David Merrill & Jeevan Kalanithi: Siftable, Tangible Data Manipulation 2008

YouTube via MediaArtTube. see the Siftables label below for more.
"New Ways of Interacting and Manipulating Digital Information: TUI Solution.
Siftables are independent, compact devices with sensing, graphical display, and wireless communication. They can be physically manipulated as a group to interact with digital information and media. Siftables provides a new platform and OS on which to implement tangible, visual and mobile applications.
Siftables are cookie-sized computers with motion sensing, neighbor detection, graphical display, and wireless communication. They act in concert to form a single interface: users physically manipulate them - piling, grouping, sorting - to interact with digital information and media. Siftables provides a new platform on which to implement tangible, visual and mobile applications.
Siftables was originally designed and built by David Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi at the MIT Media Lab. Patent filed.
More info: http://tacolab.com/projects/Siftables
http://siftables.com/"

Siftables Music Sequencer

Update: Ted Talks video. via Create Digital Music




Siftables Music Sequencer from Jeevan Kalanithi on Vimeo.
"This music sequencer allows you to drop samples into a looping track, add gesture-controlled effects and alter the sequence of samples in real time."

You can find more info and videos on David Merrill's Siftables page. Below is the set from Vimeo. The videos pretty much show what these can do. The following is a brief excerpt from the site. There's no mention if these will ever become available.

"Siftables are independent, compact devices with sensing, graphical display, and wireless communication capabilities. They can be physically manipulated as a group to interact with digital information and media. Siftables can be used to implement any number of gestural interaction languages and HCI applications."

Siftables word game

Siftables word game from Jeevan Kalanithi on Vimeo.
"The Scraboggle application is really straightforward - the siftables display letters. Arrange them into words!"

Siftables Equation Editor

Siftables Equation Editor from Jeevan Kalanithi on Vimeo.
"This siftables application shows a tangible way to learn about arithmetic and solve equations. It even supports subtraction! (Wow! - not shown here)."

Siftables pouring example

Siftables pouring example from Jeevan Kalanithi on Vimeo.
"This video showcases a siftables interaction in which the user can "pour" a color from a bucket siftable to another to tint the image. You can pour the color out of an image back into a bucket as well."