Towards More Paper-like Input: Flexible Input Devices for Foldable Interaction Styles

Comments

Kerry

Summary

In Towards More Paper-like Input: Flexible Input Devices for Foldable Interaction Styles, the researchers (from Queen's University) present a new form of input with foldable interactive sheets in which the user deforms the sheet to produce input to a device. Deformability of the interactive sheet can directly mirror the actions available on the interface, and mimics the physics of real sheets of paper. This Foldable Input Device (FID) looks and behaves like a a mouse pad, and consists of cheap sheets of cardstack and paper with IR retro-reflectors, tracked through an IR webcam. The computer that is connected to the sensor camera is equipped with C++ and OpenGL so that the deformations of the FID can relate to real-time graphics manipulations on the computer.

Interactions with the FID include swiping your thumb across the device, scooping, folding down the top corner, folding down the middle, squeezing, shaking, or leafing (like leafing through the pages of a book). These are shown in the picture below:

The applications for this type of input system are very great. You could navigate around a desktop by sliding the FID around on a table, selecting items by hovering over them then making a scooping motion with the sheet, leafing to browse through a list of items, shaking to re-sort a list, or zooming in and out by bringing the FID closer to or farther from a display. On the screen, there is a graphic (transparent) that hovers over the application, and represents the current shape and size of the FID so that the user can see what their actions do in relation to the application.

Discussion

This interface seems to follow the endless list of new input devices that completely rethink the way we interface with computers and devices. The problem is that I fail to see how easy or intuitive it would be to move a sheet of paper around and use it to select things on the screen, when I can just as easily use a mouse to select an area. The main problem with these new devices is that the general public must learn to not rely on physical feedback (such as physical clicks and the noise associated), and learn to use these other devices. I know that touch-screen interfaces are probably the future of computer interaction, but as of right now, I do not find it intuitive because I am not clicking and using a physical device. It will take some getting used to if we move all interaction to touch-screen.