Siftables Coming Soon!
Sifteo, makers of Siftables, the ingenious cookie-sized computer blocks that play together in infinitely interesting ways, has today officially gone from MIT Media Lab research project to actual company. They’re now open for business, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer to actually get your hands on some. Nonetheless, we’re excited.
Siftables, which you may have already seen featured on PopSci’s Future Of on the Science Channel), are computerized blocks that can communicate wirelessly, sense their orientation and proximity to other blocks, and display an image. Those seemingly simple attributes enable a nearly endless range of gaming and other interactive possibilities.
Siftables blocks can transmit music cues to each other to become musical instruments, display letters or numbers for educational games, or interact with a console to become the controllers for a larger gaming system. By giving physical form to abstract data, the blocks bridge the gap between physical and virtual.
Read moreHands-On Fun
It is believed that many children and adults learn best when they use their hands to perform a task, and for young children, play-based activities are essential for acquiring knowledge. This new design concept cleverly combines both hands-on and play-based learning in one very cool but tiny package. Siftables are small computer blocks with the capacity to interface with each other using a combination of neighbor detection, motion sensing and wireless communication. The user manipulates them by hand and with each process, whether it is sorting, grouping or even piling, the blocks continue to interact with each other.
The brainchild of David Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi from the MIT Media Lab, the digital cubes work independently and in concert with each other, where they can be manipulated as a group to interact with digital and media information. Siftables have a color LCD screen, a rechargeable battery and RF radio. They are compact (approx. 1.4” x 1.4” x .39”) and contain four infrared transceivers. Whilst manipulating the blocks the user receives visual feedback via the screen and can play auditory feedback on their wireless computer.
Read moreWhere Can I Buy?
When can I buy some Siftables?
Siftables are currently unavailable for purchase. Check the Sifteo blog for the latest, or sign up for our mailing list and we’ll let you know as Sifteo’s firms up release details.
Who is creating Siftables?
David Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi first created Siftables as graduate students, and were joined by Brent Fitzgerald to form the Sifteo founding team. Liam Staskawicz builds the next-gen Siftables software, and Josh Lee designs and creates the world’s first Siftables games.
Read moreSense Motion
The Siftable can sense its own motion when it is moved around a table and recognizes when it comes into contact with other objects, as well as when it is lifted or shaken.
The size of Siftables means that they can be easily integrated into our lives. “Now that computational power comes in such tiny packages, I believe it is just our design understanding that must catch up in order for our computers to facilitate amazingly great, useful, and sociable interactions,” said David Merrill.
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