Toolkit

Overview

Our work will involve creating both physical and software prototypes of our systems. We aim to distribute our prototype software and hardware prototypes in both software and hardware form to inspire future development.

• 1. Pulp Friction -- a reconfigurable haptic device employing a ferromagnetic marble for back-of-the device handheld use, which, for the first time, probes, without instrumenting the user, the periphery of the distal phalanx with localised stimulation.

Pulp Friction based haptic notification at the back of a device from a route planner application.


Download the paper (PDF) | Paper ACM link

More details of the Pulp Friction prototype can be find in both Software and Hardware.

• 2. PickCells -- a fully reconfigurable device concept composed of cells, that breaks the mould of rigid screens and explores a modular system that affords rich sets of tangible interactions and novel across-device relationships.

Illustration of the PickCells concept. Using her PickCells device (a) composed of small cubical cells, Eve can: b) snap-off cells to create a remote control while watching her movie; c) reorganise some cells to unlock her device by inputting a physical password; d) shape her device into a controller to comfortably play video games; e) snap-off a cell from her device, set it to control her smart light bulb and leave it in the living room so the whole family can control the bulb; and f) share one of her cell to show her vacation pictures on her friend’s device.


Download the paper (PDF) | Paper ACM link

More details of the PickCells prototype can be find in both Software and Hardware.

• 3. ActivePinScreen -- applies localised stimuli on multiple fingers with fine spatial and temporal resolution. The tactile screen uses an array of solenoid-actuated magnetic pins with millimetre scale form-factor which could be deployed for back-of-device handheld use without instrumenting the user.

ActivePinScreen is a tactile feedback grid that can be mounted on the back of a mobile device to give spatio-temporal direction information over multiple fingers, synchronised with the digital content on the phone’s touchscreen. The main image shows a close-up view of the device’s 1 mm diameter pins. The small nature of the Active PinScreen (as seen in the schematic inset to the right; blue highlighted area corresponding to main photo) affords the ability to fit comfortably on the back of a standard touchscreen device to provide high-precision feedback to multiple fingers at once.

Download the paper (PDF) | Paper ACM link

More details of the Active PinScreen prototype can be find in both Software and Hardware.