Chris Cummings

A preliminary sketch

The first version - foamcore proof of concept

The second version - corrugated cardboard in final form factor

Third version with laser-cut top.

Sweep

Overview

Sweep is an input device built onto a Swiffer duster. A mouse re-imagined in broom form, it reads the unique motion of this particular tool and communicates that motion to a PC.

Prototype

This project is an effort to re-imagine a widely-understood tool in ways that would allow it to communicate its operation to a machine. In other words, I was wondering what a broom would have to say to a computer. Swiffers are operated in a very gestural manner, and I was interested in exploring applications for an expressive physical interface designed around the motion of this common household device. This project is in a functional prototype stage, the simple animation on the screen is designed to display the movement of the device.

How it Works

Two mouse wheels are mounted to the bottom of the duster. They each communicate their rotaional position to a microcontroller, which communcates those positions over a serial link to a PC running a visualizer. The visualizer animates a simple figure based on the differential movement of the two wheels.

Below is a small version of what the animation looked like: