Robert Xiao
Gierad Laput
Chris Harrison
ABSTRACT
Smartwatches promise to bring enhanced convenience to common communication, creation and information retrieval tasks. Due to their prominent placement on the wrist, they must be small and otherwise unobtrusive, which limits the sophistication of interactions we can perform. This problem is particularly acute if the smartwatch relies on a touchscreen for input, as the display is small and our fingers are relatively large. In this work, we propose a complementary input approach: using the watch face as a multi-degree-of-freedom, mechanical interface. We developed a proof of concept smartwatch that supports continuous 2D panning and twist, as well as binary tilt and click. To illustrate the potential of our approach, we developed a series of example applications, many of which are cumbersome -- or even impossible -- on today's smartwatch devices.
Supplemental Material
- Ashbrook, D., Lyons, K. and Starner, T. An investigation into round touchscreen wristwatch interaction. In Proc. of MobileHCI '08. 311--314. Google Scholar
Digital Library
- Baudisch, P. and Chu, G. Back-of-device interaction allows creating very small touch devices. In Proc. CHI '09. 1923--1932. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Blasko, G. and Feiner, S. An interaction system for watch computers using tactile guidance and bidirectional segmented strokes. In Proc. ISWC '04. 120--123. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Harrison, C. and Hudson, S. Abracadabra: wireless, high-precision, and unpowered finger input for very small mobile devices. In Proc. UIST '09. 121--124. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Harrison, C. and Hudson, S. Using shear as a supplemental two-dimensional input channel for rich touchscreen interaction. In Proc. CHI '12. 3149--3152. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Heo, S. and Lee, G. Force gestures: augmenting touch screen gestures with normal and tangential forces. In Proc. UIST '11. 621--626. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hinckley K. and Song, H. Sensor synaesthesia: touch in motion, and motion in touch. In Proc. CHI '11. 801--810. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Kim, J., He, J., Lyons, K. and Starner, T. The Gesture Watch: a wireless contact-free gesture based wrist interface. In Proc. ISWC '07. 11--13. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Kratz, S. and Rohs, M. Hoverflow: exploring around-device interaction with IR distance sensors. Proc. MobileHCI '09. 1--4. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Lyons, K., Nguyen, D., Ashbrook, D. and White, S.. Facet: a multi-segment wrist worn system. In Proc. UIST '12. 123--130. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Masui, T., Tsukada, K. and Siio, I. MouseField: a simple and versatile input device for ubiquitous computing. In Proc. UbiComp '04. 319--328.Google Scholar
- Miner, C. S., Chan, D. M. and Campbell, C. Digital jewelry: wearable technology for everyday life. In CHI EA '01. 45--46. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Miyaki, T. and Rekimoto, J. GraspZoom: zooming and scrolling control model for single-handed mobile interaction. In Proc. MobileHCI '09. Article 11. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Mooser, J., You, S. and Neumann, U. Large document, small screen: a camera driven scroll and zoom control for mobile devices. In Proc. I3D '08. 27--34. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ni, T. and Baudisch, P. Disappearing mobile devices. In Proc. UIST '09. 101--110. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Oney, S., Harrison, C., Ogan, A. and Wiese, J. ZoomBoard: a diminutive QWERTY soft keyboard using iterative zooming for ultra-small devices. In Proc. CHI '13. 2799--2802. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Pasquero, J., Stobbe, S. and Stonehouse, N. A haptic wristwatch for eyes-free interactions. In Proc. CHI '11. 3257--3266. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Perrault, S., Lecolinet, E., Eagan, J. and Guiard, Y. Watchit: simple gestures and eyes-free interaction for wristwatches and bracelets. In Proc. CHI '13. 1451--1460. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Quinn, P. and Cockburn. A. Zoofing!: faster list selections with pressure-zoom-flick-scrolling. In Proc. OZCHI '09. 185--192. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Raghunath, M. T. and Narayanaswami, C. User interfaces for applications on a wrist watch. Personal Ubiquitous Computing, 6 (January 2002), 17--30. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Rahman, M., Gustafson, S., Irani P. and Subramanian, S. Tilt techniques: investigating the dexterity of wrist-based input. In Proc. CHI '09. 1943--1952. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ren, L. and Crawford, J. Coordinate transformations for handguided saccades. Exp. Brain Research. 195 (3), 2009. 455--465.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Selker, T. and Rutledge, J. Finger Force Precision for Computer Pointing. IBM RC 17342, October 1991.Google Scholar
- Weiser, M. The computer for the 21st century. SIGMOBILE Mob. Comput. Commun. Rev. 3, 3 (July 1999), 3--11. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Wobbrock, J., Wilson, A. and Li, Y. Gestures without libraries, toolkits or training: A $1 recognizer for user interface prototypes. In Proc. UIST '07. 159--168. Figure 9. Doom running on our smartwatch prototype. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Expanding the input expressivity of smartwatches with mechanical pan, twist, tilt and click
Recommendations
Watchit: simple gestures and eyes-free interaction for wristwatches and bracelets
CHI '13: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsWe present WatchIt, a prototype device that extends interaction beyond the watch surface to the wristband, and two interaction techniques for command selection and execution. Because the small screen of wristwatch computers suffers from visual occlusion ...
Exploring Acceptability and Utility of Deformable Interactive Garment Buttons
CHI EA '20: Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsWearable devices have received tremendous interest in fitness and personal assistance sectors. Yet most are still worn as auxiliary hardware; falling short in ubiquity and convenience. We examine the potential of a novel deformable wearable device that ...
Expanding touch input vocabulary by using consecutive distant taps
CHI '14: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsIn recent years, touch screens have emerged and matured as the main input interface for mobile and tablet computers calling for extended touch input possibilities. In this paper, we explore the use of consecutive distant taps to expand the touch screen ...
Comments