The Wise Chisel: The Rise of the Smart Handheld Tool

Abstract

Smart handheld tools epitomize a mythical and technological quest for personal mastery of skill, delivering both might and mind in the hands of their holders. A recent spur of academic and industrial efforts has given rise to a new field of research in HCI, one devoted to smart handheld tools. Here, the authors offer a definition for smart handheld tools, discuss the tools' origins and motivation, and present a survey of prominent work by themselves and others in disciplines such as fabrication, painting, printing, and maintenance. They also discuss their experiences operating in this new territory and conclude with a vision of a hybrid creative practice: smart handheld instruments that enable synergetic cooperation with human skill, personal style, and computational assistance that results in accuracy, guidance, and protection for users. This article is part of a special issue on printing and fabrication.