Xavi Benavides, Paola Mariselli, Aiko Nakano, Ana Torres and Luke Vink

Abstract

Navigating through physical spaces and understanding the context of those spaces today is commonly done using GUI solutions that often distract us from the very world we are attempting to navigate through. While the GUI is powerful, it requires our focused attention and is commonly a cause for inefficiency making interactions more complex than its far more established tangible alternatives. In this paper, we will discuss the Traveller and the Inhabitor as a means to understand the context and people involved in navigating between physical spaces and identifying contexts where digital information could be of great use although conventional GUI or signage based approaches would be inadequate or distracting. We will discuss two projects in the context of hospitals and automobiles to justify the use of tangible interfaces as a means to navigate between physical spaces without collisions, interruptions, or confusion. 

Prototypes

Process

Tarz

The first prototype is called TARZ and it is a door handle with three actuated components.  We also have developed the software needed to create animation according to different sensors. We used ABSplus material to 3D print the door handle. All the system relays on an Arduino processor that create different shapes. It is actuated with three Hitec HS-5585MH servomotor and is connected to a laptop that receive the information from the sensors, and display the different animations in the door handle.

Case

The second prototype is a pneumatic handle called CASE. It has different patterns that are shown when  its inflated. CASE was created as a flexible composite material of three layers: two latex rubber sheets are adhered to a middle layer of mylar with a strong bonding adhesive. The mylar was laser-cut to allow the creation of air-pockets that can be easily inflatable. Inflation was done with a 12V vacuum pump connected with flexible tubing to the open end of the pattern. We created two variants of the pattern of air-pockets . The first consisted of a series of alternating thick and thin bars that create a wave motion on the palm of the hand gripping the material. The second pattern consisted of parallel diagonal lines leaning towards the left or right, depending on their placement to the respective side of a bicycle handle.

Supporting Materials

• Presentation [252mb]
• Presentation PDF [44mb]
• Report