Mechanical hijacking of physical interfaces is a cost-eff method for providing an Internet of Things (IoT) experience. However, existing mechanical hijacking devices (MHD) have limited applicability and usability. This pictorial introduces a research through design project on IoTIZER, which is easy to use and versatile MHD. We report on a design process from identifying a design space, conducting an iterative design and prototyping. We present the final design's hardware, software, usage scenario and implementation details. We also share lessons from a user study with eight households. The potential value of IoTIZER were appreciated as a versatile MHD. We discuss improvement areas of IoTIZER and implications for creating an IoT environment while preserving the existing conventions.

Iterative artistic exploration, mechanism building, and interaction programming are essential processes of prototyping interactive kinetic art (IKA). However, scattered tools and interwoven workflows across digital and physical worlds make the task difficult. We present WIKA, an integrated environment supporting the whole creation process of IKA in the form of a layered picture frame in a single workspace. A projected AR system with a mobile device efficiently makes an interactive tabletop. The projected information connected with physical components (e.g. sensors and motors) enables the programming and simulation on the workspace. Physical components are applied from the initial phase of prototyping using an AR plate, and this supports the iterative trial-and-error process by bridging the workflow. A user study shows that WIKA enabled non-experts to create diverse IKA with their ideas. A tangible interaction and projected information enable the iterative and rapid creation. The method that integrates the hardware and software in the physical environment can be applied to other prototyping tools that support the creation of interactive and kinetic elements.

Haptic simulation of hand tools like wrenches, pliers, scissors and syringes are beneficial for finely detailed skill training in VR, but designing for numerous hand tools usually requires an expert-level knowledge of specific mechanism and protocol. This paper presents HapLinkage, a prototyping framework based on linkage mechanism, that provides typical motion templates and haptic renderers to facilitate proxy design of virtual hand tools. The mechanical structures can be easily modified, for example, to scale the size, or to change the range of motion by selectively changing linkage lengths. Resistant, stop, release, and restoration force feedback are generated by an actuating module as part of the structure. Additional vibration feedback can be generated with a linear actuator. HapLinkage enables easy and quick prototypting of hand tools for diverse VR scenarios, that embody both of their kinetic and haptic properties. Based on interviews with expert designers, it was confirmed that HapLinkage is expressive in designing haptic proxy of hand tools to enhance VR experiences. It also identified potentials and future development of the framework.

Recent subject matters of design have become complex systems involving various elements and multiple users' interactions in large-scale spaces. In addition, visualizing these complex design subjects without preparing heavy resources in the early design phases is challenging. In this paper, we present SketchStudio, a prototyping tool for generating, sharing, and reviewing an animated design scenario involving complex design subjects. The tool allows designers to define the user experience by simply creating a node graph of the user's journey over time and space. SketchStudio instantly generates unique 2.5D animated design scenarios by blending 2D sketches and 3D characters. In addition, the tool supports the virtual reality mode for immersive views of the created scenario prototype. We also report on the result of a user study with nine potential users in the design practice and education fields. Based on our tool-developing experiences as well as on the study results, we discuss possible applicable areas and points for further improvement.

Prototyping devices with kinetic mechanisms, such as automata and robots, has become common in physical computing projects. However, mechanism design in the early-concept exploration phase is challenging, due to the dynamic and unpredictable characteristics of mechanisms. We present Mechanism Perfboard, an augmented reality environment that supports linkage mechanism design and fabrication. It supports the concretization of ideas by generating the initial desired linkage mechanism from a real world movement. The projection of simulated movement within the environment enables iterative tests and modifications in real scale. Augmented information and accompanying tangible parts help users to fabricate mechanisms. Through a user study with 10 participants, we found that Mechanism Perfboard helped the participant to achieve their desired movement. The augmented environment enabled intuitive modification and fabrication with an understanding of mechanical movement. Based on the tool development and the user study, we discuss implications for mechanism prototyping with augmented reality and computational support.

Recently, it has become common for designers to deal with complex and large-scale ubicomp or IoT spaces. Designers without technical implementation skills have difficulties in prototyping such spaces, especially in the early phases of design. We present miniStudio, a designers' tool for prototyping ubicomp space with proxemic interactions. It is built on designers' existing software and modeling materials (Photoshop, Lego, and paper). Interactions can be defined in Photoshop based on five spatial relations: location, distance, motion, orientation, and custom. Projection-based augmented reality was applied to miniatures in order to enable tangible interactions and dynamic representations. Hidden marker stickers and a camera-projector system enable the unobtrusive integration of digital images on the physical miniature. Through the user study with 12 designers and researchers in the ubicomp field, we found that miniStudio supported rapid prototyping of large and complex ideas with multiple connected components. Based on the tool development and the study, we discuss the implications for prototyping ubicomp environments in the early phase of the design.

Gesture-based interaction is still underutilized in the mobile context despite the large amount of attention it has been given. Using accelerometers that are widely available in mobile devices, we developed M.Gesture, a software system that supports accelerometer-based gesture authoring on single or multiple mobile devices. The development was based on a formative study that showed users' preferences for subtle, simple motions and synchronized, multi-device gestures. M.Gesture adopts an acceleration data space and interface components based on mass-spring analogy and combines the strengths of both demonstration-based and declarative approaches. Also, gesture declaration is done by specifying a mass-spring trajectory with planes in the acceleration space. For iterative gesture modification, multi-level feedbacks are provided as well. The results of evaluative studies have shown good usability and higher recognition performance than that of dynamic time warping for simple gesture authoring. Later, we discuss the benefits of applying a physical metaphor and hybrid approach.