Democratizing Tangible Bits is an open, low-cost toolkit that brings the logic of MIT Media Lab’s Tangible Bits to everyday phones and tablets. Instead of custom tables and projectors, it uses simple, off-the-shelf materials—plastic caps, metal tapes, and conductive rubbers pieces—that anyone can assemble into physical knobs, sliders, and tokens. Open-source code lets users map these DIY controls to simulations, games, and design tools, turning consumer touchscreens into a shareable platform for tangible interaction experiments.
The placement of three conductive rubber points not only defines the knob’s orientation, but the triangle they form can also assign a distinct role to each knob.
By simply attaching metal tape and conductive rubber to any object—like a plastic bottle cap—you can turn it into a Tangible Bits–style knob. All materials are readily available at stores like Home Depot.
