Ninja Track: Design of Electronic Toy
Variable in Shape and Flexibility

Yuichiro Katsumoto built this shapechanging device for the TEI'13

Those are my notes:

features of a snake word

fixed and flexible mode

meet different usages with different flexibilities

applications

input: making music (NTM)

switch between flute, trumpet, drums and bell
changing the form switches the modes

output/haptic: games (NTG)

switch between sword and whip mode
it changes flexibility by pressing a button to change it’s haptic behavior and possible movements

interactional considerations

metaphor
behavior
feedback
inevitability of transformation
function follows form

limitations

which could be avoided using suitable material

strength

the hinges of NTG sometimes cracked due to overuse

length

“The maximum length of early Ninja Track that can be folded by a small servomotor is about 30 cm” (page 6)

versatilities

climbing gear

“[…] can be used as a mountain-climbing aid that changes from a belt into a cane or a splint” (page 7)

digital camera

moving the camera

robot

ring-shaped Ninja Track as a caterpillar
stick-shaped legs: walk on irregular ground
stick-shaped arms: able to reach its hand into curved pipes

future

look into multiuser applications

reference

Katsumoto, Y., Tokuhisa, S., Inakage, M. Ninja Track: Design of Electronic Toy Variable in Shape and Flexibility. In Proc. of TEI2013

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