Tek-Jin Nam

Inflatable mouse: volume-adjustable mouse with air-pressure-sensitive input and haptic feedback

Inflatable Mouse is a volume-adjustable user interface. It can be inflated up to the volume of a familiar mouse, but be deflated and stored flat in a PC card slot of a laptop computer when not in use. Inflatable Mouse functions just like a typical mouse; moreover, it provides new interaction techniques by sensing the air pressure in the balloon of the mouse. It also addresses some issues associated with pressure-sensing interactions such as the lack of bi-directional input and the lack of effective feedback. Moreover, it can be used as both a control tool and a display tool. In this paper, the design of an Inflatable Mouse prototype is described and potential application scenarios such as zooming in/out and fast scrolling using pressure control are explained. We also discuss the potential use of Inflatable Mouse as an emotional communication tool.

Sketch-based rapid prototyping platform for hardware-software integrated interactive products

This paper presents a platform in which interaction designers can effectively and rapidly develop tangible interactive prototypes by sketching. The study aims to build a platform that plays the role of sketching in the hardware-software integrated interactive product design process. The platform consists of three components: a sketch based interactive concept exploration software application called STCtools, a set of physical user interface(PUI) widgets with a key converter and a video projection based Augmented Reality desk (ARdesk). For prototyping, a designer creates hardware and software sketches with pen based computers using STCtools. Sketches of hardware and software are drawn in a client device and composed in an electronic whiteboard, which is the server device. PUI widgets can be physically attached on a foam mockup or on a screen of the client device. The hardware-software integrated simulations are conducted on ARdesk. The sketch simulation is captured and projected onto a paper marker created with invisible infra-red ink.

Integrating hardware and software: augmented reality based prototyping method for digital products

For digital products, the relationship between the hardware and the software is important but their integration is largely achieved in the later phase of the design process. This paper presents new prototyping methods that allow digital product designers to effectively integrate the hardware and the software of the products from the early phase of the design process. The integration is accomplished by accurately overlaying a virtual display onto a quickly made functional hardware prototype using two augmented reality techniques; 1) using a video see through HMD and 2) using video projection. The results of the preliminary evaluation suggest that the early integrated prototypes are effective for design development and user studies.

CheekTouch: an affective interaction technique while speaking on the mobile phone

We present a new affective interaction technique, called CheekTouch, by combining tactile feedback, delivered through the cheek, and multi-finger input, while speaking on the mobile phone. We designed a prototype by using a multi-touch mobile device and a 4x3 vibrotactile display device. We identified six affective touch behaviors (pinching, stroking, patting, slapping, kissing and tickling) that can be exchanged through one anothers cheeks while speaking on the phone. We mapped the affective touch behaviors on tactile feedback expressions of the vibrotactile display. Results of a preliminary user study suggest that our technique is positively evaluated by the participants and applicable to intimate and emotional communication.

Wrigglo: shape-changing peripheral for interpersonal mobile communication

We introduce Wrigglo, a shape-changing smart phone peripheral that allows pairs of users to share wriggling movements with one another. Attached to a smart phone, Wrigglo captures the senders motions and activates the receivers Wrigglo which repeats the motion simultaneously. The result of our in-lab use observation with twelve couples showed that Wrigglo supported emotional and functional roles of body gestures and postures, creating vocabularies related to the motion of specific body parts and, to some extent, reflected the connected users presence through the devices movement. Through its peripheral anthropomorphization, Wrigglo can deliver new forms of telepresence by embodied posturing and gesturing in mobile communication.

How do couples use CheekTouch over phone calls

In this paper we introduce CheekTouch, an affective audio-tactile communication technique that transmits multi-finger touch gestures applied on a senders mobile phone to a receivers cheek in real time during a call. We made a pair of CheekTouch prototypes each with a multi-touch screen and vibrotactile display to enable bidirectional touch delivery. We observed four romantic couples in their twenties using our prototype system in a lab setting over five consecutive days, and analyzed how CheekTouch affected their non-verbal and emotional communication. The results of the user study showed that CheekTouch could effectively support audio-tactile communication in various ways - persuading, conveying status, delivering information, emphasizing emotion/words, calling for attention, and being playful.

The Trial of Bendi in a Coffeehouse: Use of a Shape-Changing Device for a Tactile-Visual Phone Conversation

We present Bendi, a shape-changing device for a tactile-visual phone conversation. Bendi enables users to deliver shape-changing movements (e.g., upward or downward bending, left or right tilting, and shrinking) from the users joystick input to the other partys device in real time during phone conversations. We conducted a user study to observe how seven couples used it over three days in a coffeehouse. Our field trial of Bendi in a coffeehouse showed the private and natural uses, and integrated uses of tactile and visual expressions along with the uses of the vocabularies developed through Bendi. In addition, there were active uses even in negative and serious conversational context with its pleasant tactile feelings and movement representations. Lastly, we discuss issues for the future designs and real-world deployment of shape-changing mobile devices for daily use.

Patina Engraver: Visualizing Activity Logs as Patina in Fashionable Trackers

Despite technological improvements in commercial activity trackers, little attention has been given to their emotional, social, or fashion-related qualities, such as their visual aesthetics and their relationship to self-expression and social connection. As an alternative integrated approach incorporating HCI, fashion, and product design, our project made use of the characteristics of patina to improve activity trackers as fashionable wearables. We developed the Patina Engraving System, which engraves patina-like patterns on an activity tracker according to a users activity logs. Using a piercing technique, the patina of activity logs has been made abstract, visually rich, gradually emerging, and historically accumulated. During the field trial, we found that the patina motivated the participants to increase exercises for engraving aesthetic patinas. A tracker with patina triggered spontaneous social interactions in face-to-face situations. The participants also cherished the trackers that held their own history. Based on the field trial, we discuss design implications for utilizing patina in designing future fashionable technologies.

BreathingFrame: An Inflatable Frame for Remote Breath Signal Sharing

We present BreathingFrame, a breath signal sharing device that supports pairwise remote communication through delivering the physical inflating movement of the other partys breathing on the surface of a digital photo frame. The results of our observational study with eight couples showed that participants could associate the other party on the frame, feel sentimental connectedness and the breathing movement from the other party, and stimulate their curiosity in a positive way. We also found that it was effective for conveying affection and making users to do natural abdominal breathing through intentional breath signal delivery. Allowing the users to share breathing at a distance by applying unconscious but partially controllable breath signals on the digital picture frame which is used in everyday lives, BreathingFrame can deliver new forms of telepresence and support emotional communication.

The ténéré: design for supporting energy conservation behaviors

We present the Ténéré, electric power extension cords, designed to support peoples energy conservation behaviors. The focus of design solutions was to provide appropriate energy awareness information in meaningful and emotional ways while products are being used. A narrative of tree was used to indicate energy use. The Tree of Tenere was the most isolated tree in the world. The tree is dead now and replace by a tree-like sculpture. It symbolizes the environmental consequences of human activity. When users overuse electricity, the graphics of the tree is transformed to the sculpture. This interactive graphics on the product encourages sustainable behaviors. Users are expected to be impressed and change their energy behaviors. Also we verified narrative-embedding approach is considerable method for industrial design field.