UI Design and Technology Converge to Create the Worlds Next Great Toy, Siftables

For the uninitiated, the TED conference is, simply, an annual gathering of the world’s best thinkers. Writers, designers, engineers, environmentalists, businessmen, programmers, etc. all gather for an intense few days, with the goal of sharing ideas and forming unusual or unexpected connections.

I have been making my way through this year’s speakers (TED Talks), and stumbled upon the speech above. David Merrill speaks about the convergence of great UI design and technology, and how it lead to the creation of Siftables.

Siftables are the educational toys for a new generation. They combine todays’ digital interactive tools with a classic children’s toy: blocks. This allows people to interact with a dynamic and sophisticated software program in a more natural and analog way.

One of the more simple examples David shows is a color mixing application. Basically each block represents a different color and you can mix the various colors and see what they blend into. The part where it gets cool is how you do this. By moving two blocks close to one another, then tilting one towards the other, you begin to “pour” paint into the other block. Tilt the other block and you pour some back. The display on the block changes color while you pour.

This incredibly simple interaction is what makes Siftables so intriguing.