Despite long effort, few tangible interfaces are presently accessible in reproducible, generalizable form; accompanied by paths for hybrid physical and virtual realization; or coupled with bindings to extended content of widespread relevance. We present hybrid tangible interfaces that engage each of these, oriented both toward the ACM TEI community itself and broader generalizations. These include representations of all papers of the first 20 TEI conferences, structured by year; and of all papers by AI-assisted thematics. These include steps toward tangible “allomorphs” – interaction elements co-designed for both tangible and intangible realization; and fabrication and sensing via multiple low-cost paths.

Coding the gestures people use when interacting with tangible devices can aid interface design by making interfaces more intuitive and consistent. Past work devotes very little space to developing coding schemes for user-defined gesture sets. A generalizable coding scheme for gestures made by the human hand is developed for tangible devices using inspiration from predetermined time systems (PTS) from human factors engineering. The coding scheme is generic, adaptable to any hand motion proposal and has features such as duration invariance. Case study examples demonstrate its ability to provide consistent labels for hand interactions with tangible devices. Coding scheme labels are also balanced, having neither too many nor too few distinct gestures. This paper can help teach and create coding schemes for gesture elicitation studies performed by human-computer interaction researchers. The larger societal impact of this work is to help advance scientific methods for beneficial interface design within HCI/HRI by combination with human factors theory.

Collaborative games, played across multiple co-located mobile devices are gaining popularity because of their location flexibility, low hardware requirements, players’ close proximity, and their promise of generating excitement and collaborative social experience. Even though the integration of spatial device rearrangement (i.e., physically picking up a device and positioning it in another location) in cross-device applications in other domains has demonstrated higher potential for collaboration, this form of interaction remains relatively unexplored in ad hoc cross-device gaming applications. That is because these interactions typically require additional hardware support, which can hinder the ad hoc nature of the cross-device social games. In this paper, we present the iterative user-centred design process of creating an ad hoc co-located cross-device maze exploration game named Snap-To-Eat that supports both on-screen cross-device interactions (e.g., moving elements across devices) and spatial device rearrangement interactions without requiring any additional hardware. We refined the game design by conducting two rounds of workshops, the first with a low-fidelity paper prototype and the second with a high-fidelity digital prototype, with 36 undergraduate and graduate students in total. Findings from both workshops demonstrated that integrating spatial device rearrangement interactions in an ad hoc co-located cross-device game created opportunities for collaboration and engagement among the players, which elevated their overall social experience. These findings also suggested new design opportunities and future research directions for ad hoc collocated cross-device games, e.g., introducing new interactions, as well as exploring the game mechanics in a 3D space to elevate the gaming experience.

Recent combinations of interactive technology, humans, and water have resulted in “WaterHCI”. WaterHCI design seeks to complement the many benefits of engagement with the aquatic domain, by offering, for example, augmented reality systems for snorkelers, virtual reality in floatation tanks, underwater musical instruments for artists, robotic systems for divers, and wearables for swimmers. We conducted a workshop in which WaterHCI experts articulated the field's grand challenges, aiming to contribute towards a systematic WaterHCI research agenda and ultimately advance the field.

Computer-aided simulation-based platforms have been shown to be effective tools for teaching STEM concepts. At the same time, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) platforms encourage different viewpoints and approaches from the learners which can enrich the learning experience in STEM classrooms. The deployment in recent years of networked personal devices such as Chromebooks in classrooms has motivated educators to design collaborative learning tools for these devices. However, prior work has shown that using one-on-one devices may discourage students from talking among each other, which hinders collaboration. To understand the affordances of personal devices for CSCL tools within Biology curricula, we designed a collaborative plant growth simulation application that provides mirrored plant growth simulation views for every group member to facilitate a common visualization. In this paper, we present our findings from an in-the-wild study that evaluated the affordance and usability of the plant growth simulation application and investigated the nature of collaboration and engagement aided through the simulation mirroring feature. Our study results showed that the plant simulation application had high usability and acceptance. Moreover, mirroring the plant growth simulation improved collaboration, generated excitement, and stimulated conversation. We also identified episodes where collaboration was hindered due to off-task activities, troubleshooting, group dynamics, and lack of understanding that led us to outline some potential guidelines to improve the collaborative learning experience for the students in Biology classroom.

Machine learning becomes more prevalent in specialized domains such as medicine and biology every year, but domain expert trust in machine learning continues to lag behind. Researchers have explored increasing rational trust in AI but little research exists focusing on systems that foster affective and normative trust between domain experts and data scientists who create the models. Tools like Project Jupyter have attempted to bridge this gap between data scientists and domain experts, but failed to see uptake in applied fields or to promote collaboration through co-located synchronous work. To address this we present a proof-of-concept tabletop interactive machine learning system for synchronous, co-located model fine tuning. We tested our system with biology experts and data scientists on a cell biology dataset. Results show that our system promotes interactions between domain experts, data scientists, and the model-in-training and fosters domain expert affective and normative trust in the resulting AI model.

Creating effective middle school STEM curricula requires a combination of individual and collaborative learning. Prior studies showed that finding a proper balance and providing uninterrupted knowledge transmission between different learning modes can be challenging in such mixed pedagogical approaches. In this paper, we present a multi-device interactive educational platform named SimSnap to teach biology curriculum to middle school children. SimSnap facilitates interactions among touchscreen Chromebooks to perform in-class individual and group activities. We present a usability analysis study with eight middle school children where they learn about the influence of temperature on tomato plant growth. Our study demonstrated that SimSnap facilitates group discussions to complete collaborative tasks. It also creates seamless knowledge propagation between prior to current tasks to learn about more complex concepts from previous simpler activities. Middle school children gave overall high usability ratings and positive feedback on SimSnap. This study also helped to outline some design recommendations for future improvements of SimSnap.

We present an online narrative using video conferencing that is designed to facilitate collaborative storytelling using physical objects. Although research into the use of video conferencing platforms for storytelling and games is limited, we suggest that there is much to learn from a design space that includes interpretations of popular game formats like escape rooms, role-playing games, and board games. Drawing on examples from online and offline contexts, we focus on the tangible and embodied characteristics of these forms of play to identify narrative design opportunities for video conferencing platforms. We contribute the documentation of our research through design process, resulting in three preliminary design recommendations to help facilitate tangible and embodied remote storytelling.

In biology, microscopy data from thousands of individual cellular events presents challenges for analysis and problem solving. These include a lack of visual analysis tools to complement algorithmic approaches for tracking important but rare cellular events, and a lack of support for collaborative exploration and interpretation. In response to these challenges, we have designed and implemented Tangible Chromatin, a tangible and multi-surface system that promotes novel analysis of complex data generated from high-content microscopy experiments. The system facilitates three specific approaches to analysis: it (1) visualizes the detailed information and results from the image processing algorithms, (2) provides interactive approaches for browsing, selecting, and comparing individual data elements, and (3) expands options for productive collaboration through both independent and joint work. We present three main contributions: (i) design requirements that derive from the analytical goals of DNA replication biology, (ii) tangible and multi-surface interaction techniques to support the exploration and analysis of datasets from high-content microscopy experiments, and (iii) the results of a user study that investigated how the system supports individual and collaborative data analysis and interpretation tasks.

For decades, robotic arts and dancing robots have been the focus of many research studies and artistic experiments. They started in the early 1920s and began realizing some of their potential as technology advanced in the last decade. This paper presents observations on the current state of the art in dancing robots, wearable haptics, and other theoretical frameworks; then proposes a prototype ”Baby Tango” as an artistic experience, based on these observations. This experience reflects on the idea of interfacing and embodiment and their potential effects on the future of human-robot interactions by exploring new means of verbal and non-verbal communication with robots.

Providing embodied, interactive experiences for live audiences in traditional performance venues remains an ongoing challenge in the live entertainment industry. This paper presents a proof-of-concept performance piece which engages a seated audience in an embodied, interactive storytelling experience during a live circus show. We used a research-through-design methodology, with the goal of creating a piece in which the audience's actions and the way they collaborate determine the outcome of the performance. We describe our design process and informal evaluation of the piece. We conclude with considerations for designing embodied, interactive storytelling experiences for live audiences that provide a sense of agency and communion, as well as reflections on research through design for live performance.

Multi-modal technologies, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), have become increasingly common in education and training contexts. Despite growing adoption of these technologies, our understanding of how basic perceptual-cognitive processes are influenced or altered by AR and VR mediation remains limited. The present paper describes a pilot study in which participants performed goal-directed reaching movements toward visual illusions in three different mediation conditions: unmediated reality (UR), AR, and VR. This pilot assessed whether the speed-accuracy relationship of reaching movements in different mediation conditions was modulated by contextual information surrounding a target. Preliminary results showed that there was a trend toward an effect of the contextual information in VR, but not in UR or AR. These findings may indicate that movements in VR are generated by different sensorimotor processes than in UR and AR.

We present two proof-of-concept narrative VR experiences with a focus on sound-based physical interactions. Responding to a call to expand upon current design conceptualizations, we draw on tangible sound-based design in order to develop considerations for the body and physical environments within VR narratives. We propose that a focus on the actions the player is asked to perform (e.g., touch, stand, kneel, grasp, walk, listen, reach, dance) can contribute to an understanding of VR as a sensory, embodied medium that offers ways to playfully engage with physical reality rather than simulate it entirely.

Spatial abilities are grounded in the way we interact with and understand the world through our physical body. However, existing spatial ability training materials are largely paper- or screen-based; they rarely engage or encourage the use of the body. Tangible and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies provide opportunities to re-imagine designing for spatial ability. We present a game-based system that combines embodiment in VR with tangible interfaces, and is designed around a specific spatial ability known as penetrative thinking. This spatial ability is the capacity to imagine the internal structure of objects based on external cues. This ability is important in areas like design, geosciences, medicine, and engineering. We describe the iterative design, implementation, and testing of our system, including the user study of the final design. The user evaluation results showed that participants had positive experiences when they solved the penetrative thinking puzzles in the tangible VR system.

We present two proof of concept experiences for a virtual reality (VR) game that draws on several medium-specific qualities of mobile, location-based, and tangible storytelling. In contemporary smartphone-VR, experiences are limited by short playtimes, limited interactions, and limited movement within a physical space. To address these limitations, we suggest a reconceptualization of smartphone-VR. Rather than design that deems the smartphone the least capable VR platform, we propose design that adds VR to an already rich mobile storytelling platform. We argue that by drawing on otherwise separate storytelling media, designers can circumvent limitations related to smartphone-VR while also extending the range of smartphone-based storytelling. We conclude by reflecting on possible implications of this extended design space.

Advances in biology and computational power have led to the availability of large biological data sets, yet these advances raise new design challenges. Designers must build effective tools that cater to the needs of biologists and data scientists in order to visually explore and manipulate data for modeling and analysis. We present the Tangible Tensors system, a new tensor-based visualization and tangible manipulation tool that serves to improve functionality over previous data analytics approaches. We designed a platform that supports iterative exploration of the solution space and better interpretation tools for biologists. User study results indicate that our system is easy to learn and use, and useful for data modeling and analysis tasks.

Biological networks analysis has become a systematic and large-scale phenomenon. Most biological systems are often difficult to interpret due to the complexity of relationships and structural features. Moreover, existing primarily web-based interfaces for biological networks analysis often have limitations in usability as well as in supporting high-level reasoning and collaboration. Interactive surfaces coupled with tangible interactions offer opportunities to improve the comparison and analysis of large biological networks, which can aid researchers in making hypotheses and forming insights. We present Tangible BioNets, an active tangible and multi-surface system that allows users with diverse expertise to explore and understand the structural and functional aspects of biological organisms individually or collaboratively. The system was designed through an iterative co-design process and facilitates the exploration of biological network topology, catalyzing the generation of new insights. We describe a first informal evaluation with expert users and discuss considerations for designing tangible and multi-surface systems for large biological datasets.

We present two proof of concept sensory experiences designed for virtual reality (VR). Our experiences bring together smell, sound, taste, touch, and sight, focusing on low-cost, non-digital materials and on passive interactions. We also contribute a design rationale and a review of sensory interactions, particularly those designed for VR. We argue that current sensory experiences designed for VR often lack a broader consideration of the senses, especially in their neglect of the non-digital. We discuss some implications of non-digital design for sensory VR, suggesting that there may be opportunities to expand conceptions of what sensory design in VR can be.

A growing body of empirical evidence from the cognitive sciences shows that physical experience can enhance cognition in areas that involve spatial thinking. At the same time, virtual environments provide opportunities to engage learners with novel spatial tasks that cannot be achieved in the real world. Yet combining virtual worlds with tangible interfaces to engage spatial cognition is still not a well-explored area. This paper describes the TASC (Tangibles for Augmenting Spatial Cognition) system, which combines movement tracking and tangible objects in order to create a strong sense of embodiment in a virtual environment for spatial puzzle solving, designed to engage perspective taking ability. We describe the motivation, design process, and development of TASC. We also report the results from our user study, showing the participants' positive experiences, linking to future research opportunities.

We present a system for diegetic tangible objects in virtual reality (VR) narratives. The system integrates a custom-designed sensor unit, built with low-cost off-the-shelf hardware, to track objects in VR and to support a variety of custom-made and found tangibles. In its current form, the sensor unit tracks the objects' orientation and supports the authoring of specifically designed interactions for each tangible object. We contribute our design rationale, sensor unit, and four proof of concept prototypes, including a cube, a stuffed animal, a treasure chest, and a wooden boat, demonstrating how we leverage passive and active haptics to create a closer link between real and virtual worlds. For developers and users of VR, we expand interaction possibilities to include the physical characteristics of tangible objects. For the field of tangible narratives, we expand the current use of diegetic objects.

This paper presents results of a survey that explored the challenges low-income mobile users of Dhaka, Bangladesh (N = 131) face in mobile text entry. Results revealed that all users use the Bengali language at some capacity to compose text, yet many (are forced to) write with the Roman alphabet. Both feature phone and smartphone users feel that the existing text entry techniques are difficult to learn and use. The fact that some knowledge of the English language is necessary, even to use many popular Bengali text entry techniques, frustrates them as it compromises their entry speed and accuracy. Results also suggest that mobile phones and mobile text entry are more popular among younger and educated users. Further, smartphone users spend more time and engage in more text entry episodes than feature phone users.

This paper presents results of an exploratory study that examined the effects of different types of correctness feedback on children's actual and perceived performance with a math app. In the study, forty-flve grade-2 students solved easy, moderate, and hard drill questions with a math app augmented with textual, icon, and emoticon correctness feedback. Results suggested that, for the most part, neither the feedback type nor the difficulty level affect children's actual and perceived performance with the app.

We developed a custom tangible that uses LED arrays around the edges as a low-resolution display to provide real-time visual feedback on the current state of the system. We developed a guideline for mapping different types of edge feedback to different tangible interactions. We evaluated its effectiveness in an informal user study where users interacted with a tabletop and tangible system with the edge feedback enabled. Results suggest that edge feedback provides a better understanding of the system.

Rapid growth in the volume of cancer DNA sequencing data has not been matched by an increase in our ability to understand, explore, and interpret this data. There is a need for new tools that can enhance analyses in order to enable us to interpret the data, discover new or unexpected information, and ultimately form insights. We present Tangible mtDNA, an active tangible and tabletop system that allows multiple users with diverse expertise to collaborate in exploring and understanding mitochondrial DNA sequencing data in breast cancer patients. Five expert biologists evaluated the system and found it to be effective for data exploration and useful in supporting understanding, collaboration and discussion of DNA datasets.

We present three prototypes that aim to elicit historical and experiential qualities of 16th century prayer-nuts through narrative design and sensory interactions. Our goal is to enhance the presentation of cultural artifacts that must be presented behind glass to ensure their conservation. We aim to provide visitors with opportunities to form personalized connections with the past through historical, sensory, and embodied information that is otherwise unavailable. We use narrative design as a strategy to conceptualize and ground an experience that considers the contexts of users, their interactions, and the space in which the interactions occur. Together, our prototypes create an experience that is embodied, visual, aural, tactile, and olfactory. We present a brief review of related work, descriptions of the prototypes, our design rationale, and the results of our user study.

We present a new smart-restorable backspace technique to facilitate correction of "overlooked" errors on touchscreen-based tablets. We conducted an empirical study to compare the new backspace technique with the conventional one. Results of the study revealed that the new technique improves the overall text entry performance, both in terms of speed and operations per character, by significantly reducing error correction efforts. In addition, results showed that most users preferred the new technique to the one they use on their tablets, and found it easy to learn and use. Most of them also felt that it improved their overall text entry performance, thus wanted to keep using it.

WebTEM is a Web application to record text entry metrics. It is developed with common Web technologies, thus works on any device with a modern Web browser, and with any keyboard. We evaluated its effectiveness in an empirical study that compared the default Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone keyboards. Results of the study highlighted mobile users' increased dependency on autocorrections.

We present a novel color-coded feedback method that highlights the types of corrections made by autocorrections. We then present results of a longitudinal user study with 7-8-year-old children that compared the new method with the conventional autocorrection feedback method, in terms of leaning new words and spelling. Results suggested that the new method better accommodates learning new words. Interestingly, learning was observed with the conventional feedback method as well, demanding further investigation into whether predictive methods are truly a barrier to learning new words and spelling.

Urban planning, and campus planning in particular, can benefit greatly from technology that fosters and leverages collaborative, participatory planning which includes all affected stakeholders. Interactive surfaces such as tabletops and walls, and spaces such as 3D environments are examples of such technologies. Our research aims to explore and assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of such technologies in participatory campus planning. We present here a prototype system that combines the tangible and multitouch surfaces with a virtual world platform to provide a participatory planning approach for campus development projects.

Actibles are an open source hardware/software platform for creating active tangibles. Actibles contain a smartwatch core, which eases both hardware and software development, and enables application developers to leverage various web technologies. The smartwatch core is augmented by custom hardware that enables an expanded set of tangible interactions, including shaking, tilting, stacking and neighbouring, as well as on-screen gestures and integrated LED feedback. Actibles can be used both independently or in conjunction with other devices, such as interactive tabletops. We describe the Actible's technical specifications and demonstrate several example applications.

Biological data is becoming so complex, it is difficult for scientists and other professionals to interpret and understand it. New tools are needed to better support the manipulation and understanding of data in order to improve analyses and the formation of new hypotheses. Tangible mtDNA is an active tangible and tabletop system that allows multiple users with diverse expertise to collaborate in exploring and understanding mitochondrial DNA sequencing data in breast cancer patients. In an evaluation of the system, 5 expert biologists found it to be effective for data exploration and useful in supporting understanding, collaboration and discussion of DNA datasets.

We are increasingly tethered to pixelated boxes of varying shapes and sizes. These devices are ever present in our lives, transporting us daily into vast information and computational realms. And while our interactions with digital devices are arguably becoming more fluid and "natural", they still make only limited use of our motor system and largely isolate us from our immediate physical surroundings. Yet a gradual shift in the cognitive sciences toward embodied paradigms of human cognition can inspire us to think about why and how computational media should engage our bodies and minds together. What is the role of physical movements and materials in the way we engage with and construct knowledge in the world? This talk will provide some perspectives on this question, highlighting research from the Synaesthetic Media Lab [1] that supports creativity, discovery and learning across the physical and digital worlds.

We present Active Pathways, an active tangible and tabletop system that aims to support collaborative discovery and learning in biochemical modeling. Our work extends ideas from embodied cognition that suggest that interactive systems that support model building by coupling actions made with the motor system to the dynamic properties of external and internal models can enhance the potential for insight and discoveries. We describe the motivation for our work and the design and development of our system. We also present the results of a user study with pairs of novice modelers, which suggest that our system is not only easy to use and learn but also successful at facilitating an understanding of complex systems and supporting collaboration.

We present Sparse Tangibles, a tabletop and active tangible-based framework to support cross-platform, collaborative gene network exploration using a Web interface. It uses smartwatches as active tangibles to allow query construction on- and off-the-table. We expand their interaction vocabulary using inertial sensors and a custom case. We also introduce a new metric for measuring the "confidence level" of protein and genetic interactions. Three expert biologists evaluated the system and found it fun, useful, easy to use, and ideal for collaborative explorations.

TEI researchers/designers are often discouraged from building complex interactive environments by the requirement of high technical knowledge. In this studio/workshop, we present the ROSS Toolkit that offers tools to abstract/automate low-level programming of technical details, thereby simplifying the design and programming of interactions between heterogeneous networked devices. Participants will be first introduced to the toolkit functionality to cope with different technical issues. In a second part, they will experiment with the toolkit by developing use cases of increasing complexity that will involve off-the-shelf devices, interactive surfaces, and custom-made tangible artifacts. We expect participants to learn what are the opportunities and challenges for the development of responsive and interactive environments.

This paper presents a preliminary framework to inform the analysis and design of tangible narratives. Researchers and designers have been using tangible user interfaces (TUIs) for storytelling over the past two decades, but to date no comprehensive analysis of these systems exists. We argue that storytelling systems that use digitally-enhanced physical objects form a unique medium with identifiable narrative characteristics. Our framework isolates these characteristics and focuses on the user's perspective to identify commonalities between existing systems, as well as gaps that can be addressed by new systems. We find that the majority of systems in our sample require the user to perform exploratory actions from an external narrative position. We note that systems that cast the user in other interactive roles are rare but technologically feasible, suggesting that there are many underexplored possibilities for tangible storytelling.

This paper describes the research and design of three tangible and embodied prototypes that aim to enable users to meaningfully engage with an artifact's historical context and use. Together, these prototypes engage users in a cultural heritage experience that is sensorially embodied through a 'multimodal' ensemble of visual, aural, tactile, and olfactory interactions. A preliminary user test suggests that future work on multisensory interaction should focus on developing accessible design principles and considerations that support a sensorially embodied and tangible understanding of historical artifacts. We suggest that multisensory interactions present significant opportunities for interactive exhibits to expand our access to cultural history and its artifacts.

More and more objects of our everyday environment are becoming smart and connected, offering us new interaction possibilities. Tangible interaction and gestural interaction are promising communication means with these objects in this post-WIMP interaction era. Although based on different principles, they both exploit our body awareness and our skills to provide a richer and more intuitive interaction. Occasionally, when user gestures involve physical artifacts, tangible interaction and gestural interaction can blend into a new paradigm, i.e., tangible gesture interaction [5]. This workshop fosters the comparison among these different interaction paradigms and offers a unique opportunity to discuss their analogies and differences, as well as the definitions, boundaries, strengths, application domains and perspectives of tangible gesture interaction. Participants from different backgrounds are invited.

The "Universal Threshold Object" is a tangible device for television-like interactive narratives based on the TV show American Horror Story. The project uses gestural interactions with a tangible controller that provides haptic feedback as an interaction strategy to augment the narrative pleasures of immersion and dramatic agency. We leverage a branching scenario and story-driven gestural interaction with haptic feedback to provide limited sets of interactivity suitable for a television platform. From our research, design goals, and design process, we provide design implications for interactive narratives that employ gestural and haptic interactions.

Museums are exploring new ways of using emerging digital technologies to enhance the visitor experience. In this context, our research focuses on designing, developing and studying interactions for museum exhibits that introduce cultural concepts in ways that are tangible and embodied. We introduce here a tangible tabletop installation piece that was designed for a museum exhibition contrasting Western and African notions of mapping history and place. Inspired by the Lukasa board, a mnemonic device used by the Luba peoples in Central Africa, the tabletop piece enables visitors to learn and understand symbolic and nonlinguistic mapping concepts that are central to the Lukasa by creating and sharing stories with each other. In this paper we share our design process, a user study focusing on children and learning, and design implications on how digital and tangible interaction technologies can be used for cultural learning in museum exhibits.

Multi-touch and tangible interfaces provide unique opportunities for enhancing learning and discovery with big data. However, existing interaction techniques have limitations when manipulating large data sets. Our goal is to define novel interaction techniques for multi-touch and tangible interfaces, which support the construction of complex queries for big data. In this paper, we present results from a study which investigates the use of gestural interaction with active tokens for manipulating large data sets. In particular, we studied user expectations of a hybrid tangible and gestural language engaging this space. Our main results include a vocabulary of user-defined gestures for interaction with active tokens, which extends beyond familiar multi-touch gestures; characterization of the design space of gestural interaction with active tokens; and insight into participants' mental models, including common metaphors. We also present implications for the design of multi-touch and tangible interfaces with active tokens.

This tutorial explores the possibility of using touchscreen-based mobile devices as active tangibles on an interactive tabletop surface. The tutorial starts with an open discussion about various aspects of tangible interaction, including an overview of different approaches and design principles. It then guides participants through the design and development of innovative interaction techniques, where mobile phones are used as active tangibles on a shared tabletop display. The intent is to encourage the mobile HCI community to further explore the possibility of using everyday devices such as mobile phones as tangibles.

We present two new user authentication techniques that look and feel like slide-to-unlock. The intention is to encourage users, who do not use a user authentication technique on their devices, to start using one. Results of a user study showed that the new techniques perform relatively well compared

In this article, we present a new user authentication technique for touchscreen-based smartphone users that augments pseudo touch pressure as an extra security measure to the conventional digit-lock technique. The new technique enhances security by offering more unique password combinations than the

Sketching is a vital process in scientific research and procedural learning. In educational contexts, sketching helps students visualize abstract concepts and facilitates communication with their instructors as well as with other students. Inspired by a problem-based learning science class in which students use papers and pens to collaboratively sketch diagrams and equations for given problems, we aim to provide a digital tabletop platform for collaborative learning and customization. Current tabletop systems are unaffordable to be widely adopted in the classroom and are unable to identify multiple pens. We propose a pen-based tabletop system that utilizes a low-cost high-frame-rate infrared camera and HTML5 web canvas programming, making it cheaper and easier to customize for specific uses.

"Don't Open That Door" is a gesture-based interactive narrative project set in the universe of the TV show Supernatural. The project leverages expectations of the horror genre and fan knowledge of the show to elicit expressive interactions and provide satisfying dramatic responses within a seamless scenario in order to create dramatic agency for the interactor. We use verbal, audiovisual, reactive, and mimetic techniques to script the interactor. From our research, design process, and user observations, we gain insight in to designing for dramatic agency and managing user expectations in gesture-based interactive systems.

Our research explores the connection between physical and virtual tools. This work is based on research from the cognitive sciences showing that physical and virtual tool use extends our brain's representation of peripersonal space to include the tool. These findings led us to investigate if tool appropriation transfers from virtual to physical tools. The present paper reports the results of a study that revealed that manipulating a tool in the virtual space is sufficient to induce appropriation of a similar physical tool. These results have implications for interaction design in training and simulation applications.

The combination of advanced genomic technologies and computational tools enables researchers to conduct large-scale experiments that answer biological questions in unprecedented ways. However, interaction tools in this area currently remain immature. We propose that tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction (TEI) offers unique opportunities for enhancing discovery and learning in genomics. Also, designing for problems in genomics can help move forward the theory and practice of TEI. We present challenges and key questions for TEI research in genomics, lessons learned from three case studies, and potential areas of focus for TEI research and design.

In this paper we present Responsive Objects, Surfaces, and Spaces (ROSS) API, a tangible toolkit that allows designers and developers to easily build applications for heterogeneous network devices. We describe the unique nested structure of the ROSS framework that enables cross-platform and device development and demonstrate its capabilities using several prototype applications.

Throwing is an important physical skill that lays the foundation for the ability to participate in many physical activities and sports experiences. We aim to support the development of physical skills through exertion game design; our focus here is on the design of an exertion based throwing game that aims to help children improve their ability to throw. We discuss the results of some initial play testing, and how these observations informed our game design.

Pictures at an Exhibition is a physical/digital puppetry piece that uses tangible interface puppets to modify a virtual scene projected at the back of the stage in real-time. Telling the story of a heist in an art gallery, the actions of the puppets are digitally reflected in abstract changes to an artwork in the scene. The piece merges traditional puppeteering practices with tangible interaction technologies and virtual environments to create a novel performance for the live stage.

We review the creative activity in the software development process of the ROSS (Responsive Objects, Surfaces, and Spaces) API. The ROSS API is a tangible toolkit that allows designers and developers to easily build applications for many different tangible platforms while still accommodating the continued evolution of the underlying sensing technologies. This paper describes the ROSS API specification, identifies its originality and relevance to creativity, discusses the challenges of the API development process, and summarizes the lessons learned.

We report on an ethnographic study of the work practice and discovery process in a systems biology lab, and outline a tabletop visualization that was developed based on this study, in collaboration with the researchers. The feedback from the researchers on the current prototype is presented, and ongoing revisions are outlined. We conclude with some of the challenges involved in developing such tangible visualizations for discovery.

Computer mediated group collaboration, particularly in the design and engineering disciplines, is in need of better applications that suit the needs of effective exchange of information. Multi-touch surfaces offer the capabilities to augment and better enable face-to-face interaction with digital content and applications. This paper presents the design, development and testing of SketchTop, a multi-touch sketching application for collocated design collaboration.

We have developed an embodied puppet interface that translates a player's body movements to a virtual character, thus enabling the player to have a fine grained and personalized control of the avatar. To test the efficacy and short-term effects of this control interface, we developed a two-part experiment, where the performance of users controlling an avatar using the puppet interface was compared with users controlling the avatar using two other interfaces (Xbox controller, keyboard). Part 1 examined aiming movement accuracy in a virtual contact game. Part 2 examined changes of mental rotation abilities in users after playing the virtual contact game. Results from Part 1 revealed that the puppet interface group performed significantly better in aiming accuracy and response time, compared to the Xbox and keyboard groups. Data from Part 2 revealed that the puppet group tended to have greater improvement in mental rotation accuracy as well. Overall, these results suggest that the embodied mapping between a player and avatar, provided by the puppet interface, leads to important performance advantages.

In this paper, we introduce approaches to navigating and manipulating objects in a Collaborative Virtual Environment (CVE) that engage tangible objects and an interactive table interface. We also identify three design concerns that are common to physical-virtual connectivity for interaction with CVE systems. At last, we propose solutions to these issues within the context of CVEs.

Many research efforts today explore how digitally augmented tables enable face-to-face interaction with digital content and applications. Yet the design of digital tables is still largely driven by the constraints and requirements of the underlying sensing technologies. In order to move digital tables into our real-world physical spaces, researchers need to work closely with architects and industrial designers in order to engage the knowledge and skills from a long history of physical design and fabrication in the creation of tabletop systems. This paper presents Architales, an interactive story table for gallery exhibition, developed as an experiment in physical/digital co-design. We describe the creation of the interactive table, tangible storytelling system, and story content, which evolved together in a closely unified design process, drawing on the skills from computing, media, design and architecture. We also describe lessons learned about the interdisciplinary design process and the creation of physical/digital artworks.

RENATI is an acronym for recontextualizing narratives for tangible interfaces. It serves as an umbrella term for our art/research experiments within a hybrid environment that uses oral narratives, and non-generative and immersive art with sensing technologies to create tangible narratives. In this paper we introduce our first prototype, which uses a custom-built mannequin to allow viewers to engage with a multi-viewpoint story titled Flying Over Purgatory.

WiiArts is an experimental video, audio and image processing art project that makes use of pre-existing sensing technologies provided by Nintendo WiiRemotes and a Sensor Bar. Currently, most WiiRemote-based physical interactions have been designed to mimic the gesture of body movement in sports and other action-based games. These Wii games are generally competitive in nature, and players interact by responding to predefined interaction rules in either a single-user or multi-user mode. Making use of the WiiRemote as a pre-existing tangible and embedded interface, we explore applications that can engage participants in active and expressive art creation in a collaborative manner. In this paper, we describe several prototype applications based on this concept: Illumination (draWiing), Beneath (Waldo), WiiBand, Time Ripples. In these applications, three interactors can work together to compose both images and sounds.

In this paper we describe the concept, design, and implementation of Murmur, an interactive kinetic display made of one hundred computer CPU fans. Murmur responds to sound input from its environment via embedded microphones to produce patterns on a reactive surface. The reactive surface consists of hinged paper pieces situated in front of each fan. When activated by sonic elements in the environment, including sounds intentionally generated by an interactor, Murmur responds by turning on and off its fans in a sequence. The wind pressure generated by the movement of the fans stimulates the surface, forcing the paper up and out to create a variety of dynamic patterns. Each pattern represents characteristics of the sonic environment. We also analyze the feedback received from the interactors and discuss the possible ways of making the interaction more immersive.

The Graphical User Interface (GUI) has created an efficient work environment for many applications. However, when users are confined by keyboards and mice, they lose the ability to interact with the virtual world using habits from the real world. Our research examine how emerging modes of authorship, such as wikis, can be used to generate new possibilities for bringing atoms and bits together for digital annotation. Our goal is to combine the everyday habits in reading books with emerging digital possibilities.

This workshop addresses questions related to the areas of tangible interaction, game design and emerging technologies for tangible and tabletop games. We bring together researchers and practitioners from diverse fields related to these topics, such as HCI, computer science, interaction design and game design. We seek collaborative ways to move forward the field of tangible and tabletop games.

In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of Teaching Table -- an interactive tabletop audio-visual device aimed at enhancing the learning experience for pre-kindergarten children by involving them in physical activities. Using electromagnetic sensing technology, the table can track tagged objects placed on its surface, accurately identifying their type and location while providing a coincident visual display and audio feedback. Teaching activities that are aimed at developing early math skills have been created for the table in alignment with standard curriculum guidelines for pre-K schools. Additionally, we include software based assessment tools for mentors/teachers to easily track an individual child's progress during the process of interacting with the table.

In screen-based experiences, the screen itself can become the physical device used for interaction. The "move-ability" of the screen affords interactivity between the screen artifact and the viewer, and between the virtual and physical spaces. We have created a movable screen interface, called the tilting table, which provides a display surface via overhead projection. This interface invites user interaction through the action of tilting the tabletop. The degree of tilt affects the displayed visuals and audio output. This simple interaction makes users feel they have a closer connection to the virtual imagery, and the screen thus blurs the boundary between them. In this paper, we introduce four applications that have been implemented for the tilting table. Two use an artistic approach to create expressive and entertaining media interactions, while two have been developed for navigating large information spaces. Each application is described and user feedback is discussed.

We present a multimedia storytelling system that couples a tangible interface with a multiple viewpoint approach to interactive narratives. Over the centuries, stories have moved from the physical environment (around campfires and on the stage), to the printed page, then to movie, television and computer screens. Today, using wireless and tag sensing technologies, storytellers are able to bring digital stories back into our physical environment. The Tangible Viewpoints system explores how physical objects and augmented surfaces can be used as tangible embodiments of different character perspectives in an interactive tale. These graspable surrogates provide a direct mode of navigation to the story world, a means of bridging the gap between cyberspace and our physical environment as we engage with digital stories. The system supports stories told in a range of media, including audio, video, still image and text.In this paper, we first provide a context for Tangible Viewpoints based on research in the areas of tangible interfaces and interactive narratives. We then offer an overview of the Tangible Viewpoints functionality, and explain the design and implementation of the system. The current system has been used in two storytelling projects. We discuss each one, and look at how user feedback has affected or will affect further development. We conclude by suggesting several future applications for the Tangible Viewpoints interface.