Design 3-D Printed Accessories Using Your Arm As The Interface

This dissatisfaction is what motivated Gannon to explore computational design methods that extend beyond what we traditionally think of as computers. Her project Tactum, a collaboration with Autodesk Research, moves design for 3-D printed accessories off the screen and onto the body. Using projection mapping and Kinect cameras people can adjust the designs directly on their skin using intuitive gestures.

Right now, Tactum is just a prototype, but it has big implications for the future of personalization in consumer products. Though programs to design something on your body are great for fashion, they could also revolutionize the making of medical equipment like splints. Gannon believes that as sensors proliferate, we're going to see this style of creation becoming more common. "Once [sensors] become cheap and scalable, I think we’ll have a more plastic relationship between what's happening in the physical and digital environments," she says.