Toward child-friendly output and fabrication devices: The StringPrinter and other possibilities

Abstract

Computer-controlled fabrication - the design and printing of tangible, physical objects - has seen an explosion of interest and excitement in the past several years. Three-dimensional printers, laser cutters, paper-cutting devices, computer-controlled sewing machines, milling machines, and the like have become increasingly affordable, and now permit users to create a remarkable range of physical objects in a wide array of materials. Strangely, however, this explosion has thus far largely ignored the remarkable potential of physical production and fabrication by children. This is a surprising oversight. After all, children's crafts - the landscape of activities and materials that have traditionally been associated with educational construction - represent fertile ground for experimentation with novel, innovative computer-controlled fabrication devices and materials. This chapter describes a number of imaginative possibilities for such devices, blending the most expressive and content-rich aspects of children's crafts with the powerful affordances of computer-controlled fabrication. As an example, we describe one home-grown prototype device, StringPrinter, designed for creating custom-decorated lengths of yarn and string for children's craft projects. StringPrinter is not the exclusive focus of this chapter, but rather an illustration of a more general idea: it represents one (still-early) step in a much broader research agenda of creating fabrication hardware, software, and web-based systems for use by children. We use this example as a foundation for exploring much broader questions in the enhancement of children's craft activities.