Tangible Tabletop Shows Three-Dimensional Geographical Landscapes

A group of students from MIT's Tangible Media Group has come up with a tabletop display that can show terrains on a flexible surface in 3D.

The invention of Daniel Leithinger, Adam Kumpf and Hiroshi Ishii features a series of 120 motorized pins covered by a piece of fabrics extended from one side of the tabletop to another. The system can be used to display three-dimensional models of different geographical terrains.

The system is controlled by open source hardware and software, informs Designboom. It would be interesting to mention that the tabletop can identify when a person pushes or pulls the rods.