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Project

Tangible Query Interfaces

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This project is developing new tools for querying databases through the manipulation of physical objects. Our approach should allow multiple scientists, managers, or other groups of people to navigate, view, and discuss database contents collaboratively. We embody parameterized SQL queries as physical tokens. These tokens are manipulated, interpreted, and graphically augmented on a series of sliding racks. We map physical token sliders to parameter range selections; token adjacencies to Boolean AND/OR operations; and multiple racks to parenthetical groupings. The interface should support querying to a wide range of relational databases; initial target domains include product databases, media databases, network management, and bioinformatics.