iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Héliographe @heliographe.studio · 26/09/2026

Reposted by grant

I spent the summer prototyping a device that projects information and imbues computing into the real world, I call it the Lightbulb Computer. Full write up and demos at lightbulbcomputer.com Or on YouTube: youtu.be/0R-9qkjPEqg

lightbulbcomputer.com

The Lightbulb Computer — Reimagining Spatial & Ambient Computing with Projectors

A new direction for computing: projecting information into the real world to augment it, with a device that combines a projector and computer vision in the shape of a large lightbulb.

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grant @grantcuster.com · 26/09/2026

I think the dream would be to have it be configurable somewhere on the canvas. So you could customize actionss and order, maybe patch in your own. But there's some nuances to the state there - like some actions may not be available for certain card types... so mostly punting for now.

grant @grantcuster.com · 26/09/2026

Thanks! Yes tool palette very much a work-in-progress. A few always-available modes in the bottom row and then contextual for selections. Basically context menus. It's very tempting to add more options so trying to limit myself to 9 for now, and not get too caught up in it until more settles.

grant @grantcuster.com · 25/09/2026

Experimenting with pinned cards and frames on the tabletop;

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grant @grantcuster.com · 25/09/2026

New tabletop recording setup:

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grant @grantcuster.com · 22/09/2026

ooo this has been on my list

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grant @grantcuster.com · 18/09/2026

Thinking about tabletop frame and file mechanics: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqoa...

Tabletop: frame and file mechanics

YouTube video by Grant Custer

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grant @grantcuster.com · 16/09/2026

I can post a blue sky from the tabletop now using a frame.

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grant @grantcuster.com · 15/09/2026

Enjoyed this history of Zoomable User Interfaces/Infinite Canvases from Interface Studies. It suggests success of Figma versus earlier system interfaces is that the user populates the space themselves (vs the system determining the layout. Better for orienting. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OESX...

The Curious Case of Zoomable User Interfaces and AI

YouTube video by Interface Studies

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grant @grantcuster.com · 14/09/2026

i also liked that your switch to send to the thermal printer is a little flip book mechanism @danielpipk.in

grant @grantcuster.com · 14/09/2026

Enjoyed the Folk.computer and Interface Studies conversation! - rationale for focusing on object (vs gesture) tracking was interesting - liked the comment about the difference between being focused on physical space vs being pulled into virtual space www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXHH...

Conversations 01: Physical Computing with Omar Rizwan & Daniel Pipkin from Folk.computer

YouTube video by Interface Studies

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grant @grantcuster.com · 14/09/2026

Wrote about an Eno quote from How Buildings Learn. Thinking about how the gradient of constraints in a space give you an entry point into its story. feed.grantcuster.com/post/2026-09...

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maybe there will be a place it will make sense to layer keypads back in along with the touch. the dictation/type/freewrite options are definitely a little awkward so far.

yes! i am kind of a recovering custom keyboard person and i do use a macropad for some stuff. i'm thinking the benefit of the touch screen for buttons now (despite not being near as satisfying to tap) is just that i can label them and shift positions across modes.

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yes! have recently been thinking about it related to musicianship - like playing a piano with chords and runs.

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grant @grantcuster.com · 11/09/2026

Experimenting with importing web pages and text files onto the canvas.

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Putting together frames and cards to preview and think through writing:

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grant @grantcuster.com · 11/09/2026

I think for tabletop one move I'm making is not going for full bidirectional editing for both touch and preview surfaces. Instead having the canvas be more of a 'control board' for the 'rendered' preview.

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grant @grantcuster.com · 11/09/2026

Catching up on videos/talks. I loved Patchwork-26 demos! Especially Orion's bidirectional projections, the spacetime video editor, and grjte's spatial computing setup. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UxG...

YouTube video by Ink & Switch

Introducing Patchwork-26

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Thinking about the asteroids tabletop, which was somewhat inexplicably at my orthodontist's growing up. Two player screen would be fun - though I think most practical would be each user gets their own screen but you can toss things across between them.

Also board.fun is an interesting thing to look at in this space (not DIY). I want to try something with 'magic' objects on the touch screen at some point (though with my frame i think would just do it by 'fingerprinting' the object's touch points).

and thanks it's great to know this is resonating! that Bigger Book looks awesome. I came across Media Molecule a little bit ago through guests appearing on Wookash podcast and watched some interviews/gameplay - seems like you all did inspiring/unconventional work!

ok yea IR touch screen is the same as what i have - probably talk to them before you order but that might be a good way to get into it - I'm sure they've worked through a bunch of the kinks.

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Working through creation and deletion on the tabletop. Two-finger tap feels a little more reliable than double-tap, and paint-select feels great.

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yes! they are the other big use case i've looked at a bit - probably a lot to learn there in terms of what to layer on top of the tv. i think usually they don't have touch but the touch frame can work on top of whatever...

i also ended up getting a 'screen protector' that helps with glare and makes the screen less sticky to touch. but i'm also not sure that was the best approach - maybe a sheet of acrylic would be better. I'm always looking at ordering kiosks now trying to figure out what they've one.

LG 50UL3J-M 50" UHD 4K Commercial Monitor

i think if i did it over i would just get a tv without a bezel that sticks out - i think it was just kind of bad luck of the one i went with - i think a commercial monitor would probably be great - might even have more rigidity www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/17...

bhphotovideo.com

Buy LG 50UL3J-M 50" UHD 4K Commercial Monitor featuring UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) Native Resolution, VA Direct-LED Panel, Crestron Connected Support, 3 x HDMI Inputs, 5000:1 Static Contrast Ratio, 400 nits...

yes would be interested to see what you come up with! touch frame is this www.walmart.com/ip/43-inch-u... (other sizes available and probably cheaper on aliexpress, no idea why walmart has the selection they do)

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yes i want to drill into that more - double tap can be weird on this bc it picks up touches a little above the surface, so if i'm not careful it doesn't register double consistently - might try 'two-finger' (within a certain threshold) as substitute

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one of these touch frames that i think are most often used for kiosks: www.walmart.com/ip/43-inch-u...

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