The Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction Conference is going on now at MIT in Cambridge, MA. Lucky for us, Form + Zweck is doing a wonderful job live blogging it, with constant reports on the best new projects and papers (check out the digital slingshot above) in tangible interactions and interfaces, complete with video.

If you're keen on watching the rest of the conference, TEI is streaming live here. Today is the last day, but you can still catch Paper Session 4: Materials, Garments, and Light, Paper Session 5: Learning through Physical Interaction, a Panel Discussion on "Art Science," and closing keynote by artist Vik Munoz. Or, just follow along on Flickr.

A few of our favorites from the Form + Zweck blog follow:

Jamming Gear, by So Kanno from the IAMAS Ubiquitous Interaction Research Group, is a physical tool for composing and modifying music, based on a geared system that influences rhythm and synchronization. One gear revolution equals one loop of its sound. Pieces can be added or subtracted to change the overall composition. Form + Zweck make the point that the changes to pitch and tempo are controlled by an "ordinary" switch in the center of each wheel instead of using other gear metaphors.

Flexi Knobs, by Michael Hlatky and Krisitan Gohlke of Bremen's Audio Cluster, are a combination of audio dials and computer mice, devised as an intuitive way to control GUI MIDI interfaces. Each knob is represented by a circular on-screen cursor in a corresponding color. When the cursor is moused over one of the software's "knobs" it locks in, and allows it to be adjusted physically. The user is then free to create their own working layout on a tabletop, as pointed out by Form + Zweck.

Karl D.D. Willis from the Japanese Interface Design Group, presented Spatial Sketch, a new and improved version of Front Design's Sketch furniture project from 2006, uses a two piece Ninendo Wiimote array to locate an LED attached to a penlike device. The result is 3D sketching without a complex motion capture setup, and more rigorous analysis of the sketch itself. For example. the software is also capable of processing the three dimensional drawings into a series of 2D slices so that it can be fabricated from sheet goods. Get the entire paper here.

Thanks, Brian!