We present SOFTii, a flexible input system for topography design and continuous control via external force. Our intent is to provide a tactile metaphor for pressure-based surface input. In this study, two prototypes of SOFTii have been fabricated: (a) The first prototype has one pressure surface for topography design with everyday tangible objects, (b) the second prototype, having two force input surfaces, performs as a deformable controller for video games and continuous shape modeling using a SVM algorithm. Both prototypes of SOFTii are constructed by layering Polymethylsiloxane (PDMS), ITO coated PET film, and conductive fabric and foam. The layer configuration allows the capturing of local pressure on the SOFTii surface via distributed electrodes. Here we further discuss the implementation of the device with possible usage scenarios.

We introduce TIMMi, a textile input device for mobile interactions. TIMMi is worn on the index finger to provide a multimodal sensing input metaphor. The prototype is fabricated on a single layer of textile where the conductive silicone rubber is painted and the conductive threads are stitched. The sensing area comprises of three equally spaced dots and a separate wide line. Strain and pressure values are extracted from the line and three dots, respectively via voltage dividers. Regression analysis is performed to model the relationship between sensing values and finger pressure and bending. A multi-level thresholding is applied to capture different levels of finger bending and pressure. A temporal position tracking algorithm is implemented to capture the swipe gesture. In this preliminary study, we demonstrate TIMMi as a finger-worn input device with two applications: controlling music player and interacting with smartglasses.

We present BendID, a bendable input device that recognizes the location, magnitude and direction of its deformation. We use BendID to provide users with a tactile metaphor for pressure based input. The device is constructed by layering an array of indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated PET film electrodes on a Polymethylsiloxane (PDMS) sheet, which is sandwiched between conductive foams. The pressure values that are interpreted from the ITO electrodes are classified using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm via the Weka library to identify the direction and location of bending. A polynomial regression model is also employed to estimate the overall magnitude of the pressure from the device. A model then maps these variables to a GUI to perform tasks. In this preliminary paper, we demonstrate this device by implementing it as an interface for 3D shape bending and a game controller.