James Pattern is an MIT student working on physical object interfaces to computers. There is a small QuickTime video on the site that shows some of his current work.
Overall his studies look interesting, but they seem specifically aimed at CAD, CAM, design, and modeling. Why? Because the data entry technique most commonly employed by computer users (aka: the keyboard) is almost perfectly suited for human beings. Humans have 10 fingers, but only 2 hands. Thats why you will find that programmers almost universally prefer a good keyboard (with shortcuts for everything) to a mouse.
How many of you remember the UI from Minority Report. Sure it was cool, but it was almost worthless from a user interface standpoint. To access and search data you had to do full body movements that were a cross between a traffic officer and an aerobics instructor. You even had to put on gloves to use the system… real user friendly.