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Special Topics in Ubiquitous and Cognitive ComputingCSE5390 & 7390

Tangible User InterfacesEric C. Larson, Lyle School of Engineering,

Computer Science and Engineering, Southern Methodist University 11

class logistics• P1 Due this Friday by 5PM

• no class this Thursday!

• next up for lecture: Danh, Luke, Alex

• natural gestures

• how were flipped lecture videos last time?

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presenting discussion• I am sitting in the audience

• but I still start lecture…

• you summarize the points of the paper

• trade off as often as possible: don’t divide by section

• bring in your own stories

• use contemporary issues, examples

• open up debate

• less text >= lots of text

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presenting discussion• these papers are different: less vision; more building

• how does it fit into the vision of ubicomp?

• motivate the work like you wrote it (own the paper)

• explain what was built or evaluated (and if you liked it)

• is it good science or just a novel idea?

• what can we learn from it?

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UbiComp Visions• lots of talking thus far, no real apps - is this how you guys feel?

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say Weiser’s vision again!

agenda• tangible bits then and now (ish)

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tangible bits• Hiroshi Ishii, Associate Director of the MIT Media Lab

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the development of tangible interfaces requires the rigor of both scientific and artistic review

tangible bits• to make the digital bits of information tangible and graspable, physically-

embodied digital information in physical space

• 1997:

• computer beats chess world champion (at chess)

• steve jobs returns to apple

• end of oklahoma city bombing trial

• 2008:

• obama elected president

• heath ledger dies

• tornado in burma; earthquakes in china

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tangible bits

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tangible bits is about scientific art projectsconceived in such a way to be visionary

which lasts generations…

art and science

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tangible bits 1997• claim is that it is different than ubiquitous computing

• thesis: tangible interfaces afford more traditional interaction and are naturally ubiquitous

• ubicomp genre: interaction

• “Interactions between people and cyberspace are now largely confined to traditional GUI-based boxes sitting on desktops or laptops. The interactions with these GUIs are separated from the ordinary physical environment within which we live and interact.”

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TUI example 1: metaDESK

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TUI example 1: metaDESK

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what are tangible equivalents of other UI design elements?

modal image

list box

toggles

date/time picker

breadcrumbs

notifications

TUI example 2: ambientROOM

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• tangible gives better affordances

• when constant, we tune it out

• changes trigger attention

• would this be a better way to get notifications?

• TUI3: they also did transBOARD

• but it wasn’t all that compelling

TUI example 2: ambientROOM

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strengths / weaknesses

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• explored an unprecedented number of new interactions techniques

• extremely technical implementations without technical baggage

• but this also hides deficiency in the design

• how many people thought all these things were created and usable?

• visionary in that it codified a field of existing research and made it into a field of HCI

• created the field of tangible computing

• tangible UIs are limited in a way that pixels are not

tangible bits 2008• claim TUI are appropriate for many spaces, but not general

computing

• thesis: application space of TUIs is mature and we are ready to move to the next phase

• ubicomp genre: interaction and vision

• “Where the sea meets the land, life has blossomed into a myriad of unique forms in the turbulence of water, sand, and wind. At another seashore between the land of atoms and the sea of bits, we are now facing the challenge of reconciling our dual citizenships in the physical and digital worlds.”

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tangible bits 2008

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• TUI has many genres for applications:

• tangible telepresence

• kinetic memory

• constructive assembly

• tokens and constraints

• tabletop surfaces

• continuous plastic (deformable)

• augmented everyday objects

• ambient media

slides provided by Hiroshi Ishii

designing tangible bits

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• build on design through MVC

• defines how each element communicates

model

view

controller

controller has direct reference to view and model

view “targets” generic controller from actions

model “radios” to subscribers

designing tangible bits

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• build on design through MVC

• defines how each element communicates

digital information

tangible view

controller

info “radios” to subscribers

view “targets” generic controller from actions

controller has direct reference to view and model, interprets collisions

intangible viewvisual/force feedback

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tangible view

intangible view

design gets complicated quickly

properties of a tangible view

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• often NOT visual changes that get conveyed

• weight

• size

• temperature

• texture

• springy-ness

• sound

• shadow

tangible view

excellent affordances:

plus the tactile

representation in our brain!

an example of tangible

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vision should not be ignored

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Through the design of a variety of TUIs, however, we have learned that TUIs are limited by the rigidity

of “atoms” in comparison with the fluidity of “bits”.

TUIs have limited ability to change the form or properties of physical objects in real time. This constraint can make the physical state of TUIs inconsistent with the underlying digital models.

the elephant in the room

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a vision for 100 years

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a vision for 100 years

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a vision for 100 years

for next class...• Thursday: no class!

• Tuesday: first student lead discussion

• natural user interfaces

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Special Topics in Ubiquitous and Cognitive ComputingCSE5390 & 7390

Tangible User InterfacesEric C. Larson, Lyle School of Engineering,

Computer Science and Engineering, Southern Methodist University 3131

phantom haptics: leveraging the digital

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• thesis: richer haptic output can be achieved

• ubicomp genre: interaction

• problem: creating phantom sensations from a vibration array

phantom haptics: technique

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phantom haptics: evaluation

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• four users

• various continuous motions

• “clarity” of creeping effect was then evaluated

strengths and weaknesses

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• work in progress

• weak user study

• interesting idea, with good motivation

• no control case

• limited to entertainment

• only on back!

more tangible bits

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