Yeseul Song

Have you noticed that touchless devices and systems have become more prevalent these days? For example, automatic toilets, faucets, hand sanitizer dispensers, thermometers, and even paper towel dispensers have sensors that allow them to detect when they are needed. Have you seen interfaces where people can type with different body postures? How about musical instruments that you can play by waving your hands in the air?

This course will focus on researching and designing intangible interactions. Intangible interactions are those that we engage in without involving direct physical contact. Intangible interfaces don’t have a tangible form that explicitly instructs us how to interact with them, and these interactions utilize other forms of feedback than those we feel through touch. While technologies used for intangible interaction–such as computer vision and sensors are now more available and accessible, knowledge around the design and implementation of effective intangible interactions is a much less documented subject.

We will explore practical, artistic, and whimsical applications of intangible interaction and look at the ways it can enhance human-computer interactions in our everyday lives. For example, it can allow new ways to interact with educational exhibits, artifacts, and artworks. We will explore intangibility as a poetic medium that can open up possibilities for creating work that challenges human senses and perception. We will also question and discuss what it means for an interaction to be “intuitive” and what are the cultural and social implications that we need to consider in designing these.

Technical topics that will be discussed in the class include: non touch-based sensors including optical sensors; proximity sensing; optimizing sensor readings on Arduino; extending capability of sensors with light pipes and lenses; body tracking with cameras; radios and signals; environmental sensing.

Tags: intangible, interaction, artistic, poetic, physical, sensors, physicalcomputing, hci, research, art, environment, playful, fun