We have designed LiTu (La'Tu - Light Tube) as a customisable and low-cost (ca 30 Euros) human-computer interface. It is composed of an acrylic tube, a ball-bearing mirror, six LEDs and a webcam. Touching the tube causes frustrated internal reflection of light due to a change in the critical angle at the acrylic-skin boundary. Scattered light within the tube is reflected off the mirror into the camera at the opposite end for image processing. Illuminated contact regions in the video frames are segmented and processed to generate 2D information such as: pitch and volume, or x and y coordinates of a graphic. We demonstrate the functionality of LiTu both as a musical instrument and as an interactive computer graphics controller. For example, various musical notes can be generated by touching specific regions around the surface of the tube. Volume can be controlled by sliding a finger down the tube and pitch by sliding the finger radially. We demonstrate the adaptable nature of LiTu's touch interface and discuss our plans to explore future physical modifications of the device.

We are developing a novel device for measuring hand power grip using frustrated total internal reflection of light in acrylic. Our method uses a force sensitive resistor to calibrate the force of a power grip as a function of the area and light intensity. This research is work in progress but results so far augur well for its applicability in medical and other application areas. The grip measurement device allows the patient and doctor to see the change in grip over time and projects this information directly onto the back of the patient's hand.

Work in progress for the development of a novel virtual training environment for training a kidney biopsy procedure is presented. Our goal is to provide an affordable high fidelity simulation through the integration of some of the latest off-the-shelf technology components. The range of forces that are encountered during this procedure have been recorded using a custom designed force sensitive glove and then applied within the simulation.