Paper Reading #9:Imaginary Interfaces: Spatial Interaction with Empty Hands and without Visual Feedback

Commentary

See what I have to say about ___'s and ___'s work.

References

Gustafson, S., Bierwirth, D., and Baudisch, P. (2010). Imaginary interfaces: spatial interaction with empty hands and without visual feedback. Proceeding of the Acm conference on user interface software and technology. New York: http://www.acm.org/uist/uist2010/.

Article Summary

In this article, a system called Imaginary Interface is described. It focuses on screen-less wearable devices, presents the setup and results of a user study conducted by the researchers, and details a mock up of such a device. The idea behind this interface is to have the user create a "screen context," in which they operate as if they were using a device providing spatial feedback:

Image courtesy of the above referenced article.

All of the spatial information is contained in the user's mind, however; all interaction is done relative to the user's frame of reference. Three user studies were conducted: the user drew commons shapes and letters multiple times, and the variation between consecutive drawings was analyzed; the user drew an image and then was required to identify a specific point on that image, both with and without changing their frame of reference, i.e. standing still or turning, respectively; and the user identified a point in a coordinate system, the units of which were in lengths of digits, i.e. (2,1) referred to two thumbs right and one finger up. The results were very interesting, casting this type of device as something that could be practically realized. Finally, the researchers proposed a possible design for the device, which works by illuminating the user's hands with infrared light, applying a luminance threshold, and discerning the structures that comprise the imaginary interface:

Image courtesy of the above referenced article.

Discussion

First of all, to say nothing of the subject of the paper itself, this was the most straightforward research I have yet encountered. The concept of the device was clearly laid out, motivation and previous work was well-presented, and the results of the user studies were very accessible. That being said, I want one. I am fascinated by the concept of wearable computing, and this just takes it one step further. I honestly believe that so many awkward interactions could be alleviated through the use of something like this, e.g. you're on the phone and you just cannot express some simple concept or idea, and if only you were able to just draw a simple diagram, or had a little whiteboard... I really like this concept. I think they did a great job at coming up with tangible results from creating a frame of reference to come back to without having to be in the same visual context, i.e. you can pull up your frame of reference anywhere you want by just popping up your thumb and forefinger. Great work :)