Hybrid re.Assemblage Bridging Traditional Craft and Digital Design Amit Zoran Submitted
to
the
Program
of
Media
Arts
and
Sciences,
School
of
Architecture
and
Planning,

 in
partial
fulfillment
of
the
requirement
for
the
degree
of
Doctor
of
Philosophy
at
the
 Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology.
 September
2013
 
 ©
2013
Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology.
All
Rights
Reserved.
 
 
 
 
 
 Author
 Program
in
Media
Arts
and
Sciences
 August
2013
 
 
 Certified
by
 Joseph
A.
Paradiso

 Associate
Professor
of
Media
Arts
and
Sciences
 Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology
 
 
 Accepted
by
 Patricia
Maes
 Alexander
W.
Dreyfoos
(1954)
Professor

 Associate
Academic
Head,
Program
in
Media
Arts
and
Sciences
 Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology 2 Hybrid re.Assemblage Bridging Traditional Craft and Digital Design Amit Zoran Submitted
to
the
Program
of
Media
Arts
and
Sciences,
School
of
Architecture
and
Planning,

 in
partial
fulfillment
of
the
requirement
for
the
degree
of
Doctor
of
Philosophy
at
the
 Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology,
on
August
9,
2013.
 
 
 
 Abstract Hybrid
reAssemblage
is
a
design
gestalt
that
lies
at
the
cross‐section
of
digital
design
 practice
and
the
tactile
qualities
of
traditional
craft.
It
spans
a
territory
in
which
the
 value
 of
 artifacts
 is
 produced
 through
 automated
 production
 as
 well
 as
 human
 subjectivity.
This
work
is
an
exploration
of
two
divergent
realms:
that
of
emerging
 computational
technologies,
and
traditional
hand‐hewn
practice.
Hybrid
reAssemblage
 proposes
 a
 new
 way
 of
 thinking
 about
 the
 machine,
 as
 generator
 of
 control
 and
 efficiency,
and
the
unpredictable
and
singular
nature
of
the
raw
and
the
manual.
I
 illustrate
Hybrid
reAssemblage
through
three
diverse
projects:
 FreeD
 is
 a
 digital
 handheld
 milling
 device
 for
 carving,
 guided
 and
 monitored
 by
 a
 computer
 while
 preserving
 the
 maker’s
 freedom
 to
 manipulate
 the
 work
 in
 many
 creative
ways.
It
reintroduces
craft
techniques
to
digital
fabrication,
proposing
a
hybrid
 human‐computer
interaction
experience.
In
addition
to
the
technology,
I
present
a
user
 study,
demonstrating
how
FreeD
enables
personalization
and
expression
as
an
inherent
 part
of
the
fabrication
process.
 Chameleon
Guitar
exploits
a
selection
of
acoustic
properties
via
a
set
of
replaceable
 resonators
 and
 by
 a
 simulated
 shape,
 merging
 real‐wood
 acoustic
 qualities
 with
 a
 simulated
 guitar
 body.
 It
 marries
 digital
 freedom
 with
 the
 uniqueness
 of
 acoustic
 instruments,
 and
 demonstrates
 a
 hybrid
 functionality
 platform.
 Focusing
 on
 the
 production
 of
 sonic
 qualities,
 this
 project
 is
 evaluated
 acoustically,
 pointing
 to
 the
 significance
of
attention
to
detail
such
as
craft
and
wood
qualities.
 
 3 Finally,
Fused
Crafts
is
a
collection
of
artifacts
that
are
part
handcrafted
and
part
3D
 printed,
visually
demonstrating
the
potential
of
combining
these
practices
to
create
 hybrid
 aesthetics.

 I
 illustrate
 this
 visual
 concept
 with
 two
 examples:
 intentionally
 broken
ceramic
artifacts
with
3D
printed
restoration,
and
3D
printed
structure
that
is
 designed
to
allow
the
application
of
hand‐woven
patterns.
This
project
is
a
search
for
an
 approach
where
both
technologies
can
benefit
from
each
other
aesthetically,
enriching
 the
final
product
with
new
qualities.
 This
dissertation
begins
with
a
contextual
background,
leading
to
the
presentation
of
 the
projects.
In
the
last
part,
I
evaluate
the
work
through
feedback
received
from
a
 panel
of
design,
craft,
and
HCI
experts.
 

 Thesis
Supervisor:
Joseph
Paradiso,
Associate
Professor
of
Media
Arts
and
Sciences,
 Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 Hybrid re.Assemblage Bridging Traditional Craft and Digital Design Amit Zoran 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dissertation
reader:



 Leah
Buechley
 Associate
Professor
of
Media
Arts
and
Sciences,

 Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology
 
 
 
 
 
 Dissertation
reader:



 Sherry
Turkle

 Abby
Rockefeller
Mauze
Professor
of
the
Social
Studies
of
Science,


 Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology
 
 
 
 
 
 5 6 Acknowledgments This
dissertation
required
a
great
deal
of
searching,
designing,
building,
testing
and
 writing;
it
could
not
have
happened
without
the
support,
friendship
and
help
of
many
 people.
Above
all,
this
work
also
belongs
to
my
wife
Tamar
Rucham,
who
shaped
the
 ideas
and
influenced
the
process
at
every
step
of
the
work.
I
could
not
have
done
this
 work
without
her,
and
without
my
family
at
home:
mom,
dad,
Liati,
Gili,
Uri,
Roti,
and
 Uzi.
My
10
month
old
baby‐girl
Inbar,
had
a
mysterious
impact
on
the
work
that
may
 never
be
truly
understood.

 I
would
like
to
thank
my
committee,
Joe
Paradiso,
Sherry
Turkle,
and
Leah
Buechley,
 and
to
all
the
scholars
who
supported
this
work
with
their
feedback
(Gail
Wight,
Stuart
 Kestenbaum,
Glenn
Adamson,
and
Mark
D.
Gross).
I
would
like
to
thank
Pattie
Maes
for
 her
support
during
the
last
several
years.
I
thank
Hiroshi
Ishii,
Ofer
Bar‐Yosef,
Michael
 Bove,
Mitchel
Resnick,
Azra
Aksamija,
and
Joi
Ito
for
their
advice
and
help.
A
special
 place
is
saved
for
Bill
Mitchell,
who
sadly
left
us
three
years
ago.
I
will
always
remember
 him
and
be
grateful
for
his
wisdom
and
kindness.
We
miss
you
Bill.

 Many
thanks
to
my
colleagues
and
friends
who
supported
and
helped
me
so
much
 during
the
last
six
years.
Thanks
to
Nan‐Wei
Gong,
Eli
Cook,
Roy
Shikrot,
Yonatan
 Friedman,
Jennifer
Jacobs,
Liraz
Greenfeld,
Marco
Coppiardi,
David
Mellis,
Inbal
Prion,
 Yadid
 and
 Ifaat
 Ayzenberg,
 Konstantin
 Mitgutsch,
 Susanne
 Seitinger,
 Jie
 Qi,
 Peter
 Schmidt,
Nicholas
Gillian,
Marcelo
Coehlo,
Pranav
Mistry,
Jean‐Baptiste
Labrune,
Nan
 Zhao,
Dana
Gordon,
David
Merrill,
Anette
von
Kapri,
Casandra.
Xia,
Kelly
Ran,
Gershon
 Dublon,
 Doug
 Fritz,
 Nadav
 Aharony,
 Sajid
 Sadi,
 Adam
 Kumpf,
 Cati
 Vaucelle,
 Mark
 Feldmeier,
Brain
Mayton,
and
 Guy
Hoffman.
Thanks
to
Meir
Rivkin
for
being
Meir
 Rivkin.
 MIT
Writing
Center
helped
to
make
this
work
readable,
and
special
thanks
to
Marilyn
 Levine
for
her
infinite
support.
Thanks
to
John
Difrancesco,
Martin
Seymour,
and
Tom
 Lutz
for
their
assistance
in
the
Media‐Lab
shop.
Thanks
to
Steve
Otis,
David
Reed,
Geoff
 Wilson,
 and
 Robert
 Swartz
 who
 helped
 prepare
 patent
 applications.
 Thanks
 to
 
 7 Alexandra
 Kahn,
 Jeannie
 Finks,
 Jen
 Hirsch,
 Ellen
 Hoffman,
 Paula
 Aguilera,
 David
 Chandler,
Janine
Liberty
and
Stacie
Slotnick
who
helped
to
bring
my
projects
to
the
 public.
Thanks
to
Taya
Leary,
Cynthia
Wilkes,
Linda
Peterson,
and
Amna
Carreiro
for
 their
administrative
help.

 In
addition
to
all
the
people
mentioned
above,
for
each
project
I
received
valuable
help
 and
advice
from
many
people.
For
the
FreeD
project,
thanks
to
Andy
Payne,
Arthur
 Petron,
 Jonathan
 Ward,
 Yaniv
 Sterman,
 Juergen
 Steimle,
 Fredo
 Durand,
 Suranga
 Nanayakkara,
and
Kian
Peen
Yeo.
 For
the
Chameleon
Guitar
project,
I
would
like
to
thank
Nick
Makris,
Hadi
Tavakoli
Nia,
 Shawn
Burke,
Ken
Parker,
Jasmine
Florentine,
Melodie
Kao,
Aridne
Smith,
Pual
Crowley,
 and
Kristin
C.
Hall
who
supported
and
helped
during
the
process.
Thanks
to
Webb
 Chappell
for
the
great
photos.
I
would
also
like
to
thank
all
the
instrument‐makers
who
 gave
me
advice
and
shared
their
experience:
Steve
Spodaryk,
John
Svizzero,
Jeb
Hooker,
 Alan
Carruth,
DJ
Parsons,
Donald
Lambe,
Thomas
Knatt,
Daniel
Wangerin,
Kevin
Kelly,
 Aaron
Green,
and
TJ
Thompson.
I
would
like
to
thank
the
old
friends
from
Neocraft,
 especially
Person,
Kobaishi,
Shahaf,
Noam,
and
Itamar
who
showed
me
it
is
possible
to
 combine
music,
technology,
and
fun
with
work.

 For
the
Fused
Craft
project,
I
especially
thank
Darrell
Finnegan
and
friends
in
the
MIT
 ceramics
studio
and
the
Student
Art
Association
(SAA),
who
shared
their
knowledge
 and
assistance.
I
would
like
to
acknowledge
Dena
Molnar,
and
to
specially
thank
to
 Thitaku
Kushonya,
who
shared
her
knowledge
and
opened
a
door
to
the
world
of
 basketry.
This
work
was
funded
in
part
by
the
Council
for
the
Arts
at
MIT
and
Objet
 Geometries,
Inc.,
and
could
not
have
happened
without
them.
The
Hybrid
Ceramics
 project
is
dedicated
to
the
in
memory
of
Bill
Mitchell,
who
was
my
advisor
when
this
 project
began
to
evolve,
and
Avihai
Haklay,
my
cousin,
who
crafted
the
original
bowl
 featured
in
Chapter
4.
 Finally,
I
would
like
to
deeply
thank
all
the
craftspersons
I
met
in
the
last
several
years,
 who
shared
their
work,
experience
and
knowledge.
And
for
my
other
friends,
if
I
forgot
 someone,
please
forgive
me
.
 
 8 Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction ….….…………………….…………………….13 All Things are Imperfect …………..…….……….…………………...….…14 The Digital and the Predictable ……………………………………….….16 Phenomenological Context …………………………………………...….18 Building a Bridge: Hybrid reAssemblage …………………………….… 20 References for Chapter 1…………………………………………….……. 21 Chapter 2 - Hybrid Interaction: FreeD …….…………………………. 23 Introduction …………..…….………………………...………….….….…… 24 Related Work …………..…….………………….….………………….....… 26 Digital Practice and Traditional Carving ………………………….…… 27 Design and Technology……………………………………………....…… 29 Operation and Interaction ………………………………………….….… 32 Performance and Exploration …………………………………………… 38 User Study…………………………………………………………………..… 40 Summary………………………………………………………………….…… 61 References for Chapter 2 …….……………………………….……………61 Chapter 3 - Hybrid Functionality: Chameleon Guitar …………..… 65 Introduction …………..…….………………………………………….….… 66 Background and Related Work………………………...…….…….……. 68 Design and Technology……..….………………………….…………..….. 72 Resonator’s Design and Evaluation…………………………….……..… 81 Summery and Conclusion …………………………………….…..……… 90 References for Chapter 3 ………………………………….….………..… 92 Chapter 4 - Hybrid Aesthetics: Fused Craft ……………….………… 95 The Phoenix Rising ………………..…….………………………………...… 96 Hybrid Ceramics ………………..…….………………………...………….. 98 Hybrid Basketry ………………..…….………………………………….…..108 Summary………………..…….………………………………………………115 References for Chapter 4 ……………..……………………….……...….116 Chapter 5 - Summary and Conclusions ……………….…...……… 119 Transitions and Contrasts ……………..…….……………….………..…..120 Comments by Panel of Experts ………………………….....….…..…….121 Closing Notes ……………..………………………………………..…….….126 References for Chapter 5 ………………………………..……..……..….127 
 9 10