C code, ABS, polycarbonate, LCD
screens, electronics, and motion and
proximity sensors
Each: 1 11/16 x 1 11/16
x 11/16" (4.3 x 4.3 x 1.9 cm)
Sifteo Inc., USA
Many design and technology companies
produce DIY kits for devices, smart
objects, and robots that the user
assembles as though with advanced
sets of Lego bricks. Inspired by classic
games such as chess, checkers, and
mah-jongg, Sifteo Cubes are a hands-on
interactive game system. Each cube
contains a tiny computer chip and
connects to other cubes, sensing their
motion and position, through a wireless
network to an application on a nearby
computer. The cubes can be used in
various games, including a spelling game
in which they are rearranged until a word
is correctly spelled, at which point they
light up and highlight the word. David
Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi designed
the cubes while graduate students at
the MIT Media Lab, and they have since
formed a company, with designer Brent
Fitzgerald, to produce Sifteo Cubes,
games, and software.
