This shift also redirected attention from what happens after experience becomes data toward what happens during its . This became particularly tangible through experiments with physical computing: interactive systems in which computation senses conditions in the physical world and produces physical responses through sensors, software and electronic outputs.
A simple comparison with conventional computer interaction helps clarify this. When I move a computer mouse, a physical action produces a response on a digital screen: the cursor moves. In physical computing, the response can return to the physical environment itself. A sensor might detect a person entering a room and send that information to a computer. The software processes it according to a programmed rule—for instance, if someone enters, turn on the light. The light turning on is the physical response.
In simplified terms:
physical action → sensing → computation → physical response
Making things complicated that distinction.
A lettering guide changes how my hand moves. A sensor turns someone crossing a doorway into a signal. Software turns that signal into information and decides what should happen next. A motor can then move a curtain, changing the space around the same body that triggered the system.
For someone unfamiliar with physical computing, the mechanism can be very simple. Imagine entering a room: a sensor notices your movement and sends a signal to a computer. The software follows a rule: if something moves, turn on the light. The light comes on. A physical action has travelled through computation and returned as another physical event.