This was an honours project created by Paul Jordaan in 2015. The project produced both the prototype and a research paper. The aim of the project was:
“In order to expand research on tangible interfaces more HCI researchers need access to
working tangible interface systems. Since most tangible interfaces are still research based, they are generally very costly to produce and as such available to a limited group of researchers that have access to the necessary resources. This paper will discuss the design and development a prototype for a low cost 2.5D shape display based open source software and built with commercially available components.
By making shape displays and tangible interfaces more affordable and less complex, more
researchers will be able to build their own tangible interface and contribute to the field of
research.”
You can also watch the prototype in action below.