Blauvelt, G. and Eisenberg, M.
Computer-Aided Design of Mechanical Automata: Engineering Education for Childreni
In Proceedings of ICET 2006, The IASTED International Conference on Education and Technology, Calgary, Alberta, July 2006

With decreasing numbers of engineers graduating from undergraduate institutions in the United States, the importance of developing children's interests in engineering is increasingly apparent. In this paper we discuss an approach to engineering education based upon the design of mechanical toys and automata. In implementing this approach we have created a software system, MachineShop, for the design of automata; MachineShop facilitates the design of mechanical elements, and their fabrication in wood or plastic on a desktop laser cutter. In this paper, we describe both our software and its place in a larger portrait of engineering education. We also present a case study highlighting the design process of one ten year old student as he designed and constructed his first mechanical automaton, and draw some general observations from our ongoing testing with children in elementary and middle schools.

Eisenberg, M., Eisenberg A., Blauvelt, G., Hendrix S., Buechley, L., and Elumeze, N.
Mathematical Crafts for Children: Beyond Scissors and Glue
in Proceedings of Art+Math=X Conference, Boulder, Colorado, June 2005

Traditionally, craft activities have provided a tasteful introduction to mathematics for children: through the building of paper polyhedra, or the creation of patterns in string, children have often come to appreciate profound mathematical ideas. The next decade, however, is likely to see a tremendous expansion of accessible, powerful technology that will (or at least could) radically reshape and enrich the space of children's mathematical crafts. In this paper we describe a variety of technological innovations—ranging from software systems to fabrication devices to "smart" materials—that have the potential to become powerful tools for children's crafts. We discuss new directions for some traditional crafts—polyhedron-building, for example—and the evolution of never-before-seen crafts, such as building with computationally-enhanced construction kits or "printing out" customized complex mathematical forms.

Eisenberg, M., Elumeze, N., Buechley, L., Blauvelt, G., Hendrix, S., and Eisenberg, A.
The Homespun Museum: Computers, Fabrication, and the Design of Personal Exhibits
in Proceedings of Creativity and Cognition, London, England, April 2005

The traditional view of the "home computer" is as a self-contained appliance: computation, in this view, is something that takes place within a desktop box, and that produces interesting visual effects only on a screen. In this paper, we argue that one can alternatively view "the computer" through its tangible effects on larger settings: that is, the computer can be imagined as the heart of a creative workshop centered within the home or classroom. The advent of accessible fabrication devices, as well as small computers that can be embedded in craft items, permits users to think of the room at large as a place in which computationally-enriched or computationally-designed "exhibits" of various types may be displayed. We illustrate this idea with a variety of projects undertaken within our laboratory.

Eisenberg, M., Eisenberg A., Hendrix S., Blauvelt, G., Butter, D., Garcia, J., Lewis, R., and Nielsen, T.
As We May Print: New Directions in Output Devices and Computational Crafts for Children
in Proceedings of Interaction Design and Children 2003 (IDC2003), Preston, England, July 2003

In recent years, educational technologists and designers have begun to explore a variety of ways in which physical and computational media can be integrated – for instance, through the design of "intelligent toys" for children. This paper describes our ongoing efforts at exploring a different sort of physical-computational integration, focusing on children's design activities, output devices, and the notion of "printing out" more generally. We describe several representative systems under development in our group; each of these systems highlights particular possibilities for exploring and experimenting with output devices for children's crafts. We also present a set of design heuristics–useful techniques for those educational designers interested in expanding the range and expressiveness of craft activities for children.

Blauvelt, G. and Eisenberg, M.
Printing Reconsidered: Exploring New Directions for Output Devices in Educational Technology
In Proceedings of ICLS2002, The International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Seattle, Washington, October 2002

Educational computing is often criticized as an enterprise that distances children from experience with physical materials. However, the advent of new and powerful output devices portends an increasingly close integration between computational and (physical) construction activities. This paper describes a system-under-development, MachineShop, whose purpose is to allow students to design and "print out" (on a laser cutter) pieces for working mechanical wooden automata. We describe the current state of MachineShop; and employ the program as a source of insights for exploring the role of output devices in the learning sciences more generally. In particular, we argue that novel output devices have the potential to change the culture of educational artifacts from one based in consumption (in which educational objects are purchased whole) to one based in construction (in which artifacts are wholly or partially designed by children themselves). We also argue that there are many extraordinarily powerful–and technologically feasible–educational output devices that have yet to be designed.

Blauvelt, G. and Eisenberg, M.
MachineShop: Steps Toward Exploring Novel I/O Devices for Computational Craftwork
In Proceedings of ICALT2001, IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, Madison, Wisconsin, August 2001

The notion of "computational crafting" focuses on the numerous ways in which computational media may be used to expand the expressive range of traditional educational crafts. One important dimension of this approach involves a close re-examination of an issue often taken for granted in educational technology–namely, the design and use of I/O devices. The next decade is likely to produce a fascinating array of novel I/O devices and technologies; these in turn offer substantial promise of augmenting the power of computational tools for children's craftwork.

Blauvelt, G., Eisenberg, M. and Wrensch, T.
Creating Mechanical Toys: Steps Toward a CAD Tool for Educational Automata
Presented at WCCE2001, The World Conference on Computers in Education, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 2001.

This paper describes our work on a computational tool for the design of mechanical elements suitable for use in automata (mechanical toys and sculpture). The purpose of the tool is to permit students to create customized mechanical components (such as cams); to combine and simulate sets of components; and to "print out" the components on devices such as laser cutters that realize the designs in wood. We discuss the educational rationale behind our work; describe the current (still early) state of our system; and explore the relationship between our work and larger issues highlighted by work in "computational crafting."

Wrensch, T., Eisenberg, M. and Blauvelt, G.
Computationally-Enhanced Craft Items: Toward "Programmable Parts" for Educational Robotics
AAAI Spring Symposium on Robotics and Education, Palo Alto, California, March 2001

Computationally-enhanced craft items are not designed solely for purposes of educational robotics. Nonetheless, this paper will argue that they are well suited to that end, and that the design of such craft objects holds substantial promise for raising new issues in educational robotics, particularly in areas such as distributed processing and end-user programming.

Wrensch, T., Blauvelt, G. and Eisenberg, M.
The Rototack: Designing a Computationally-Enhanced Craft Item
In Proceedings of DARE 2000, Designing Augmented Reality Environments,, Elsinore, Denmark, April 2000.

This paper describes our progress in creating a device called a rototack. In its design, the rototack is an example of a computationally-enhanced craft item: a small, robust, inexpensive, and versatile – but also programmable – physical object for use in a variety of educational and home crafting projects. In particular, the tack is a source of rotational motion, suitable for turning light objects or for powering (e.g.) cams, gears, and linkages in complex, user-defined patterns. We describe the engineering decisions and trade-offs involved in creating our current prototype of the tack; discuss the central issues in creating a programming language and environment for the device; and sketch a variety of potential uses to which the tack might be put.

Eisenberg, M., Wrensch, T. and Blauvelt, G.
Geometry Specific Languages and Their Interfaces
University of Colorado Department of Computer Science Technical Report CU-CS-886-99.

Traditionally, programming languages have been designed with an eye toward implementation on general-purpose computers. The advent of computationally-enhanced craft items – small programmable objects with simple geometries and scaled-down computational components – suggests the need for new language and software environment models tailored for these objects. In some respects, the task of the craft-item language designer is less demanding than that of the traditional language designer; but there are new challenges to be faced as well. In this paper, we summarize both our experiences in creating computationally-enhanced craft items and their ramifications for the creation of geometry-specific languages, programming environments, and interfaces.

Blauvelt, G., Wrensch, T. and Eisenberg, M.
Integrating Craft Materials and Computation
C&C '99, Proceedings of the Third Conference on Creativity and Cognition, Loughborough, England, October 1999

Traditionally, the notion of home crafting connotes the use of "low-tech" materials and techniques; but increasingly, the once-distinct worlds of crafting and computational media have become integrated, to the mutual benefit of both cultures. In this paper, we discuss a wide range of recurring issues in the integration of crafts and computation, drawing upon a variety of related research projects. In particular, we explore the ways in which attention to computational crafts can encourage a productive re-examination of such notions as programming languages, computer architectures, and peripheral devices.

Murphy, R., Hershberger, D. and Blauvelt, G.
Learning Landmark Triples by Experimentation
Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Special Issue on Robotic Learning: The New Wave, December, 1997, vol. 22, no. 3–4, pp. 377–392.

This article describes a method for learning a set of landmarks suitable for place navigation. The approach is novel in that it exploits the ability of a robot to learn through active perception in the task environment, similar to the learning by experimentation technique developed for LEX (Mitchell et al., 1990). The proposed strategy uses heuristics to select and rank candidate triples, then generates test cases to confirm that the best triple is sufficient. The method supports the use of multiple sensors with different computational and energy costs, where a utility function captures the tradeoff between navigational performance ranking and cost.