3D Microscopic Texture Interface in CAD: Cultivating Material Knowledge for the Practiced Digital Hand

This thesis investigates the feasibility of incorporating 3D textures in design via the development of a prototype texture scanning device that allows real time sampling of physical material textures at a microscopic scale. Drawing from the state-of-the-art methods in computer vision, computer graphics, and electrical engineering, it describes the implementation of a low-cost, portable, open-source prototype texture scanning device. It presents the performance of the device through a technical examination of scanned outputs and a human-centered exploration of design opportunities with three expert cases. Finally, it shows the opportunities to augment design processes and to reintroduce material sensibility training, similar to that of the Bauhaus sensory training, through 3D sampling of real texture at a microscale.