech gets better, like rather than just rectangular boxes, the tech can take more different shapes to show more accurate designs and like it can be made of glass which will be step toward hologram lol idk

[@pepps779]

Interesting idea. However it seems cost probibitive compared to virtual reality technology, which contains much less limitations if perfected.

[@GOLDENHAZE]

Wow, the way the squidgy black square moves reminds me of eXistenZ :D. I think it's just a matter of time until we create bio-technology, that will leave no visible environmental trace. I think that would probably be the ultimate in the height of our technological evolution and the closest to a utopian society. When our technology looks non-existent and is in perfect harmony with the world around us.

[@aravindkm2012]

Typical Ted Talk title ___Will change ___ as we know it. Clickbait cancer but actually delivers

[@Bharat_Mata_Ki_Jai147]

Wow

[@HigherPlanes]

Ain't never had a J.O.B. .... but this is cool, might have to go out and get me one.

[@Vetrivel.Shanmugam]

This design does not scale in size Use magnet rods or sticks, and use coil to trigger magnetic strength. you can reach smaller pixel dimensions.

[@victorcharlie6384]

wow, i feel i am living in the future

[@JP_AZ]

This and AR and AI: Tony Stark' computer lab on way! That's exciting!

[@trebacca9]

Now make it more condensed, and with less granularity.

[@exactspace]

I just had a vision of globs of computers sliding all over us

[@Aerospaceman]

You may be able to manipulate new buildings, walkways, use it for the military topological charts, use it to manipulate blocks and stress in a shipyard. Just imagine submarines using this to follow undersea mountains jutting up from the seabed. There are a multitude of opportunities.

[@PhotogreedyPhoto]

Anybody think about the 2008 Chinese Olympics opening ?

[@BUGHUNTER6]

Scale it up and make fully customizable houses. 😁

[@m8oneguy913]

:C

[@BUGHUNTER6]

M8one Guy ?

[@m8oneguy913]

not rly

[@BUGHUNTER6]

M8one Guy It was just an idea m8, it's obviously not that simple

[@m8oneguy913]

ok m9

[@notthere83]

I laughed at exactly the same point as that guy in the audience. And if you did too, you know what I mean. ;)

[@justins1326]

THATS... AAAAWWWESOME

[@majestcpotat085]

Holy cow

[@omegasrevenge]

If you want to visualize something, Augmented Reality is significantly superior. I like the "smart furniture" idea though. I always wanted a chair that can adapt exactly to my body shape and posture.

[@XXISimplicityXXI]

With the 3D statistic you can morph it to look the way you want it to, and have it produce the equation you need.

[@Firestar-rm8df]

... You can do that on the pc to. Put it on screen then click and drag. Or iPhone touch screen with simple swipes. You don't need this stupid table for that. If you're dead set on it though look into leap motion first.

[@zeropoint6211]

like the crystals in superman fortress of solitude.

[@hbkinfluence]

crazy