Surface Tension: Interactives and Workshops

Bringing together a selection of experimental projects that will alter your perception of surfaces, we host a day-long interactive exhibition of some of the most innovative examples in the field so you can get hands on and meet their creators.

Get clued up on the science of the interactive surface, how you can build one yourself and their potential for fuelling creativity in collaboration and learning in one of the themed drop-in discussion sessions taking place during the day.

Making Learning Tangible (London Knowledge Lab, Designing Tangibles for Learning project)
Explore the physics of light by manipulating everyday objects on a DIY interactive surface built for children.

ShareIT DiamondTouch (Open University and University of Sussex)
Join the circuit! The multi-user, multi-touch DiamondTouch surface uses your body as an electrical conduit - the minute electrical signal moves through your body to pads on which you stand thereby placing the position of your touch on the table.

Sensory Threads (Proboscis, Birkbeck and Queen Mary University of London)
Explore human relationships with the environment in this experimental mobile and participatory sensing and sonification experience.

DaisyPhone (Queen Mary University of London)
Create music with people from around the world on the world’s first multi-user, live jam for the iPhone.

FTIR Multitouch Surface (ShareIT project)
This large multi-touch table uses the process of FTIR (frustrated total internal reflection) to detect multiple simultaneous touches.

Cellular Sound (Robin Fencott)
Make ambient music with your friends, using a £100 multi-touch surface.

Skin Vision (e-Sense project)
Get in the game as you track and catch a rolling ball when blindfolded using tactile stimulation on your belly.

Informal discussions will include:

1. Performing with Interactive Surfaces - Sergi Jorda, Reactable founder and creator

2. Designing Surfaces for Public Engagement - Eva Hornecker, University of Strathclyde

3. Exploring Science through Interactive Surfaces - Designing Tangibles for Learning project, LKL

4. Fluid Interactions at the Surface - Yvonne Rogers, Open University

Drop in day. No booking required

See your world differently with our interactive events. Immerse yourself in playful experiences, get hands-on with the latest technology or talk to experts about their newest prototypes. These events showcase the very latest science and promise to satisfy event the most inquisitive minds.

This event is held in conjunction with the London Knowledge Lab, supported by the EPSRC-funded UbiComp Grand Challenge.